Teachers

KATHMANDU

Two teachers, Kyiso and Yangchen, Tibetan women in their early twenties, are available every weekday at the Kathmandu Reception Center for New Arrivals from Tibet. Kyiso works with the children to document their stories and artwork, documents the number of children participating in Art Refuge and writes monthly reports.

These reports are lively with activity:

This week we created cloth dolls with the children. I cut the shape of a doll. Yangchen and I drew faces on dolls and the kids drew clothing and designs. Some children drew chubas (Tibetan style clothing). They stuffed the dolls with cotton and we sewed the dolls shut. They are very intelligent and curious to learn painting, reading and writing because they are going to school in India. The refugees are from very remote areas so we used to suggest cleanliness and health. This month we had lots of kids always waiting for us to make fun and play.

DHARAMSALA

At the Reception Center in Dharamsala, India, the children are greeted by Ama Adhe and an assistant who oversee the daily activities of Art Refuge there. Ama Adhe is a national Tibetan hero, having survived twenty-seven years of torture and imprisonment in Tibet. Her brave story is told in Ama Adhe: The Voice That Remembers. Ama-la brings a deep understanding of the children's experiences to Art Refuge and encourages them to find words and images to describe them.