Returning to Tibet

By Peter Richards
Sun contributor
September 25, 2005 is a day I will always remember. On that day I flew for 24 hours from Marquette, Michigan, to Nirita, Japan, to Beijing, China, to Chundu, Tibet. Once I staggered off of the plane, I could see the Himalayas, and realize of my goal of hiking Mt. Everest. (See “Dreaming of cheeseburgers at the top of the world” in our online archives.)
Three years after my initial journey, I am excited to return to Tibet on September 3 to meet old friends and make new ones. In Lhasa, the Tibet capital, I will conduct research on the orphans who I met in 2005 at the Dickey orphanage, and document their lives for my forthcoming book, You Are My Sunshine. Many of the book’s proceeds will go directly to Dickey to help brighten the future for these orphans.

This region of the world has hosted many famous people. On May 29, 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first men to reach the summit of Everest. Since then, 1,200 people have summited from both the Tibetan and Nepali sides.
The Himalayan Mountains, and especially Everest, are a powerful draw. Whether your motive for climbing is fame and glory, the achievement, or the challenge of climbing the world’s tallest mountain, the journey changes you. As mountaineer Peter Habeler said, “I have not conquered Everest, it has merely tolerated me.” You don’t have to spend time on the mountain to understand Habeler’s words. Just seeing the mountain, majestic and clear one moment, and then completely engulfed in clouds or storms the next, forces you to understand the power of the mountain and nature — foes that are not to be taken lightly.
When a storm rolls in, all you can do is sit and wait, or head down the mountain. That’s when you learn what your team is made of — when you form bonds and friendships with your sherpas or guides and cooks that you’ll remember forever. Most climbers and mountaineers agree with Sir Edmund Hillary. “We come for the mountain, but stay for its people.”
These words entered my head three years ago while I was descending the mountain and returning to the tiny tent village that is base camp. Watching our yak herder feed his yak and wander around talking to fellow sherpas, I observed that he was so happy to be alive and so thankful for each day he got to breathe this amazing cool and fresh mountain air.
Continuing back off the mountain into the “towns” at her base, I watched the sherpas and the locals alike. You begin to understand their physical appearance and weathered faces. The land is so rugged and untamed that living there hardens your appearance, but softens you in other areas. You don’t worry about what possessions you don’t have or other Western preoccupations. You just take each day as it comes.
The majestic snowcapped peaks of the Himalayans seem to scrape the sky as you pass by. Next you find yourself in the “small” foothills of the high desert that is the Tibetan plateau. In Lhasa, my guide, Lakba, first took me to the Dickey Orphanage, which is located outside of the city. Dickey (the name means “happiness” in Tibetan) is only the second privately funded orphanage in the country.
The story goes that the orphanage’s founder made a pilgrimage to visit the exiled Dalai Lama and was told by His Holiness to start an orphanage in Lhasa. Tamdrin ‘Mama’ Dadhon, as she is called in the orphanage, sold all of her family’s jewelry, collected the funds from her tea and noodle shop, and with 300,000 Yuan ($44,000) opened the Dickey Orphanage on September 10, 2002. September 10 is also the date when the orphanage throws a birthday party for all the orphans, because they do not know the actual birth day of each child.
Six years later 75 orphans live at Dickey. Mama Dhozen and the orphanage staff provide meals and help educate the children, many of which are there because their parents died or have diseases. Others at the orphanage were abandoned by parents who could not care for them due to physical and mental handicaps.
“At Dickey, these children are given a chance to a new start in life,” says Mama Dhozen. Running the orphanage requires love, energy and time. Dickey has a staff of eight: cooks, teachers, caretakers and a bus driver.
The original orphanage located in downtown Lhasa was small and cramped. The children would often sleep three to a bed to stay warm and because there was no other space for them. Dickey’s new facility provides each child with their own bed. There are 10 classrooms for the children younger than six, whereas the older ones attend the city school for part of the day. Dickey has an art room for the children to pursue their creative talents and a music room where the children learn traditional Tibetan songs and dances. Down the hall is a library for the children to improve their reading and language skills. The new facility also has two bathrooms, twice as many as the old one had. And, at last the children have a large, open field to run and play.
I want to thank all of the local businesses that have sponsored this journey, as well as the people that have donated to our project to help the orphans at the Dickey orphanage. Donations are still being accepted and may be directed to peterrichardsphotography@gmail.com For more info about the dickey orphanage and other groups helping to support it, visit www.dickeyorphanage.org/en/ and www.tibetanorphanfund.org.