Machik Khelen Fund

Machik Khelen Fund (MKF)

Name Meaning: "Khelen" (k-ay-len) means "promise"

Purpose: Need-based grants to rural Tibetan students for post-secondary education

Geographic Scope: Primarily Chungba region; rural Tibetan communities

Target Population:

• Rural Tibetan students pursuing post-secondary education
• First cohort began with Chungba Primary School graduates from 2014
• Focus on educational attainment gap in rural regions
• Especially supports girls and young women

Background:

• Fulfills promise to parents and children of Chungba to invest in education for community transformation
• Addresses educational attainment gap: typically less than 3% of poor rural students who start first grade enroll in university
• In 2014, 38 of original 210 Chungba students (18%) enrolled in university
• "Khelen" represents promise young Tibetans make to return as professionals, medical workers, teachers, and leaders

Support Provided:

• Need-based grants for post-secondary education
• Educational and career counseling
• Networking opportunities
• Annual summits for each class of Khelen Fund recipients
• Mentoring and role modeling for next generation

Impact:

• Many MKF graduates are now teachers in Chungba and other counties/prefectures in Tibet
• Winners of teaching awards noted for dedication to students and profession
• Serving as pioneering role models and mentors for next generation of rural Tibetan students
• First students of Chungba Primary School now ensuring Tibetan language education for future generations

Notable Scholar:

• Chime Lhamo: First student from Litang County to place first on college entrance exams across Tibetan-language schools in region of nearly 1.5 million Tibetans (Ganzi and Ngawa Prefectures); accepted to prestigious Central University for Nationalities (CUN) in Beijing; graduated with honors with Bachelor of Law (LLB) in 2018; gained scholarship for Master of Law (LLM)

Contact:
Machik, 1203 K Street NW, Washington DC, USA, 20005 | [email protected] | www.machik.org