In my heart, I feel the strong desire to help old age people,
” says Themchok Tenzin, founder of shangdra pendhe old age home. May of 2012. Now fluent in Tibetan, English, and Chinese, he himself has faced some of the highest barriers in order to acquire his language knowledge. He was born in the Goroma nomadic area in Minyang in 1985 and grew up as a traditional nomad living under a black yak tent, keeping yaks and horses, and moving four times a year according to the seasons. At the age of 16 he knew nothing but oral Tibetan and the language of nature.
One day, he fell ill and was taken to a hospital in the closest city, Kangding, which was two hours from his home. In the hospital, Tenzin shared a room with two other old Tibetans. They don’t have enough money for to treat their illness well because of without any relatives , and Tenzin felt very sorry for two of the old Tibetan, but at that time what Tenzin can do for them is just gave them 200 RNB, did not know how to help them to make better quality of their life. But he promised for himself that in the future help for old people who have hardships.
Tenzin returned home but he never forgot the sad situations of his two old friends. He began to think of how he can help old people and how he can become educated, but there was no school where he lived. He thought about going to the village of Thagong, but that was impossible. “You have to pay to go to school, and I had nothing. It was too expensive for me,” says Tenzin. But there was also another option: going to Nepal. He had friends there who could teach him Tibetan writing and English. Tenzin shared the idea with his parents but they harshly objected. From their point of view, there was no way Tenzin could leave the traditional nomadic life to learn language. Traditions were much more important than education. However, their objection did not stop Tenzin.
Tenzin didn’t have a passport but he moved to Nepal by walk from his home to Nepal through Himalaya Snow Mountains. During his journey he got so many difficulties.
For six and a half years he studied the English language. He sought out every possible opportunity to practice and improve his skills. He would go out in the streets and find new words he wanted to know. He would ask foreign tourists what those words meant and then memorize them. In this way, he increased his vocabulary. Through his perseverance and passion for learning even in the difficult conditions of his new life in Nepal, he came to master English. Proud of his Tibetan heritage, he also learned how to write in his native language.
Upon returning to Tibet, Tenzin worked various jobs. He travelled to Beijing, shengzhen (Guangdong), Shanghai, Dalian, and Qinghai. hong kong At last, he returned to Thagong. Tenzin dreamed of improving old people’s lives in his homeland and felt the best way to do this was through living condition. He knew that many old people of the Tagong area have difficulties of living condition so he decided to start hostel in Kangding and earn money for help to the Tagong old age people. So now Tenzin acted on this project. However, it’s not easy for Tenzin to start this project by himself. He need get support from people around world.
Tenzin wants to spend his life helping old people. He believes that help old people is the essence of one’s identity. He says, “If I spend my entire life helping old age people, the moment I die I will feel that my life has been greatly meaningful.” He strongly believes what his great teacher told him: “To be happy and useful for other people is the most important thing in life.”
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