My dear friends,
Twenty-five years ago, in a quiet room in Concord, Massachusetts, I spoke publicly for the first time about love and compassion in action. I didn’t know then how far those words would travel, or how many lives they would touch—including my own. I simply knew this: that love and compassion were not ideas. They were necessities. Not luxuries we could afford when life was easy, but the very ground we must walk on—especially when life is hard.
Today, as I look back on these first 25 years of the Jhamtse mission, I am filled with humility and awe, thanks to you. What began as a whisper of a dream—a garden for unwanted children in the Himalayas—has blossomed into a living, breathing community of healing, learning, and joyful service. Jhamtse Gatsal has become a sanctuary not only for the children who call it home, but for all of us who believe in a better way of being human together.
We have raised children who were once rejected by the world and watched them become healers of that same world. We have created a model of education rooted in love, compassion, and purpose, and we have seen it ripple outward—into schools, into systems, into hearts.
But the truth is, this is only the beginning.
As we look ahead to the year 2050, we do so with great humility for what we cannot yet see—and great courage to imagine it anyway, thanks to you.
We imagine a world where the Jhamtse way has quietly transformed how we raise our children, how we educate our youth, and how we care for one another. We imagine our graduates not only succeeding in life, but changing it—bringing compassion into classrooms, hospitals, governments, businesses, and homes.
We see Jhamtse Gatsal continuing to thrive as a model community—a place where trauma is met with tenderness, where every child feels seen and needed, and where joy and responsibility live side by side. We see more communities like it—formed not from replication, but from resonance. Because what we practice here is not a system. It is a way of seeing, a way of loving, a way of being.
We see Jhamtse in the faces of children who are learning to believe in their own goodness. In the tears of parents who never thought healing was possible. In the steady hands of those who choose kindness, again and again, when fear or anger would be easier.
We do not pretend to know the future. But we do know the power of a single act of compassion. We have seen how one loving choice can ripple across generations, again thanks to you.
And so, with humility in our hearts and a vision in our hands, we walk forward. We walk knowing that we are not alone. We walk with you—our extended Jhamtse family—who have believed in this dream, nurtured it, and made it your own.
Because of you, the seeds of love and compassion planted 25 years ago have taken root.
Because of you, we know that the next 25 years hold even greater promise.
Because of you, we dare to imagine a world where compassion is not a rare gift, but the very soul of humanity.From the deepest place in our hearts: Thank you.
Thank you for believing.
Thank you for walking with us.
Thank you for helping the garden of Jhamtse bloom — within all of us.Together, we are growing something the world is yearning for. A reminder that every human being is worthy. That every life has meaning. That compassion is not weak—it is the most powerful force we have.
By 2050, may this message be rooted not just in one community, but in the soul of humanity itself.
With all my love and deepest gratitude,
Lobsang Phuntsok
Founder, Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community
