Tiji Festival. Mustang

My next trip to Nepal had a specific goal: to participate in the Tiji Festival. I also wanted to visit the school in Bakrang, whose reconstruction I had supported with great joy, and where I continue to organize and fund Polish volunteers working there today.

While in Mustang, somewhat by chance, I came across a school run by Amji Tenjing Bist, a Tibetan doctor who treats people daily and uses the money earned to help children, mainly orphans or those from the poorest families. Through a private initiative and with minor support from the local community, he has been giving the poorest children the only chance for an education for over a dozen years, in most cases. Along with basic education, they gain knowledge about healing based on pulse and tongue examination, herbal medicine, and naturopathy.

This fascinating story, however, has a second, very poignant layer. The conditions in the school are tragic. The children, although happy to have a roof over their heads and a warm meal, live in poverty. Parents, if they are alive, visit them once, maybe twice a year. After returning to Poland, my husband Michał and I decided that we would also take this school under our care, which we continue to do to this day.