Now, where were we?

For some background: While Mother stayed with me at my monastery i was introduced to a former monk, Chembal Lama. He asked me if i could help him translate some letters to his school children's sponsors. Of course i said yes and one night during the program mother and I joined Chembal for dinner where he told me his story. Most of the story I recorded in "A people with no country" but just for a refresher. Chembal, along with most of the monks at my monastery come from Humla, in nw nepal on the tibetan border. Up until 2006 this area suffered severely from the 11 year civil war fought between the Maoists and the Royal Nepali Army. Children were routinely stolen for child soldiers or slaves. Consequently as many children as possible where sent away, mostly to Kathmandu or India. This means that these communities lost an entire generation that will most likely never come back. Why does that matter so much, as long as the children are safer? It matters because Upper Humla is one of the last pure examples of tibetan culture and Buddhism. It is escaping the cultural genocide China is perpetrating in Tibet itself because at the time of the 1949 invasion Humla luckily belonged to Nepal. But no one could accuse me of being political. Never. Rather than go off on a Tibet/China rant (and if you're ever in the mood it's a good one) I'll stick to my original topic. Because these children leave at such a young age they are not taught their sacred cultural heritage. Not only that, but because they often don't return the community never benefits from the education their children received. Chembal's life's mission is to resolve these issues. He works tirelessly to expand and improve the local school in his area, as well as build more hostels to allow more and more students to attend the school. In 2006 the Yalbang school had 12 students. Today in 2012 it has 187, 118 of which are girls. Chembal's hostel provides beds, food, clothing, school supplies, and medicine for over 30 students. This is the story we heard from Chembal in January. Mother got back from visiting me in February. Shortly there after she approached a local producer we knew at Nena and Jamie's wedding. After a skype meeting with me (at 3 in the morning my time) Jeff made the decision that we had the makings of a great documentary. Now, after having about a month to prepare, Charles and I are heading back to my second home to tell the story of my second family. P.S. A shout out and big thank you to all who attended our "Friends of Nepal" gathering. Please enjoy as we record our adventure.