Cultural camp for Tibetan children held in UK

Thursday, 30 August 2007, 11:34 a.m.

Group of young Tibetan participants at the summer cultural camp

Worcestershire: The Y-TEC (Young Tibetans Educational Club), a wing of the Tibetan Community in Britain organized a 5-day Tibetan cultural summer camp from 20-24 August at the Old Vicarage Adventure Centre in Stottesdon, Worcestershire, England.

A group of 25 Tibetan children and youth attended the cultural camp, one of its first kind organized by Y-TEC for growing number of Tibetan children in the U.K. would benefit from a Tibetan cultural camp.

The camp aimed to work towards nurturing the children’s sense of Tibetan identity and preserving Tibetan culture, language and religion. It also aims to encourage friendships between Tibetan children and youth, whilst getting opportunities to experience outdoor activities.

Children aged from 6 – 18 years living in various parts of the U.K., including Brighton, Liverpool, London, Oxford and Surrey, Vermont, USA, Toronto, Canada and Japan took part in the camp.

Participants attending workshops during the camp

The camp activities included various workshops in learning Tibetan identity, language , calligraphy, daily living, culture and Tibetan art. These covered discussions about Tibetan roots and geography, youth responsibility, the current situation in Tibet, meaning of the Tibetan altar, water bowl offerings, prostrations, Tibetan calendar system and even a debate about Tibetan independence vs. autonomy. During practical sessions, campers participated in making and printing Tibetan prayer flags whilst learning about their meaning. Sessions in butter sculpture making and sand art were also included. Campers participated in learning this year’s camp song, and also learned to play the Dramynen (Tibetan lute) and Lingpu (Tibetan flute).

Some outdoor activities included archery, high zipwire jumping, canoeing, kayaking, raft building, rock-climbing, abseiling and caving were also organized.

During the evenings, campers enjoyed campfires with Tibetan Gorshey dancing and singing.

The camp concluded with the children wearing their Tibetan chubas and attending sang-sol on the final morning. All the participants were thanked for their hard work with khatas and given badges of “Free Tibet” and the Tibetan flag. A special thanks was given to Kunsang Chodon, Deizom Frasi, Dawa Tenzin, Pema Yoko and Phuntsok Dalu by the camp coordinator Tenzin Takla for all their hard work in organising the workshops.

This camp was possible due to the kind donations and support of various organisations. The children, parents and YTEC are deeply grateful to them, and hope the success of this year’s camp will be followed with more such camps in the future.

–Report filed by Tibetan community in Britain