GNH in action

A few students in the capital, who lived within walking distance from school, but would rather have their parents chauffeur them to school in a car, have now begun walking.



Some have started picking up rubbish they find along the way and throwing them in a bin and stopped carrying plastic bags to schools.



Many others are insisting their friends and family members join them in a daily five-minute meditation and mindfulness session every morning and evening.



These were some of the initiatives, 16 class 12 students from various schools in Thimphu informed the prime minister about when they were asked what they understood and observed from the GNH workshops and the initiatives they took in their respective schools.



Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley had an almost two-hour meeting with the students in his office yesterday, the first of its kind. The 16 high school students had participated in the educating for GNH workshops since December 2009 as members and observers.



Education secretary Sangay Zam and Dasho Karma Ura of the centre for Bhutan studies (CBS) also attended the meeting.



Tshewang Gyaltshen, a student of Yangchenphu higher secondary school (YHSS), said the GNH initiative brought numerous positive changes in schools. "Traffic at the Lungtenzampa and Yangchenphug schools have eased, with an increasing number of students walking to and from school," he said, adding that they realised the good it would do to their health and also decrease carbon emissions.



Tashi Wangmo of Nima HSS said she has initiated a meditation cum breathing exercise, which she had learnt during the GNH workshops, for all class 12 students with permission from her principal.



Most schools around the country have also started meditation sessions. "I tell my friends that meditation doesn't necessarily mean that someone has to be religious. It's about training your mind, gaining focus and staying calm," Dorji Tshomo Tshering of YHSS said.



Some of these students said their GNH initiatives also brought about positive changes in principals and teachers. Some teachers have stopped "chewing doma in school".



Tshering Choden of Motithang HSS said she learnt that serving her parents, respecting them and seeing them happy was GNH. Yeshey Choden of YHSS said she understood the concept of community vitality that GNH emphasised, as a result of which, she has begun visiting her relatives during weekends to keep the family bond alive and rooted.



All the while, the prime minister was making a note of whatever the students said.



Rohit Adhikari of Yangchenphug HSS said even parents needed to understand GNH so they would consciously instil GNH principles in their children. "Home is where most learning takes place," he said.



Lyonchhoen, who was encouraged by the students' initiatives, said that, as student leaders, the 16 students had "correctly and hearteningly taken over the responsibilities of transforming our education system," by helping the teachers, principals, community and policy makers.



"When you pick up a sweet wrapper and put it in the litter box, I assure you, you are impacting on society," Lyonchhoen explained. "I think the journey has begun."
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