2022 Greeting from Ladakh
SECMOL campus building, Ladakh (credit: Wikicommons)
Ladakh is a Buddhist district in northern India. The arid region sits high on the Tibetan Plateau behind the Himalayas. Elevations average above 12,000 feet (~3700 meters). Through much of its history Ladakh was affiliated with Tibet and was a major trading route connecting Tibet, India, and elsewhere in Central Asia. In 1947 the region was split between India, Pakistan, and China.
Thikse Monastery and Shyok river, Ladakh (credit: Wikicommons)
To welcome in the New Years 2022, students at an innovative secondary school, outside Ladakh's capitol Leh, offered an international greeting to the world. The Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) was founded in 1988. Its purpose was to reform the educational system of Ladakh, particularly for students who performed poorly under the Indian educational system or who came from disadvantaged backgrounds. The school teaches practical environmental, social, and academic subjects but includes traditional Ladakhi values, culture, and history as well. The buildings are solar powered by the constant sunshine of its high mountain location. An American high school teacher called SECMOL, the coolest school in the world.
For their New Years greeting the SECMOL students, along with their instructors, crafted a video to share their hopes for 2022. They purged the old year with a dip in the adjacent river. Perhaps, others who hear their aspirations wil set their own personal and environmental goals to follow these students fine lead. A frigid swim isn't required. WHB