Jigmet P.

Jigmet Palmo hails from the remote Largyab village near the India-Pakistan border of Nubra Valley, Ladakh. Her parents

separated when she was six and have both re-married since. Her father, who was a severe alcoholic, and her stepmother

do not keep any contact with Jigmet. Jigmets’s step-father also turned out to be an alcoholic and abusive man

and made home life extremely difficult and toxic for Jigmet and her mother. Jigmet was raised primarily by her mother,

maternal grandparents, and aunt. The step-father eventually walked out one day and is no longer a part of the family.

Jigmet’s mother’s household income to this day is dependent on subsistence farming and animal grazing. Since food

secure and childcare was a problem, Jigmet sufferend from a lot of neglect. When she was eight years old, her

grandfather sent her off to Leh to live and work in a local family’s house. Some of these “foster” families were polite to

Jigmet, while some were quite aggressive and abusive. With each of these families, Jigmet was responsible for doing

majority of their domestic and agricultural work, while attending the local govt. school. The govt. schools have little

accountability, and the academics is not strong.

Over the course of 10 years, she went through living with multiple foster families. In 2017, her then foster family placed

Jigmet at the Lion’s Club Boarding facility in Leh, while she attended a local government middle school.

Jigmet came to Amrita-Seattle in 2016, and we immediately knew that she needed an institution that provided quality

education so that she can fully realize her true potential. Jigmet was then whisked away from Govt. school and enrolled

at the locally reputed private school: Lamdon Model Senior Secondary School in 7th grade. We decided that she would

continue to stay at the Lion’s Club Boarding Facility and attend her new school.

Transitioning from govt. school to a private school is no easy task! The rigor, mode of instruction, social fabric, and vibes

are COMPLETELY different from what she was used to. But Jigmet was a tough cookie! She worked extremely hard and

thrived through middle and high school. Academically, she consistently performed well. All her teachers mentioned that

she was a very hard working and diligent student.

Jigmet’s passion and talent for sports and outdoor activity led her to securing first place at multiple Ladakh marathons,

and races. In January 2020, Jigmet attended an intense 2-week mountaineering course at the prestigious Himalayan

Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling, W.Bengal and secured two gold medals!

In 2020 spring, when Lions Club Boarding closed down due to COVID, we brought Jigmet to our brand-new children’s

Residential Home, so that she does not have to return to the foster family and engage in domestic labor, and can focus

on onboarding herself with online learning and live in a safe and isolated environment.

After clearing her 10th Boards in 2022 spring, Jigmet aspired to become an army officer. She applied for army schools

where she can complete her 11th and 12th grade while simultaneously receiving coaching and physical training to crack

the standardized exams and PT tests for army officer positions. So, in June 2022 Jigmet took a bold decision to step out

of Ladakh (for the very first time!) and transfer to the Doon Defense Dreamers Academy in Dehradoon.

Currently, she is thriving in her new school. Last month, she won first place at the marathon in Dehradoon! Classses, army training, exam coaching, and tutoring is keeping her extremely busy. Our educators are in close contact with her,

and reports that she is truly enjoying her experience in Dehradoon, although it is quite intense!