Surmang School Projects: Summary

Solar School On May 4th, Surmang Foundation received a US$100,000 grant from the Social Service Foundation of the Catholic Church for the construction of a school near Surmang Dutsi-Til Monastery in Tibet. The region, typical of rural Tibet, has no health care services resulting in high disease mortality rates and few education services, resulting in an illiteracy rate of 98% in the Tibetan language. The new project will be staffed by Boulderites Lee Weingrad, Michael Johnson, Carollee Kirby, Michael Kubitschek. Weingrad recently returned from living 7 years in China as Project Manager, is the first foreigner ever to visit Surmang. The school will be a skills training center for economic and cultural development --with emphasis on eradicating illiteracy in the region and creating an environment for the revitalization of Tibetan culture. This project, like the Surmang Foundation's clinic projects, are cooperative ventures with the Chinese Government, Qinghai Province. They are unique in being part of an experimental policy for letting selected non-profits work with virtual carte blanche. The center will also provide opportunities for mobilizing community resources - such as agricultural co-ops, and the restoration of traditional arts and crafts - in the service of economic and cultural development. The school will be powered by solar and micro-hydro energy, which will also be made available to the local Surmang community.