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A roof before winter
“We taught under a tarpaulin for a year. The children came anyway.”
Tenzin, Sumdo, Khaling valley
The Sumdo school lost its roof in a storm. Its only teacher explains why it mattered to fix it before the snow.
Tenzin has taught in Sumdo for nine years, mostly alone. The school has 74 pupils in three rooms.
The storm
The roof went in one night in March. By morning the tin sheets were in the field below and the reading room was open to the sky. Lessons moved under a tarpaulin tied between two walls.
Why the roof came first
A school without a roof closes when the snow comes, and a school that closes for a winter often does not reopen. Families send older children to work, and the youngest forget what they learned.
The repair
Timber came up by mule in September. Parents gave eleven days of labour. The Sarma Teachers' Circle found a carpenter who had built two other school roofs in the valley.
- New timber frame and tin sheets on all three rooms
- A stove in each classroom
- Shelves rebuilt in the reading room, 400 books back on them
What is still needed
One teacher for 74 pupils is not enough. The Sumdo appeal pays two more salaries for three years. Tenzin has already cleared the third room.
As told to the Wellspring field team · 20 Jun 2026
A roof before winter
“We taught under a tarpaulin for a year. The children came anyway.”
Tenzin, Sumdo, Khaling valley
The Sumdo school lost its roof in a storm. Its only teacher explains why it mattered to fix it before the snow.
Tenzin has taught in Sumdo for nine years, mostly alone. The school has 74 pupils in three rooms.
The storm
The roof went in one night in March. By morning the tin sheets were in the field below and the reading room was open to the sky. Lessons moved under a tarpaulin tied between two walls.
Why the roof came first
A school without a roof closes when the snow comes, and a school that closes for a winter often does not reopen. Families send older children to work, and the youngest forget what they learned.
The repair
Timber came up by mule in September. Parents gave eleven days of labour. The Sarma Teachers' Circle found a carpenter who had built two other school roofs in the valley.
- New timber frame and tin sheets on all three rooms
- A stove in each classroom
- Shelves rebuilt in the reading room, 400 books back on them
What is still needed
One teacher for 74 pupils is not enough. The Sumdo appeal pays two more salaries for three years. Tenzin has already cleared the third room.
As told to the Wellspring field team · 20 Jun 2026
A roof before winter
“We taught under a tarpaulin for a year. The children came anyway.”
Tenzin, Sumdo, Khaling valley
The Sumdo school lost its roof in a storm. Its only teacher explains why it mattered to fix it before the snow.
Tenzin has taught in Sumdo for nine years, mostly alone. The school has 74 pupils in three rooms.
The storm
The roof went in one night in March. By morning the tin sheets were in the field below and the reading room was open to the sky. Lessons moved under a tarpaulin tied between two walls.
Why the roof came first
A school without a roof closes when the snow comes, and a school that closes for a winter often does not reopen. Families send older children to work, and the youngest forget what they learned.
The repair
Timber came up by mule in September. Parents gave eleven days of labour. The Sarma Teachers' Circle found a carpenter who had built two other school roofs in the valley.
- New timber frame and tin sheets on all three rooms
- A stove in each classroom
- Shelves rebuilt in the reading room, 400 books back on them
What is still needed
One teacher for 74 pupils is not enough. The Sumdo appeal pays two more salaries for three years. Tenzin has already cleared the third room.
As told to the Wellspring field team · 20 Jun 2026
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Give
Turn one light on.
Choose your gift
$25 lights 3 homes for a year
2,140 homes lit since 2011 · 91¢ of every dollar goes to the field
Give
Turn one light on.
Choose your gift
$25 lights 3 homes for a year
2,140 homes lit since 2011 · 91¢ of every dollar goes to the field