For the last four months, two volunteers from New Zealand, Hadyn Fitzpatrick and Earlleen Gunning, have been teaching English at Men-Tsee-Khang. They have been teaching staff and their families English at both beginner and intermediate levels with daily classes and one-on-one tuition. They have also assisted staff with English materials. In New Zealand, they both graduated from university, Hadyn with a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing and Management, and Earlleen with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Biochemistry and a Diploma for Graduates in Communication Studies. After which, Hadyn worked in the Tourism Industry and Earlleen worked at the Department of Conservation.

The pair stated that “We really enjoyed living within the confines of Men-Tsee-Khang. We were made to feel like part of the Tibetan community. Everybody was extremely accomodating and friendly. We also revelled in seeing our students progress and gain much needed confidence. We recommend this experience to anyone interested in helping the Tibetan cause. Finally, thank you to the Men-Tsee-Khang community for embracing us and making our tasks so easy.”

The administration thanks the two volunteers for their time and energy spent in improving both written and spoken English of the Men-Tsee-Khang community. We hope that they will share all their experience and knowledge on Tibet with their friends and relatives back home in New Zealand.