Bhutan Nuns Foundation

The goals of BNF include ensuring that each nunnery maintains adequate, healthy living conditions, provides a practical, useful education for girls and women, and achieves economic self-sufficiency.  Because the nuns are such an important part of Bhutanese society, these efforts will enhance the economic vitality of local villages and help to preserve Bhutanese culture.  Supporting nunneries as a means of enhancing larger society has the potential to be an important component of Gross National Happiness – Bhutan’s unique development and cultural preservation program.

The Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life and education of all Buddhist nuns throughout the country regardless of sectarian difference.  This work strongly supports the GNH goals promulgated by His Majesty the King of Bhutan and enshrined in the national vision.  

The Foundation will seek to achieve the following objectives by 2012:

• Create a national accredited higher education institution, a shedra (college) for nuns belonging to all Buddhist schools/traditions.  This institution will also serve as a center for training nun teachers.
• Improve the basic living conditions of teachers and nun students by ensuring adequate physical infrastructure that meet certain minimum standards.
• Ensure that the interests of nuns are taken into account by government and non-governmental organizations when developing and investing in programs related to women’s empowerment, literacy and participation.
• Provide educational support to grassroots women and young girls who wish to become nuns and to nuns who wish to pursue higher education.
• Support Bhutan’s agenda for attaining Education for All by 2012 and achieving the GNH goals.
• Create a realistic path to reach under-privileged nuns and grassroots women in Bhutan by supporting the development of equitable programs in education and micro-enterprise initiatives.
• Facilitate coordination and collaboration among nunneries inside and outside of Bhutan, for the purpose of ensuring strong network and capacity building.
• Support self-sufficiency of nuns and nunneries by developing and strengthening networks among nuns, grassroots women, businesses and other organizations in Bhutan.
• Build and strengthen capacityof nunneries to support local communities.
• Establish facilities for short term retreats and short term spiritual experience for lay people.
• Make pursuit of spirituality and spiritual nourishment of society less arduous, convenient and accessible.