After completing my second standard, I was educated at Thoemba Tar Primary School in Singye where I studied for three years and went on to Sarbhang (Sarpang) Central School for two years. As I became older I was recognised and educated by His Royal Highness, Prince Namgyel Wangchuck in Yangchenphug Central School in Thimphu from where I obtained my High School diploma in 1989. Through the kindness of HRH Prince Namgyel Wangchuck which I never forget I was offered to continue my education in Delhi however due to my personal responsibilities I was unable to accept.

I joined Royal Institute of Management where I worked as a Computer Programmer and served in the Education Department for five years until 1996 after which I joined UNICEF Thimphu office in 1997 and was with them for three years. At that point the opportunity for international work opened. I gained a contract with UNICEF office in Kosovo in 1999. 

This international experience opened more doors. I served as a UNV Civil Registration in East Timor in 2001-2002.  There were very a few Bhutanese serving as UNVs at that time.  After East Timor, I was contracted to Afghanistan in 2003-2005 to assist in Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

After the mission in Afghanistan, I went on to Kosovo and worked as a UNV Municipal Travel Document Officer from 2006 and 2008. This allowed me time to pursue my higher studies which could advance my career. I took a shot in the dark and applied to Washington International University in USA for acceptance in the Bachelor of Business Administration in Information Systems Management. My 16 years experience with a high school diploma was enough to have me admitted. I completed the course successfully.

I returned to East Timor in 2009 and I am working with the UNDP Electoral Support Team to assist the electoral officers in the field country wide. East Timor poses challenges because of the geographical locations and cultural differences. Planning and preparation for the election is my sole task in this mission. I am happy to be still active with the UN system and to be a well known candidate from Bhutan especially in my field.

I would like to send a message to Bhutanese that we are no less than any people on the earth. Our potential is as high as any other people on the earth, and although participation is more important than winning, it needs a winning attitude.

My thanks go to my country and my Kings who all blessed me and brought me up to this stage. I would also like to thank my wife who always prays for my journey of life and is always with me and to guide me in the precise direction. I would also like to thank the UNV Program Officer and colleague who are always there to support the Bhutanese UNVs working worldwide.

TASHI DELEK

Dr. Tashi Wangchuk

“I am helping people by sharing my knowledge and experience, and at the same time I am developing and improving my own professionalism.”

Dr. Tashi is a UNV Medical Doctor serving in Timor Leste since December 2008. Timor Leste is a lower middle income economy, and continues to suffer the aftereffects of decades-long independence struggle against Indonesia, which damaged infrastructure and displaced thousands of civilians. The country is placed 158^th by Human Development Index (HDI) among the world’s states, the second lowest in Asia.

“The electricity is only available between 6 pm and 12 pm at night.”

In addition to see regular patients everyday Dr. Tashi is on emergency call 24 hours 7 days.

“It is challenging when I have to rush to where the accident happened and take care of the patient right there on the spot. My clinical management and my decision on whether the patient should be evacuated to more adequate medical facility is crucial.”

Dr. Tashi has been working in Suai district, coast side of Timor Leste, for the last six months. This is a mosquito infested area and illness like Malaria and Dengue are very common.

“Weekends are difficult to manage. There is hardly any place to visit and see except beaches for swimming. Spending time with colleagues from my own country, talking to them in my mother tongue is very relaxing.”

Relaxing with other Bhutanese colleagues

Dr. Tashi also served as a UNV in Nepal from 2007 to 2008. 

“I am learning a lot from people from different culture and ethnicity, and also looking at my country Bhutan with a different view point.”

 

 

 

 

 

Ms. Karma Lhamu

A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others. A teacher at Mongar Lower Secondary School, Ms. Karma Lhamu is a volunteer member of the Mongar Women’s Association since its establishment in 1996.

“Finding time to volunteer is challenging as I am a teacher which is a very demanding job.  I am helping in my own little way in supporting the education of underprivileged children in our district.” 

The Mongar Women’s Association is one of the active volunteer groups. They are mainly assisting the education for orphans and children who come from poor family background.

“We have very active, motivated and responsible members who are rendering their help in raising funds for the association beside their busy schedule through catering and organising variety shows.  We are also receiving full support from the Mongar Dzongkhag Administration and the NWAB headquarter, Thimphu.”

More than 30 children were supported through their education programme in 2009.

“It is fulfilling when I receive letters from the supported children.

When the M6.2 earthquake hit the district on September 22 last year, Mongar Women’s Association raised more than Nu.30,000 and donated it to the His Majesty’s Relief Funds.

“I will continue my service with the association and help in whatever way possible with all my ability to make a difference in the lives of our underprivileged women and children.”

Ms. Leki Wangmo

“I want to return the generosity shown to me by many people after the loss of our father at my age of 11” said Ms. Leki Wangmo, one of the long serving volunteers with the National Women’s Association of Bhutan (NWAB) in Bumthang.

Ms. Leki joined as a volunteer member of the organisation in September 1985 when she was in Bangtar, Samdrupjongkhar Dzongkhag where her husband was working as the Sub-Divisional Officer. There she witnessed many difficulties faced by the women and children especially in the rural areas.

“Those experiences evolved into my small venture of weaving. I developed a Women Self Help Group and involved more women from the poor family background which created job opportunities for the sustenance of the family and community as a whole.”

She took the lead in organising trainings for the school dropout girls and for those underprivileged women in weaving to enable them to earn their livelihood through weaving. Providing education to orphans and single parents are also a part of her initiative.

“Through my volunteer work with NWAB, I had an opportunity to represent the country as a weaver at Japan Expo held in Fukuoka, Japan in 1989. The ideas and exposure gained from this visit was tremendous and affected my day to day life in serving women folks back home with more and better understanding of how things are taking place in other developed countries, and brought back some ideas which could be implemented and shared with my fellow sisters.”

In 1990, when her husband was transferred to Bumthang, she started the Bumthang Women’s Association.

“With the support from the NWAB Thimphu, we were able to take some women to NWAB’s National Handloom Development Project in Khaling to procure natural dyes, which was then only sold to the local weavers. I taught and helped them how to dye yarns. It was rewarding to see that their products earned more than the chemically dyed ones.”

The Bumthang Women’s Association has supported the education for nine children who come from poor family background.

“It is really satisfying seeing the sponsored children go to school year after year. Some of them have completed their education and are employed with different organisations. It is rewarding to know that they are healthy and productive contributors to their families and communities.”

At present five children are benefitted from this programme, one of which is in need of special care and is now in grade 11.

“I have, and I will always encourage women to join the association, whether old or young. I personally gained a lot from volunteering, for example, travelling to Japan as a weaver was important exposure for me, which I never forget to mention in any women’s gathering. It was possible because of my volunteering with the NWAB.”

Ms. Leki’s daughter joined the association in 2004 and is one of the very active members of the organisation.

“One day my goal is to set up a Women Co-operative that will have a name in itself, where we can all work with PRIDE!!!” Ms. Leki proudly told us.

November 19, 2009, Thimphu: Under the environmental theme of “Volunteering for Our Earth” volunteers from 14 local and international volunteer involving organisations and individual volunteers are gathering at the Public Ground in Damphu, Tsirang Dzongkhag to celebrate their contributions to the Bhutanese society. This is the first International Volunteers Day celebration organised outside of Thimphu.

“I feel as though I am able to make a difference in the world and use my skills. It allows me to genuinely feel as though I am part of the world community.”

This is how a UN Volunteer describes being a volunteer. The International Volunteer Day is marked every year and offers an opportunity for volunteer organizations and individual volunteers to concretely show their contributions to peace and development. At the event, UN Volunteers will share their experiences on being a volunteer and will be available for interviews with the press.

The celebration in Tsirang will be hosted by the Tsirang Dzongkhag Administration, Volunteers in Bhutan (VIB) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme. The Vice President of the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Thinley Palden Dorji, is invited as a keynote speaker.

A wide range of activities is taking place during these two days: A volunteer group of Samtse College of Education will be presenting a skit ‘How we can protect environment from polluting’ and students from Damphu Higher/Lower secondary school are performing environment related dances.

The winners of “How we can volunteer for our earth” competition will also be announced at the opening ceremony. This competition was organised by the UNV together with the Ministry of Education in October. The best entry in each category will be printed on the Tashi Cell mobile voucher to send out the messages across the country. An environment related volunteer activity is taking place on the 5th which we welcome everybody to participate.

Recognizing the crucial role volunteers play in addressing environmental issues, the global theme for the International Volunteer Day is “Volunteering for our planet”. Through a new webpage, volunteers can register their hours of climate work, So far over 370,000 hours of volunteer work has been registered. ‘Volunteering for our Planet’ is the UNV contribution to the UN campaign “Seal the Deal” at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, and the number of hours will be presented for the world leaders.

The media are welcomed to join this event. A bus will leave from UN House Thursday 3 December at 9:30am. There will be up to five seats available for media. For queries, please contact
Maki Mizuno (UNV) maki.mizuno@undp.org (17110103)
or communication intern Rebecca Jafari, Rebecca.jafari@undp.org (17973523).

Thimphu

“Leaving Afghanistan was a relief. It was impossible to live a normal life. Coming back to Bhutan feels like being free”, said UN volunteer, Lhap Thering.

Three Bhutanese have been serving in Afghanistan as UN volunteers since 2005. Two of them are still in Afghanistan. One is Dhoj Gurung, UNV Finance Officer, stationed in Bumyng region, other one is Rinzin Wangchuk, UNV Engineer, stationed in Kabul.

Around 8,000 UN Volunteers are currently serving worldwide, including 25 Bhutanese. Most of them are involved in peacekeeping, conflict prevention and peace building; some are involved in sustaining peace and advancing human development, supporting electoral processes and governance reforms.

The United Nations Volunteers programme is the UN organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and it can transform the pace and nature of development.
Lhap Tsering is available for interviews. Please contact UNV office #322424 if you are interested in his story. We will also be able to put you in contact with Rinzin Wangchuk, UNV Engineer, stationed in Kabul.

For queries, please contact UNV officer Maki Mizuno maki.mizuno@undp.org (17110103), or UNDP communication intern Rebecca Jafari, rebecca.jafari@undp.org (17973523).

“Leaving Afghanistan was a relief. It was impossible to live a normal life. Coming back to Bhutan feels like being free”, said UN volunteer, Lhap Thering.

Three Bhutanese have been serving in Afghanistan as UN volunteers since 2005. Two of them are still in Afghanistan. One is Dhoj Gurung, UNV Finance Officer, stationed in Bumyng region, other one is Rinzin Wangchuk, UNV Engineer, stationed in Kabul.

Around 8,000 UN Volunteers are currently serving worldwide, including 25 Bhutanese. Most of them are involved in peacekeeping, conflict prevention and peace building; some are involved in sustaining peace and advancing human development, supporting electoral processes and governance reforms.

The United Nations Volunteers programme is the UN organization that contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Volunteerism is a powerful means of engaging people in tackling development challenges, and it can transform the pace and nature of development.
Lhap Tsering is available for interviews. Please contact UNV office #322424 if you are interested in his story. We will also be able to put you in contact with Rinzin Wangchuk, UNV Engineer, stationed in Kabul.

For queries, please contact UNV officer Maki Mizuno maki.mizuno@undp.org (17110103), or UNDP communication intern Rebecca Jafari, rebecca.jafari@undp.org (17973523).

Mr. Takuma Mama

“I cannot refuse anyone for I am here to help, all who need my assistance.”

Mr. Mama, UNV IT Specialist, is the most well known UNV volunteer in Bhutan as it was rightly mentioned in Kuensel published on May 26, 2008, “There is one thing in common to all IT Managers in Thimphu; when they have a problem, they run to Mama.”

Since 2003 he has been volunteering in Bhutan assisting the Ministries, schools and private companies to set up servers and repair damaged computer parts but mainly trouble shoots.

“He is a knowledgeable man. He can fix anything no matter what kind of software or hardware problems we have” said an IT officer.

Mr. Mama came back to Bhutan in July 2009 to take up his third UNV assignment in Bhutan. This time, his main job is to assist the Ministry of Labour in strengthening labour market analysis and employment generation especially among youth and women.

“Before Mama came we had a lot of problems but now we have fewer problems and much easier to monitor and handle our system” said Ms. Ugen Zangmo, his counterpart at the Ministry.

Surprisingly Mr. Mama did not receive any formal training or education in computers. He is self taught with 25 years of working experience in the IT field. He mentioned Bhutanese IT managers have the book knowledge but most lacked practical skills to set up and maintain the systems. What they need is a little practical training.

“He makes us fix the problem while he sits beside us and give us instructions” said his former counter part.

During his last assignment, he married a Bhutanese lady Maya and had a son. Mr. Mama is a quiet person and does not usually show emotions but when his first child Tatsuya was born you could see his face was glowing with pride and joy and loved to talk about his new born if you ask.

As he collected his plane ticket ready for his departure from Bhutan on 4th March 2003, he expressed his appreciation for being temporarily released from his civil service post in the Royal Audit Authority. He said that, through sharing his skills with his counterparts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (previously known as Zaire), he expected to learn from the experience, and to return to Bhutan with new ideas.

Also taking up the UNV mantle is Mr. Udai Gurung, from Sipsu, in Samtse Dzongkhag. He departed on 9th March to serve for six months as UNV Procurement Assistant with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)

UNV Programme Officer Chris Whitehouse noted that through UNDP’s UNV programme, over 300 international specialists have come to Bhutan since the early 1980s. However, with Bhutanese nationals now better equipped and more highly skilled, it is not surprising that more and more Bhutanese should be accepted for UNV assignments overseas. With these two departures, a total of twenty Bhutanese nationals will have taken up UNV assignments abroad since the first one went to Malawi in 1994.

During a visit last year to Bhutan of UNV Honorary Ambassador Takehito Nakata, a number of senior government representatives including the Honourable Prime Minister noted the value of having Bhutanese nationals serving overseas as UNVs. There are currently over twenty Bhutanese nationals on the UNV roster awaiting placement, many of whom have applied through the internet, and it is hoped that yet more Bhutanese will apply. The minimum requirement for acceptance is five years’ post-qualification work experience in one of 538 specialist fields.