BHUTAN
This photo, taken in late 2023 shows ten newly arrived students. They will be with us for 3-4 years studying at university. While they are with us, they will have many and varied discipleship experiences so that they may return to Bhutan prepared to commence acting as change agents there. All are handpicked by Bhutanese national church leaders.
Bhutan is a remote kingdom nestled in the Himalayas sitting between India and China. Bhutan has a land area smaller than Switzerland and a population of just 770,000 people. Life expectancy is only around 70 years. Almost completely cut off for centuries, Bhutan has allowed some aspects of the outside world to enter whilst fiercely guarding its own ancient traditions. For years, the country cut itself off, fearing that outside influences would undermine its monarchy and culture. Even now westernism is not as embraced as it is in many other Asian nations. Radio broadcasting only began in 1973, while television and internet arrived in just 1999.
The Wangchuck hereditary monarchy has wielded power since 1907 but now Bhutan has a two-party parliamentary democracy. Bhutan is known for pioneering the concept of gross national happiness, a term coined by the king in the 1970s. The idea is that valuing collective happiness is the goal of governance - emphasizing harmony with nature and traditional values.
We have ministry projects for Bhutanese young men and women. Our two projects are quite original in style because the ministry homes are run from over the border in India’s West Bengal State. It would have been very difficult to operate the work from within Bhutan. Until very recently Bhutan has tended to choose Buddhist young people for entrance to tertiary education over others (including Christians). In this way, the national leadership within the kingdom remains in the hands of the Buddhist majority.
As a result, EMPOWER BHUTAN has proactively chosen to educate Christian young people right up to university graduate level so that in time they may return back to Bhutan and input into their nation.
Bhutan Girls
We started this project back in 2019 with just a handful of girls. Now that batch of young women have completed their university degrees and have either returned to Bhutan or are taking further training. We have 17 girls spread over three houses all in the same location. The work with the girls is growing and it is wonderful seeing them wanting to take the Gospel back to Bhutan. Of their girls who live in the homes, their average age is about 20-21 years. All of them study at university level.
Bhutan Boys
Our 18 young men in the project home are aged from 18 - 23 years. The guys are spread over two hostels situated adjacent to each other. The hostels are owned and operated by high quality local Christian leaders. Nearly all of the boys are studying at university. Some are now contemplating studying at university post-grad level.
Buddha wanted to learn more about God so he went to Nepal to study for a Certificate in Theological Studies. He loved it. He came to live with us back in 2015. Since then, he had graduated with a degree in tourism and hospitality and has returned to Bhutan.
Buddha (pictured centre) comes from a Buddhist family. He is a fine young man. He decided to finish his Bhutan based high school education back in 2011 and then went to work on his father's farm. Not long after that he became a Christian (through his uncle and brother).
July 2024. Sitting in the front row are some of our board members and our house parents. Standing behind are our students who have now all graduated university and are preparing to return to Bhutan as change agents. They have all taken a “Timothy Leadership” course and are hoping to now spread this throughout their nation. One or two of them hope to now pursue theological education.
A LETTER OF THANKS A number of our young people have now graduated and moved back to Bhutan again. One of the girls has written of her/their experiences at the houses… “I am here to say something- we three girls and one boy will be graduating in July this year (2023). We are very thankful to God, first of all. And we are very much grateful for your and your team's kindness to us and that you provided us with good opportunities which help us to build our careers and brighten our future. Thank you and your team for proving us with sponsorship years and years. May God be kind to you and your team. I have nothing to give you but I will always keep you in prayer. I have never thought I will go to college but God's plan is so amazing. For me, Kalimpong city is the best place for our growth, education and fellowship. My life has changed a lot after staying in Kalimpong... and it has been a good experience for me. Thank you and have a good day.”