125th Birthday fun run 🏃♂️Can you help our sponsored children raise money for a great cause?If you met someone who had never heard of Dr Graham’s Homes and wanted to explain why it’s such a special place, you could simply point them to Tshering Tobgay.
Currently the Prime Minister of Bhutan and a highly-respected political figure on the world stage, Tobgay has also been vocal about his affection for DGH, where he studied from 1971 to 1981.
Last October, at a major summit in New Delhi, he said the Homes had influenced him more than his time at prestigious American universities. “What moulded me to serve my king, my country and my people [was] not Pittsburgh and Harvard, but Dr Graham’s Homes in Kalimpong,” he explained.
Now Tobgay has gone into detail about just how and why the school had such an impact on him. Enlightened Leadership, a book he has written about Bhutan’s transition from monarchy to democracy, opens with a chapter on his time at the Homes.
It’s a fascinating read, detailing how DGH helped Tobgay transform himself from a shy child who often felt “inadequate” into a self-confident young man who would, one day, lead his nation. As such, it’s also a brilliant advert for the school’s continuing ability to mould the future and transform young lives - including those of our sponsored children!
Here, courtesy of publisher Penguin Random House, are some DGH-related stories and recollections from the book:
Why Tshering Tobgay went to Dr Graham’s Homes
“It was the early 1970s, and Bhutan lacked schools. In an effort to encourage free education for all its people, the Bhutanese government sent hundreds of Bhutanese children to study in the schools located in the hill stations of India, particularly around the Darjeeling region. I was one of those children, and I was sent to Dr Graham's Homes, where I would spend eleven years.”
In the early days, he lacked self-confidence
“My mother told me later that when I had left Bhutan for school, she was extremely concerned because I had barely learned to chew and was still sucking on my food. I must have developed slowly, and this was probably one of the reasons why I often felt inadequate […] Looking back, I realise [...] I was private and introverted because I lacked confidence.”
In fact he sometimes wished he was invisible…
“In contrast to my social butterfly brother [Singye Dorji, who also attended DGH], I was pretty much a loner for the first few years at Dr Graham's Homes. I preferred my books to friends and alone time to football time. Rather than being lonely, I relished being alone and away from people, to the point I wished I was invisible.”
...and tended to avoid responsibility
“Many Bhutanese excel in football, basketball, athletics, and swimming. But I refused to participate in any of these, unless it was compulsory. As a result, I never won a single certificate or award for such activities. Beyond physical activities, in my early years at school, I never took up responsibilities such as being class captain or monitor. If I could avoid people, I would. That is hardly a good start for a politician, but I am living proof that people can change and grow later in life.”
I relished being alone and away from people, to the point I wished I was invisible.
His turning point was an essay about a mongoose!
“In grade four, our English teacher read us Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a story of a brave mongoose who defends his human family from a cobra. I enjoyed the story as well as our next assignment – recounting it in an essay – thoroughly. To my surprise, I won first prize for it, and it was the first time I had ever won an award in my life. This filled me with a new confidence I have never experienced before, and the sense I could manage whatever school threw at me.”
He soon began to excel in his studies
“Since that moment, I paid more attention in class and pored over my studies. From someone who preferred the safety of invisibility, I gradually became one of the top students. I was in tenth place in grade five, and in the top three in grade six. I put my entire heart into my academic performance and topped the class in grade seven. People started calling me 'mugpot', but it never put me off. I do not say this to boast, only to point out what's possible when you discover something worth doing with all your heart.”
In his spare time, he dissected frogs
“The teachers at Dr Graham's Homes were always kind to and supportive of me. My biology teacher even invited me to the biology lab on weekends to dissect frogs. I had told him that I wanted to be a doctor, and he kindly offered to show me how to examine and identify the nervous system of the amphibian, something that was outside of my curriculum. Dissecting frogs when my classmates were having fun or dating sounds geeky or just not what children might be doing in their leisure time, but it did make me feel special. I felt important and capable, and thoroughly enjoyed my studies as I maintained my class position.”
He was nurtured by the school’s Uncles & Aunties
“We had wardens whom we called 'aunties' and 'uncles', who would look after us. Each one was in charge of thirty children between the ages of five and fifteen. They were much more than just school staff – they were surrogate parents to us, many of whom were orphans experiencing care from an adult for the first time. We were really like a family, with the wardens caring for our every need, from our hygiene to homework and food (even if we were always hungry). Their care even extended to counselling us, when we needed it. They looked after us as if we were their own children.”
We were really like a family, with the wardens caring for our every need... They looked after us as if we were their own children.
Acting in school plays boosted his confidence
“It was also in my early years at school that I discovered a new passion: drama. I was given a role in a play called Romany Roff and got comfortable speaking on stage quite quickly. I put my thespian talents to great use and participated in a few more plays, thereafter, even acting in a Shakespeare play [...] Although I was a young adolescent with very few friends and even less confidence, somehow drama managed to open up a different side of me. It was my safe haven, the only time when I felt I was finally adequate.”
He still believes in the power of drama
“I have always believed in the power and importance of drama. It helps cultivate the mind and confidence, especially in children who, like me, are shy, introverted and have difficulty coming out of their shells [...] It also provided a good foundation for public speaking without the anxiety and fear that often comes with it. (Those who know me as a TED speaker might be surprised to learn I still feel stage fright even today!)”
…and has introduced Shakespeare to schools in Bhutan
“During my tenure as prime minister, we reintroduced Shakespeare as part of the curriculum of Bhutan's schools, so that children may benefit from participating in drama, which had been losing its importance in schools for many years. To kick things off, I even participated by performing a monologue as Shylock from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, and also took part in slam poetry to appeal to the youth. For three months in 2017, fifty schools came to Thimphu and each staged a play every day at the first fifty-days-long National Drama Festival.”
Drama managed to open up a different side of me. It was my safe haven, the only time when I felt I was finally adequate.
He once delivered a sermon to the other pupils
“I [...] preached about honesty. While I have long forgotten what I said that day, I do remember ending my speech with a quote by the French philosopher Michel de Montaigne: 'A liar would be brave toward God, while he is a coward toward men.' I repeated this last line for dramatic effect. I have forgotten the rest of the sermon, but the powerful message in this line has served me well. Deception is effectively shaking your fist at all-knowing divinity, while simultaneously being too afraid of your fellow human beings to be honest with them.”
He was also asked to serve as a Prefect
“Prefects in my school were somewhat like class monitors or school captains. There were about a dozen prefects, and they were given extra responsibilities along with being groomed for leadership. The teachers probably saw that I took my responsibilities seriously, topped my classes, did well in drama, and never got into trouble. This appointment helped further boost my confidence, which had slowly started to increase over the years.”
The Homes became his “second home”
“Despite missing my parents and longing to be at home in Bhutan, my time at Dr Graham's Homes was one of the best memories I have of my childhood. This was not just a boarding school; it was a second home, a place that shaped my memories, instilled invaluable skills, and honed the leadership qualities that would serve me later in life.”
DGH is a great training ground for future leaders
“Many Dr Graham's Homes' alumni have gone on to hold significant positions in Bhutan's government. These have included the first democratically-elected prime minister, Jigme Y Thinley; Chief Justice Sonam Tobgye, who was the chairperson of the drafting committee of the Constitution; his successor as Chief Justice Tshering Wangchuk; and me, the first opposition leader and eventual prime minister. A coincidence? I think not!”
My time at Dr Graham's Homes was one of the best memories I have of my childhood. This was not just a boarding school - it was a second home.
125th Birthday fun run 🏃♂️Can you help our sponsored children raise money for a great cause?
