Remote Himalayan villages are far from San Diego but strong in the minds of 25 La Jolla High School students who plan to travel there to help build a much-needed school.
The Sister School Club of La Jolla first established a relationship with the villagers through letters and photos, and later began a partnership of trade.
The villagers agreed to sell their original paintings, called thangkas, if the students would find a market for them. All proceeds will fund the new school.
Thangkas are a window into the culture and beliefs of the Nepalese. Some paintings are sacred pieces by monks, others depict the Himalayan landscape, and some represent values of compassion and selflessness.
Thangkas will be on sale from July 21 through 27 at venues throughout San Diego.
Nepalese Hari Dawadi understands the importance of education. His parents died when he was young and he was raised by his grandmother in a farming village without the opportunity of education.
After his grandmother passed away, the villagers realized that Dawadi was brighter than average and decided to send him to boarding school in the city. Dawadi now runs a business with more than 100 employees in Nepal, but he has never forgotten his roots and impact of his schooling. Dawadi will speak about life in the village at the art exhibits.
After raising money for the school, the club members will continue fund-raising for the $2,000 needed for each to make a trip to the Himalayas. The students will trek and camp for three days before reaching the village.
The project isn’t charity, though, emphasized parent Ron Plotkin, whose 16-year-old daughter Melia started the Sister School Club at La Jolla one year ago. It’s a partnership in which the Nepalese provide the artwork to fund their own school, and high school students gain perspective of their own lives and privileges.
“When the structure eventually gets built, [Nepalese] women will look at the building and say, ‘I helped build that because I sewed, weaved and painted,'” Plotkin said. “Men will feel the same “” they will build the school.”
Melia first became interested in developing countries when she visited Africa with her family four years ago, Ron explained. The Plotkins are active mountaineers and, at the age of 12, Melia may be one of the youngest to have climbed the 19,340-feet Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Thangkas will be for sale on July 21, from 5 to 10 p.m., at George’s At the Cove, 1250 Prospect St.; at Jack’s La Jolla, 7863 Girard Ave., from 4 to 10 p.m.; at Images of Nature, 7916 Girard Ave., from 3 to 9 p.m., and at The Living Room, 1010 Prospect St., from 2 to 10 p.m. Travis Parker. 7843 Girard Ave., No. C, will also sell the art on July 23 from 4 to 8 p.m.
For more information about exhibits throughout San Diego, call (858) 945-3220 or visit www.sisterschoolsofsandiego.org.