The Menri Bon Children
Menri is a refuge for approximately 350 Bon children whose numbers increase each year. The children -- some of whom are orphaned -- are sent to Menri from poor regions in the borderlands of Tibet and Nepal for their sustenance and education. Boys whose families send them to the monastery are trained as monks. Girls who are placed in the nunnery are trained as nuns. Also within the Menri complex is the Bon Children's Home with dormitories for boys and girls who were sent to Menri for basic care and education.
All children, including the young monks and nuns, attend school together at the Central School for Tibetans. Situated in the valley below the monastery, the school is run by the Indian government and provides education through the tenth grade. Because Bon tradition places such high value on education and on the continuation of the Bon culture and tradition, the school includes a strong component of Bon studies. Education is regarded as an absolute necessity for the future of Bon.
