New students arrive at Nagaloka for 8th year of training program

The Nagarjuna Training Institute in Nagpur, India, has just accepted their 2009 batch of new trainees – and continues to expand.

Based on the Nagaloka campus on the outskirts of India, NTI is the FWBO/TBMSG’s largest training centre in India, every year training around 80 young men and women in the basics of both Buddhism and social work. The graduates then return home, often in small groups, ready to do what they can to promote both Dhamma and social work in their area. Over 300 graduates have emerged during the 8 years the course has been running.  This year they welcomed 87 new trainees.

Students come from all over India, and this year for the first time NTI was able to accept trainees from West Bengal: they join others from Maharastra, Orissa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and many other states in an exhilarating mix of students from many Indian cultures and even languages – in fact, often, the students find their only common language is English!

Continuing the trend of the past few years, a sizeable proportion of the students are women – no less than 24 this year.

Back in the UK, Shakyajata has launched an appeal to support Nagaloka’s graduates in their Dhamma and social projects post-graduation. She writes –

“Now, with much increased self-confidence, fluency, and determination, they are setting out on the next phase of self-sufficiency for themselves, their families, and communities. At this crucial stage, they still need help to launch the projects that will make a huge difference to the future of India; giving dignity and unlocking human potential among thousands of poor people”.

On her fundraising webpage at www.justgiving.com/nagalokafutures you can read more about some of the projects they will be initiating after graduation.  If you'd like to support the course itself they have a second page at www.justgiving.com/nagaloka.