To educate and empower the country’s nuns, the Bhutan Nuns Foundation recently provided a ten-day capacity-building training. As agents of social change in a rapidly changing modern society, the training is expected to enable nuns to actively engage and contribute to society.
The training strengthened the capacity of nuns, particularly in leadership and management.
“We thought this kind of institution was very necessary for the nuns to empower and make them feel confident. It also gives them the leadership qualities that they already possess. But we equip them with skills on how to deliver, to give them the delivery skills. So, those are some of the things we are working on; helping them to identify and recognise their own potential,” said Dr Tashi Zangmo, the Executive Director of the Bhutan Nuns Foundation.
According to the Bhutan Nuns Foundation, nuns rarely get training opportunities due to which their knowledge remains under-utilised.
“In Bhutan, the nunneries have always been led by the monk teachers like Khenpos. And they never felt the need to manage and lead their own nunneries. At least if we can give them this skill, give the basic leadership and management kind of training, then they can feel confident that they can manage and help at least the teacher or the Khenpos,” said Dr Tashi.
“Whatever training we give, we always think about the community at large. We believe that nuns are the agents of social change and would be able to reach the unreached. Nuns and monks are very connected with the communities, example in the rural part of the nunneries, they are so connected with the communities and whatever training we give, we always give them a message to take back to the communities not only for nunneries, not only for yourself but for the communities as well,” said Namgyel Lhamo, the Programme Officer of the Bhutan Nuns Foundation.
With the training over, the nuns are now looking forward to impart their learnings to nunneries and communities.
“I have availed a lot of training from the Bhutan Nuns Foundation. I completed leadership training recently from Gelephu and it has been very helpful to me. With this training, I can impart my learnings to everyone including children, communities, and old people. I am still training hard at the moment to become a good trainer,” said Tshering Zam, one of the participants.
“Before I used to think that leaders are just someone who orders and make people work but through workshops and training, I learned that once you become a leader it is no more about being individualistic. We have to think about the community. And I also learned that being a true leader means being someone who helps and guides the trainees. A leader should help them explore their true potential,” said Sonam Choden, another participants.
Working with 30 Buddhist nunneries across the country, the Bhutan Nuns Foundation has been training nuns to become community leaders and teachers.
The Bhutan Nuns Foundation was founded in 2009 under the patronage and initiative of Her Majesty the Queen Mother Tshering Yangdoen Wangchuck. The Foundation has trained over 1,000 nuns across the country so far.
Tashi Yangden
Edited by Sonam Pem
