By Justin Kelley, Executive Director, Tergar Schools
Nepal is the heart centre of our project. It is also the heart centre of Mingyur Rinpoche’s mandala.
I have been coming to Nepal for many years, and again and again, I return to the same reflection: Why Nepal? Why does this land carry such importance for our work?
September 8 made the answer visible once more, though in a heartbreaking way.
The Tragedy of September 8
On that day, young people across Nepal, frustrated by long-standing social and economic challenges, took to the streets.
What followed was devastating. In the face of a peaceful demonstration, the response turned violent, resulting in a tragic loss of life and hundreds of injuries. This brought an unimaginable hardship to many families and communities
The challenges behind September 8 are not yet resolved, and it will take time to find steadiness again. But in walking through this struggle, we are seeing together what truly sustains us.
Lessons in Resilience from Nepal
During this tragic occurrence, and the days since, the Nepali people stepped forward with a blend of dignity and care. They helped each other pick up the pieces. They leaned on each other and listened. They stood in solidarity.
This is the resilience of the Nepali people. It is not loud or self-congratulatory. It lives in quiet acts of generosity and in the willingness to keep showing up for one another. Even in a tragedy like this, it shines through.
Why This Matters for Tergar Schools
This resilience is why Nepal is the heart centre of our project. It is also why Nepal is the right place to begin building a new model of education. It is ripe for impact but also has so much to offer.
Western education often frames resilience as a skill to be taught, and in many ways it is. In Nepal, however, resilience is not taught: it is lived. It grows out of space, out of reflection, out of simply being together in hardship without turning away. This way of living is deeply aligned with Mingyur Rinpoche’s teachings and is at the core of what we want Tergar Schools to embody.
Right now, Nepal is not an easy place to build a school. The country faces many challenges; the work here demands patience and persistence. But these very challenges reveal something essential: even in hardship, the ground of awareness, love, compassion, wisdom, and joy remain.
Life Skills for a Different Future
At Tergar Schools, we see education as a living exchange with our community in Nepal. The resilience and creativity we share in meeting hardship continually guide the way our model of learning grows. What we practice together, strength, adaptability, and compassion, are the very life skills we want to cultivate in every child.
These are not abstract ideals but lived experiences. We learn daily how to steady ourselves in turmoil, how to hold space with care before reacting, and how to move forward with openness and imagination. These lessons form the fabric of our educational model and our school.
In this way, resilience, compassion, and joy are not separate from education: they are its essence. They ground us, connect us, and make learning meaningful for all of us.
Honoring the Heart
It is a privilege to stand alongside this community, where resilience, care, and open-heartedness shape the ground of our work and radiate outward as a gift to the world.
Nepal is at the heart of our vision. And from this heart, something new in education is growing: something rooted in awareness, love, compassion, wisdom, and joy. From the quiet strength that the Nepali people are showing in the face of tragedy, we move forward. Together.
