A felicitation ceremony in honour of Ama Jetsun Pema who was conferred with Nari Shakti Puruskar by the Government of India was held on March 24 at Dr. Herman Gmeiner Hall, Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) School, Choglamsar.

The day was organised by Tibetan Children’s Village in collaboration with Alumni desk TCV Ladakh.

Ama Jetsun Pema was conferred with Nari Shakti Puruskar by the Government of India on International Women’s Day, March 8 for her immense contribution to education to tens of thousands children.

PT Kunzang,Vice President,Ladakh Buddhist Association, chief guest said that Ama Jetsun Pema contribution towards Tibetan students and the society deserves the highest commendation. He congratulated her on behalf of Ladakh Buddhist Association and people of Ladakh.

He said that the best part of the TCV School is that along with academics student are taught to maintain the culture, identity and language, which is very important. He also thanked the association for giving the opportunity to 450 Ladakhi students to study in the same school. 

Chemi Lhundun, village Director informed that under the leadership of Ama Jetsun Pema there are three residential schools in Changthang including Hanley, Nyoma and Sumda.

He said, “Ama Jetsun Pema symbolizes love for the children and children’s right. We should put the best effort to imbibe compassion, ability and courage in ourselves so that we can also make some contribution in making our society peaceful through education.”

Lundup Namgyal, Principal, TCV appreciated Ama Jetsun Pema’s effort and said, “ It is the vision of our beloved Ama la that Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) continue to work for the excellence especially in the field of education. Therefore, we must all pledge to work harder towards attaining excellence in the field of education and produce productive seed of a nation.”

Sonam Dorje, President, Alumni Desk TCV Ladakh, Tsetan Wangchuk, Chief Representative Officer, Sonamling Tibetan Settlement and Principals of all CBSE affiliated Schools Leh were present.

Biography of Ama Jetsun Pema

Ama Jetsun Pema “Mother of Tibet” was born in Lhasa, on July 7, 1940. She left Tibet in the year 1949. In 1951 she studied at the Loreto Convent in Darjeeling. In 1960 Nursery for Tibetan Refugee children were founded.

Ama Jetsun Pema, 77, in recognition of her dedication and service to Tibetan children received the title, “Mother of Tibet”. In 1972, the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) was formed and JetsunPema was the head of the institution.

In May 1990, His Holiness the Dalai Lama convened a special Congress of the Tibetan People-In-Exile (Now Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile) in Dharamsala to elect the Kalons (Ministers) of Central Tibetan Administration. Ama Jetsun Pema was one of the three ministers elected and became the first Tibetan Woman Minister.

In 1991, she was again elected by the Assembly of Tibetan People’s Deputies (Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile) as one of the Ministers and was allocated the portfolio of Minister-In-Charge of the Department of Tibetan Education.

In July 1993, she resigned from the Kashag (Cabinet) and is today the President of the Tibetan Children’s Villages. 

So far, 52,000 students have graduated from her institutions, of which 50% are Tibetan refugees. Apart from Tibetan children, her institutions also impart education to children from the Himalayan regions. She has won many awards for her contribution.

She was also awarded a medal by the UNESCO in the year 1999 and was the first female minister in the Central Tibetan Administration.