by JoanK Matlock
Volunteer Job at Lha: English Teacher and Personal Tutor

In May of 2018, I moved to McLeod Ganj, a neighborhood in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India. I became a volunteer teacher for three months for the Lha Charitable Trust’s Advanced English class. I loved the atmosphere and casual feeling of coming and going to class, and every day was a challenge and full of surprises. Each student had a sweet and colorful personality. I did my best to impart grammar and speaking skills and to instill confidence that they could all excel in English, so they could achieve their dreams.

Being a volunteer English teacher for Lha was one of the best experiences of my life. It was something I had wanted to do for years. Back when I was in college, I became a sponsor for a 14-year-old Tibetan refugee, Sonam Chompel. He had walked out of Tibet with his mother and baby brother and was living in the hill station of Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, at the Tibetan Settlement. Sonam used the money I sent him monthly to buy art supplies and he paid Tibetan refugees who were traditional artists who also had just come out from Tibet.
Later, as an adult, after much study and practice, Sonam became the Art Teacher for Tibetan students at the Happy Valley School in Mussoorie. This is where the Dalai Lama first settled after he left Tibet, making it the first Tibetan settlement in India.
Sonam trained hundreds of students who showed an interest in Tibetan art. They grew up and moved around the world and now carry on the traditional arts of the Tibetan culture. Some of Sonam’s students became art teachers and still, today are teaching Tibetan students. This is how I became acquainted with the Tibetan situation. It changed my life. Eventually, Sonam became the personal portrait painter of His Holiness Dalai Lama. Sonam was awarded an official Letter of Recognition from the Tibetan Government for his lifelong commitment as an Art Teacher and his support to the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.
I am happy that it became my turn to teach Tibetan refugees at Lha, plus monks from other cultures and local Indian students. I have a degree in TESOL (Teaching English To Speakers of Other Languages), and experience teaching in my home country of America, as well as other countries around the world. I plan on returning often to volunteer at Lha, as I know I learned more than I could teach. I gained great merit by associating myself with the spiritual environment in Dharamshala and with the warm-hearted students and administrators at Lha!

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