September 2008Potrero Hill Toddler Ewan Pedersen Visits Tibetan SchoolBy Heather WagenfeldPotrero Hill residents Ewan Pedersen, three and a half years old, and his dad Liam recently returned from Tibet, where Ewan’s grandmother, Charlotte, currently lives. Under Charlotte’s guidance the two spent a couple of weeks exploring the country, seeing and experiencing how Tibetans live. Charlotte teaches English at a Tibetan high school. With funding from nongovernmental organizations – particularly The Bridge Fund, www.bridgefund.org – she’s established English training programs for academically gifted teenagers and young adults. Charlotte is also raising funds to restore monasteries, village water works, and provide much needed items for schools. Liam and Ewan were part of a group led by Charlotte that delivered beds and quilts to a school for Nomadic children, who live in mountainous villages and whose families engage in subsistence farming and nomadic herding. Two hundred clapping people lined the street as the group arrived, welcoming them in gratitude. Ewan drew plenty of attention throughout the trip; a young Western child is a rarity in rural China and Tibet. He made friends easily with other children, but at times was possessive about his dad, who at 6 foot 5 inches attracted much attention himself! Liam said it was one of the most moving and culturally enriching experiences of his life. Equally, it reminded him how grateful Westerners should be for publicly-provided education. Ewan started preschool at Potrero Kids at Daniel Webster this month. |
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