Early Times Report
LEH, Nov 21: With an aim to encourage reading in children, and to promote development of the native Bhoti language, 17000 ft Foundation, on the occasion of Children's Day, released 21 story books in Bhoti for free distribution into all Government and monastery schools of Leh District.
Working in close collaboration with the Drepung Loseling Pethub Khangtsen Education Society, these 21 titles, chosen from popular titles of Pratham Books and Scholastic Books, were translated by scholars from the society under the guidance of Geshe Konchok Wangdu, Director CIBS, Leh. 21,000 copies of these titles were translated, published in Delhi and sent to Leh for the event, from where they were distributed free of cost to 350+ schools of Leh District.
A celebration to mark this event was held at the Nagarjuna Auditorium, CIBS Complex on Nov 14, Children's Day, chaired by Dr. Sonam Dawa, Honourable Chief Executive Councillor, LAHDC, Leh and presided by Prasanna Ramaswamy G, DC, Leh, in the presence of Shri Dorjay Motup- Hon'ble EC (Works), Shri Tsering Wangdus - Hon'ble (Agri. & RD), Shri Jail Kumar - Chief Education Officer, Smt. Konchok Angmo - Principal DIET, Shri Thinles - LBA President, Shri. Abdul Gaffar - Vice President Anjuman Moin-ul-islam, Shri Ashraf Ali - President Anjuman Immamia and other dignitaries.
Two special guests who flew in from Delhi, Himanshu Giri - CEO Pratham Books, and Shri Neeraj Jain - Managing Director Scholastic India were also present for the unveiling of their books in a new language. ZEOs, Headmasters and teachers from many schools, some as far as Fotoksar, Lingshed, Skurbuchan and Satoo were also present for the event. Copied From Jammu Links News Website.The event was conducted by the Founder of 17000 ft, Smt. Sujata Sahu, Shri Dawa Jora - Director 17000 ft and Geshe Konchok Wangdu.
The senior dignitaries spoke on the event, followed by the unveiling of the books and a books reading by the CEC himself, much to the delight of all present. Students from M/S Samkar presented a show from two of the books, complete with costumes, props and effects.
17000 ft Foundation is a three year old NGO in Ladakh that works to improve education in remote schools. In the three years of its existence, 17000 ft has setup libraries in 100 schools, built playgrounds and provided furniture in 19 schools, and trained hundreds of teachers in different methodologies.
They have now also expanded their operations in Kargil district. Commending the Foundation and the Pethub Khangtsen Education Society for their efforts and also praising the quality of the books, the Hon'ble CEC Dr. Sonam Dawa said, "Promoting Bhoti in schools is a good step to preserve the culture of our society. We too are working with the Central Government to include Bhoti as one of the national languages in the 8th Schedule of the constitution."
The DC, Shri Prasanna Ramaswamy G, was appreciative of the types of books provided and said, "Giving general knowledge books to children is extremely important as this exposes them to the outside world. Bhoti should be more than just a medium of instruction. It should be used to teach children how to think." |
