Dear TCV Ladakh
We, the Tenth batch of TCV Ladakh (1997) have come together this year to reunite and reconnect, more importantly to express how grateful we are to TCV school and to reflect on where we are now, who we were and where we came from. TCV Ladakh is more than a school for us, it was a lifeline; meeting all our essential needs, providing excellent education, nurture and shaping our future. TCV was truly a blissful home away from home and parent away from our parents. You are our home and roots from where we grew and blossomed into unique individuals we are today.
Our gratitude for TCV knows no bounds. No words and action can truly express the depth of our feelings and profound gratitude but we feel indebted to make a sincere attempt to put our thoughts and emotions in words and in the collective contributions for the good causes and projects of need. This very school bulletin “OUR VOICE” carrying our messages of reminiscence, love and gratitude began its journey 27 years ago in 1996 with us, started by a small team of students from our batch. We feel very nostalgic writing this letter here and to see its transformation and its immense impact over the years. It continues to serve as a platform for students to express their creativity, share their ideas and most importantly it helps to carry messages from students, teachers and school to our alumni, friends and supporters across the world. As we reunite today, let us also remember our respected and dear staff members who had left us and are no longer with us especially late Gen Tenzin la, late Gen Ngodup Wangdu la and late Ani Garab la.
We deeply feel their absence and we honour their memories, legacies and the countless contributions for our school and to our lives with our gratitude. They will continue to hold a very special place in our hearts and prayers. We also like to remember our batch-mates who left us early, you all are missed more than our words and emotions can express.
After school years, each one of us has taken a different path pursuing different careers, facing various tribulations and triumphs, many raising families of our own. We have settled in different parts of the world embracing different responsibilities and challenges that come with life. The TCV school, our batch-mates, our shared experiences, memories, struggles and stories in school years became the unbreakable cords that connect us all for lifetime despite the distance and diversities. The very reason we are able to reunite despite all the challenges and distance is because of TCV camaraderie and stewardship.
We truly feel proud to tell our beloved Alma Mater that our batch has fostered some of the finest TCV alumni in the community; Entrepreneurs, Teachers, Administrators, Doctors, Nurses, Counsellors, Psychologists, Engineers, Bankers and many more. We deeply feel our achievements are the testimony of the wonderful education and care we received at the TCV School. Many of us have come back to serve our school and the community for a lifetime. What we are now is because of TCV and its dedicated staff. We are truly indebted for transforming us into the persons we are today with inner human values of compassion, gratitude and kindness.
TCV had supported us beyond school years with unwavering emotional, social and financial support to further our careers and providing life stability. Even during college vacation days and difficult times, TCV school was our home we go back to.Empathy, compassion, growth mindset and resilience are values TCV instilled in us and these are the fundamental which helped us to live a meaningful life and profoundly influence the way we connect with others and interact with the world. Dedications of staff members to provide knowledge, guidance and enriching our lives in such a remote, harsh and challenging environment with very poor resources is nothing short of incredible achievement.
We always feel a profound sense of pride to call ourselves Ladakh-TCVian and we try to honour it daily by living a purposeful life; making a positive difference in our family, in the community and in the lives of others.Education at TCV Ladakh was not only limited to our classrooms, the school offered us an opportunity to participate in incredible range of extracurricular activities, including sports, debates, drama, elocution, marathon, music, performing arts, and cultural programs. These extracurricular activities promoted creativity, instilled discipline, fostered teamwork, allowing us to discover and nurture our unique talents. Various cultural programs and events the TCV school organised played a vital role in helping us learn about our rich cultural heritage, the need to preserve it, to embrace our identity and share with our children.
We are reuniting here to reminisce, reflect and come back to walk down the lanes of our most cherished and challenging years of our life - our childhood. Most importantly, we reunite to show our immense gratitude and appreciation to TCV and all the staff members. As we walk around in the campus, it felt like yesterday seeing the dusty playgrounds, homes we grew up in, halls, kitchen, offices, the line of trees, the great Kalachakra stupa, classrooms and same staffs still serving in the school with full dedication.
No words, emotion and gesture can truly express our appreciation and gratitude for TCV school, sponsors and staff members. We wish to take this opportunity to thank our school teachers, kitchen staffs, administrators, home-mothers, school bus drivers, and every staff member for their services and support during the most crucial years of our life. Even though, we didn’t had the best facilities during those times; the dedication, resilience and hard work of school staff members made up for the scarcity and instilled in us the values and morals of “Others Before Self” and how to be self-sufficient and to be content with what we have and remember “The Less can be More”.
To show our appreciation and gratitude, we have come together and agreed unanimously to contribute by extending our support in initiating and completing much-needed projects and works at our school and its various branches. Kindly accept our gestures as tokens of gratitude and our love, we hope that our contributions and these important projects will help to bring many positive changes and further help our Alma Mater to inspire and empower countless individuals like us.
Thank you TCV Ladakh for your love, care, teachings, nurture, values and all the staffs members for working tirelessly beyond and above the call of duties. We are and shall always be grateful and indebted. With our hearts filled with respect, joy, gratitude and love, we hope to reunite again one day. As we depart after this memorable reunion and gratitude day, TCV and our memories together will continue to remain as a common thread that unites us all for lifetime and reunite us again for the greater cause and happiness.
We truly are your beloved and grateful children.
Thank you
Tenth Batch
TCV Ladakh (1997)
Written by Dr Dhondup Tashi and Mrs Sonam Dickey
