The Tibetan Homes School sits nestled in the foothills of the
Himalayas close to the old British Hill Station of Mussoorie.
Providing housing and schooling for over 600 Tibetan refugee children
from the ages of 5 to 18, the school was set up in the early 1960’s
under the direction of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan
Government-in-Exile to accommodate the waves of refugees fleeing
Chinese occupied Tibet.
Most of the students at the school have not seen their families
since they were sent to India when they were very young and will
most likely never see them again. Tibetan families make this great
sacrifice to both provide their children with a well-rounded education
where they can practice their Buddhist religion freely. There
is also the hope that their children will be able to best further
the movement to help free Tibet from Chinese oppression from outside
their homeland. It is one of many examples of the incredible Tibetan
will and commitment to perpetuate their endangered culture.
In the autumn of 2000, Gregory Gutin had the great opportunity
to go to the Tibetan Homes School and work with the students there.
Over three months he facilitated the Poetry Through Photography
project, working with students from grades 7 thru 9. The project
was part of an on-going cross-cultural exchange program with students
in the U.S. called Art Refuge, based in Santa Fe, NM. Visit www.artrefuge.org
for more info.
Through this project the Tibetan students were able to explore
their lives through the mediums of photography and writing. Cameras
and film were provided and each student explored four themes over
the three months: Self-Portrait (Where I’m From…),
Friends and Family, Relationship to Nature and Dreams. Each topic
was explored first through the written word, then photographically,
then again with writing, utilizing the photographs as inspiration.
The photographs were all taken by the students themselves and
the poetry was written in English.
The project was a great success as the students were able to look
at their lives in a new way and have fun doing so. Many emotional
and psychological issues concerning their Tibetan homeland, missed
family members and hopes for the future were made accessible through
this work. Also, the students were able to practice both their
written and verbal skills in English.
