The monks of the Dechen Phodrang Monastic School will no longer have to sleep on the floor. The school received its first shipment of 50 bunk beds, yesterday, thanks to two Dutch students.
Until yesterday, no students at the Dechen Phodrang monastic school owned a bed. They slept on mats on the floor in a cramped manner. The students, therefore, lacked personal hygiene and were prone to skin diseases.
The beds worth Nu.500,000 have been donated by two teenage Dutch students, who have been living in Bhutan for at least a year now with their parents. Zoe and Dante are aged seven and nine.
The siblings said they raised the money for the beds by organising 
a sponsored walk in Amsterdam in July this year, where 300 students from their former school took part.
“The idea of donating bed was a very interesting concept. Half of the fund was raised through organizing walk and remaining was helped by families and friends,” said Zoe.
Zoe adds that she would like to organise similar campaigns in the future.
Of the 108 committed beds, 50 were officially handed over to the school, yesterday, in the presence of the Tsula Lopen, the Secretary of the Dratsang Lhentshog and the sponsors. The remaining beds will be delivered within a month.
The 108 beds are expected to accommodate 216 students. The Dechen Phodrang Monastic School is currently home to 300 monks including the Principal and 17 teachers. Being among the oldest monastic schools, Dechen Phodrang still lacks several basic necessities, such as filtered drinking water and even pencil and paper for classes.
