Kunzang D.

Kunzang Dorjey is a bright and shy kid, who loves to build legos and tinker with machinery. Kunznag hails from an utmost remote region of Ladakh’s- Changthang Mudh Village. Kunzang has two younger sisters. His parents come from purely nomadic backgrounds. In fact, his grandparents and relatives still lead a nomadic life in the Himalayan wilderness. Kunzang’s father works long hours as a coolie in road construction in remote eastern Ladakh, near the India-China border. Previously he used to work as a waiter in a local dhaba (roadside eatery) in Leh city. Due to the low income, Kunzang’s father quit his job as a waiter, and joined as a laborer to do the extremely difficult work of road construction in remote Himalayan villages. In such remote regions, all construction work is done by hand, even in the jaw-dropping -25oC winter temperatures.

Kunzang’s mother is a home maker with health conditions that arose while working in the harsh environment as a road worker. The family struggles economically to provide Kunzang with a good education. Kunzang has been in Amrita-Seattle’s Scholarship program for the past seven years.