Xining City Tibetan Language Training Program Project Manager: Rendzen jyi (Caitlyn) Buy 160 Tibetan language instructional books and other study materials, hire two teachers and to rent two classrooms for the Basba Sun Tibetan School. establish a school where the Tibetan children can learn their own language, and to save Tibetan language from dying out Funds needed: $2,119   (16,954 rmb)

Rendzen jyi is from Sakar kong village, Nengke Township, Jiantsa County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous prefecture, Qinghai province, China. She graduated in 2006 with an Associated degree in English from Qinghai Normal University Nationalities Department's English Training Program. She is now working as a program director and core staff member of Shem Women's Group.

Pu Hua Jie

Pu Hua Jie is leader of the Basba Sun Tibetan School. He was born in 1945 in Tsenahk Village, Bagou Township, Tongde County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. In 1964 he started to work in the Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture song and dance troupe and continued until 1986. During this time he also studied in the Art Department of the Central University For Nationalities. He studied music and dancing and graduated in 1967. After that he worked in three different troupes until this year. During this time he worked as an actor, choreographer, and leader of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture song and dance troupe. He was also leader and choreographer of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Cultural Company. Now he is working for a Tibetan school in Xining where Tibetan children can learn their own language and arts. His school, The Basba Sun Tibetan School, has several goals. First, to collect students from poor families and help them complete their education by finding scholarships for their tuition. Second, to create a great environment where Tibetan children who were born in Xining city can learn Tibetan language and arts. Third, to preserve and develop the use of Tibetan arts. Fourth, to produce more trilingual speakers (Tibetan, Chinese and English). 

Pen Mao Cai Dan

Pen Mao Cai Dan is the manager of Sun Vocational Tibetan Training School (the primary school connected to the Basba Sun Tibetan School). He was born in 1975 in Gapok village, Jiantsa County, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. He graduated from Qinghai Nationality College in 2000. Since 2003, he has been working in Qinghai Normal University. During this time he has held Tibetan corner with Tibetan students who are from Lhasa, Amdo and Kham in order to maintain their language skills and to begin work on developing a standard Tibetan in which all Tibetan people can communicate. He is a member of a group called “Mother Tongue Preservation Group”. In 2004, he and three other Tibetan men created a Tibetan language website: www.tibettl.com . Since 2004, in order to create a chance for Tibetan children who are born in Xining city to learn Tibetan, and at the request of many Tibetan parents, he has been working at Basba Sun Tibetan School. In 2005 he established a Vocational Tibetan Training Program.

Project Location
The project is located in Xining City, the capital city of Qinghai province, China. Xining is located on the eastern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, near the upper reaches of the Yellow River, with an average altitude of 2,295m above sea level. Xining, is the center of politics, economy and culture, in Qinghai. The permanent population of Xining is 4.88 million, including 35 ethnic groups. There are 29,854 Tibetans; almost all of them are nuclear families. The climate is typical of the highland continental climate and the weather is cool and dry. In winter it's cold and in summer it's warm, not hot. Therefore, people call Xining the Summer City. The average cash income of a Tibetan person in Xining city is between 12000RMB and 24000 RMB per year. * http://www.cwta.org.cn/TOWNOF_Xining.htm

Background of Basba Sun Tibetan School
This project will combine the work of the two project managers, and their two different schools.

The first school is the Sun Vocational School. It was started in 2005 by Pen Mao Cai Dan.

There are twenty students, 11 girls and 9 boys. They are all from 8-14 years old. There are only three teachers; Pen Mao Cai Dan and two male students from Qinghai Normal University. Pen Mao Cai Dan is very busy and sometimes does not have time to devote to this project. Often he acts as an assistant for the teachers. Since they don't have any financial support, they need to borrow the classrooms and find volunteers to teach, but frequently they cannot find such people. Therefore, only Pen Mao Cai Dan taught for the whole vacation last summer. In this class they teach Tibetan, the same books that are being used in all Tibetan primary schools in all Tibetan Autonomous areas. Since the students have their own official classes during the week, they are only able to have Tibetan class during the weekends and vacations.

The second school is the Basba School. The Basba School is located in a Chinese School called Xining First School of Technology and was started in 2006 by Pu Hua Jie. There are 60 Tibetan students and they basically study Tibetan, Chinese, English and Art. These students are from rural Tibetan areas and are studying for their Zhong Zhuan degree. This technology school gives three-year degrees.

In 2010 the two schools will combine together, as explained in the Sustainability part of this proposal .

Project Goals

The immediate goal of the this project is to buy 160 Tibetan language instructional books and other study materials, hire two teachers and to rent two classrooms for the Basba Sun Tibetan School.

The overarching goal of this project is to establish a school where the Tibetan children can learn their own language, and to save Tibetan language from dying out.

Problems
Tibetan language is endangered
Since the government no longer distributes jobs for graduate students, graduate students have to take exams and compete for scarce jobs. Almost all jobs require a degree or a diploma. If the diplomas are from a college in Eastern China then there is a higher chance of getting a job, because people think these schools are better than the ones in Qinghai. This is, in fact, the case; schools in Eastern China are better than in the schools in Qinghai because they have better conditions and better equipment. So many Tibetan people are trying to send their children in to those schools. However, in Eastern China, students can't learn Tibetan. The more education they get, the lower their chances are for speaking and learning Tibetan. In the future, this may result in the death or impoverishment of the Tibetan language. Many Tibetans are anxious about this situation, and believe that we need to immediately address it.

Difficulties for Grandparents in Countryside
According to a recent Qinghai Government survey of the Tibetan population in Xining city, conducted in 2006, there are about 11,0000 Tibetans and 780 school-aged Tibetan children ion Xining. Yet, There was no Tibetan primary school until 2005. Therefore, some Tibetan parents sent their children back to their hometown in order to attend Tibetan schools. The children are sent to their grandparents' homes and the grandparents have to take care of them. For grandfathers this is not a burden, since their only duty is to play with the children. However, grandmothers have to wash the clothes, cook food, keep the children from doing bad things and prevent the children from getting sick. Having raised their children, they must raise their children's children.

Early Separation
Some Tibetan parents send their children to the countryside to Tibetan schools where students can live in the dorms and eat at the cafeteria. Also, many Tibetan parents send their children to Chinese schools from kindergarten to college to prevent hardships for the grandparents and relatives.

Every weekend parents go to visit their children who are in the countryside, even though they can not really afford to do so. The children always miss their parents. Parents always think about their children and worry that their children are hungry, cold, sick, or homesick Children can not concentrate on their study. Family ties are weakened by this separation.

A Tibetan Primary School is Necessary
The children born in Xining city are surrounded by Chinese. Chinese is the common language. Even though they knew Tibetan when they were very young they begin to lose their language when they start schooling.

Many Tibetan parents in Xining city want the next generation to learn their language and continue their culture. One parent, Lhamo Tseten, is a retired man. He said, “ We can see and hear that Tibetan children only speak Chinese to their parents and their parents respond to them in Chinese even though their Chinese is terrible. I don't know why, but I think the children who learn Chinese influence their parents to speak Chinese. This is a big problem. In order to let our next generations learn and speak Tibetan and let them know who they are, we must let them study Tibetan language.”

Another parent, Oshok, is an official worker in the Tibetan Newspaper Company. He said, “My son doesn't act like a Tibetan he feels shy when we speak Tibetan. His actions, behaviors and attitudes are all very Chinese, and he says that Tibetan people are wild, stupid, and superstitious when he is angry at me. When I hear this, I feel he is not my son. After he grew up he changed into a Chinese person. He thinks that he is not Tibetan and he is kind of against us. I must let him study Tibetan and let him find out whether Tibetans are stupid or not.”

Dorjie Tso is a teacher in Qinghai Normal University Nationality Department. “When my son was six yeas old, my sister came to Xining one day and we went to a restaurant to have lunch. We spoke Tibetan and my son said ‘Ama speak Chinese!' Perhaps people around us looked at us when we spoke Tibetan, but I felt very angry and said ‘Why can't I speak Tibetan? Why can't I speak my own language in my own area?' When I was saying this I didn't feel like he was my own child! I felt like the people surrounding me were saying that to me. I thought they were looking at us when we spoke Tibetan. After that I insisted that he speak Tibetan when he is at home or with Tibetan people, and I taught him Tibetan on the weekends. Two years later I sent him to my parents' house where he could go to a Tibetan school. I couldn't imagine what would happen and what kind of person he would be, if he only studied Chinese.”

Parents are very willing to let their children study Tibetan. Xining city really needs a school according to these parents. They think the Tibetan language is endangered. Currently, there isn't an established school where their children can study their own language.

Lack of Funds
The Sun School needs more teachers and teaching materials. They are using classrooms lent by the Nationality department in Qinghai Teacher's University, but they need to pay rent. The only source of income is the 50 RMB each student pays per month, which amounts to 1000 RMB per month. Sometimes they don't have enough money to pay their rent and sometimes the department is angry and puts notices around the campus, so they have to pay the rent with their own money. The book supplier is a Tibetan man and he gave the books for free. The teachers are all volunteers. Because they don't get paid, the teachers don't take the class seriously. Sometimes they don't even come to class. When this happens, the students' parents call the manager, Pen Mao Cai Dan, and he must go and teach for free. 

Low Number of Tibetan Female Teachers
There are some Tibetan colleges in Xining city, but currently there are a low number of female Tibetan teachers. In Nationalities Department of Qinghai Normal University, only 30% of teachers are female.

Solutions
• Establish a Tibetan school in Xining and let the children have a chance to learn Tibetan in the city. Hire two classrooms, three fulltime teachers (two female teachers and one male teacher). Buy books and materials for the children and establish a stable vocational school for the children. Students can study two hours every Saturday and Sunday during the semester, and they can learn for two hours a day on their vacations. They will use the same materials that other Tibetan primary schools use.

• Tibetan children in Xining city will be able to study Tibetan. Grand parents can have more leisure time. They don't need to take care of their grandchildren. This especially benefits grandmothers.

• Parents can save money and children can have better study conditions.

• College students who are from poorest families could earn a salary while working to preserve Tibetan language and culture. They can earn money by teaching Tibetan for the students and they can train their ability for teaching.

Gender
This project will help increase gender equality among Tibetans in Xining in several ways:
1. Female and male students will be asked to attend school. First, I will ask the parents how many children they have and how many children are school-aged children. Secondly, I will ask them to send girls and boys equally to this school. They should not only send their sons and ignore their daughters. Third, I will explain that the project is being done by me as a member of “Shem Women's Group” and the main purpose of this group is to help women in Tibetan areas.

2. The teachers will be trained to treat male and female students equally. When Pag Mo Cai Dan and I select the teachers, we will interview them and over time I will instruct them in how to treat male and female students equally. I have some experience in the field of gender—I participated in extracurricular courses in gender studies from the fall of 2003 until my graduation ion December 2006.

3.1/2 of the teachers will be female college students. They will have a chance to make money by themselves and this job can encourage them to be brave and show their abilities.

4. This schooling project will give relief to many grandmothers. Some Tibetan parents in Xining are sending their children back to their hometown to live in their grandparents' house. The grandparents, especially the grandmother, need to take care of their grandchildren. Having a good Tibetan school in Xining will relieve this burden on Tibetan women.

5. I am a female project manager. By taking part in this project, I hope to encourage female teachers and students to be confident of their abilities.

Governmental Support 
The government supports the Basba Sun school and this project. The Leader of the Basaba School already has permission from the provincial government and from the head teacher of the Technology School to start the school.   

The Steps of the Project

1. Interviewed the Tibetan parents in Xining city about taxes, expenses, income, and about their opinion of this project generally. (Completed)
2. Interviewed the Tibetan Pen Mao Cai Dan about his experience and what he needed in order to do this project. (Completed)
3. Researched some information online, such as the population and climate of Xining city. (Completed)
4. Find two classrooms. (Completed)
5. Talked to the Founder of Basba School and decided to cooperate with him. (Completed)
6. Write proposal. (Completed)
7. Receive funds.
8. Choose three teachers. (One male teacher and two female teachers.)
9. Decide the starting date and tell the Tibetan parents that we are beginning.
10. Start teaching.
11. Take photos, and collect suggestions from parents about the project.
12. Write final report.  
    
    
    Timeframe

    Day 1	Receive the funding
    Day 2	Tell the parents that we will begin the teaching and ask them to sign up
    Day 3 and 4	Begin registration
    Day 5	Buy books
    Day 6	Find two classrooms for the students.
    Day 7	Find the teachers. Tell them what we are doing and the rules that they should obey.
    Day 8	Begin teaching.

     

Detailed Budget
I went to Jiantsa Second Tibetan primary school and looked at the prices of books. I got the classroom rental fee from the Qinghai Normal University's Nationality Department. For the teachers' salaries, I went to see other programs in Xining (Vocational English Training in a Zhou Jia Quan Primary School near the train station in Xinig city with some ETP students, and Vocational English Training that in Qinghai Normal University's Nationality Department with some ETP students). Based on this Pen Mao Cai Dan and I discussed the salary. The costs of other materials and encouragement prize also came from our discussions.    

 Local Contribution= 12,000 rmb cash contribution

Total amount requested from donor: 16,954=$2,119 (in dollars)

Photos
 

These are the books that the students using now, as same as countryside Tibetan primary school students'. 

Manager Pen Mao Cai Dan is explaining the Tibetan words for students.

The other two teachers are teaching Tibetan words for the students. Many students don't know names for things in Tibetan, so it's important to teach the names and pronunciation to the students. 

 
Students answering questions and students are teaching the new words for classmates. Real Tibetan teaching style.