Caroline Maby is a certified art therapist and an accredited member of the French syndicate of art therapists. Caroline has experience working with social and mental health issues and using art therapy to treat children. She is the founder of Elovution, aimed at supporting the most vulnerable people with art therapy, offering art therapy training to the professionals working with these people. Caroline is a sponsor of Tenzin L.

During winter 2021, as in many Western countries, France was placed under another Covid lockdown and subjected to many restrictions. In my region of Brittany, the weather was cold, grey, and stormy. At the time of Losar (the Tibetan new year celebration in February), I was given the opportunity to watch ‘Tashi and the Monk’ (a documentary film about Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community in Arunachal Pradesh, India) for the very first time. From my comfy couch with my cat, I was looking forward to making a beautiful voyage on the edge of the Himalayas. It turned out far differently.

When I first met little Tashi through the screen, hundreds of little faces and broken hearts of the children that I had worked with worldwide using art therapy popped up in my mind. Their names, their particular stories, the lovely different colors of skin, and their very unique smiles... their stunning drawings and resilience: all of this came back at once, in a heartbeat. At this moment, I felt the absolute urge to fill my suitcase with soft pastels and fly back to the field to meet other "little Tashis" dealing with difficult emotional challenges in remote areas.

My aspiration to support children at risk and my love for art therapy that I had to abandon a few years ago remained completely intact, and it just took this contact with the film to re-awaken it. This renewed and choiceless yearning made sense: I was able again to support these suffering children and help the staff caring for them on a daily basis.

As a direct consequence of this sudden realization, all of my body, speech, and mind happily conspired to deliver this clear message: “You are healed.” For years, I had never consciously acknowledged that whatever had been diagnosed as Multiple Sclerosis was overcome. The time was now here. I pushed play again… and continued to watch this outstanding documentary. During decades of practice, I have been expecting – and to be honest, more and more witnessing – the emergence of Buddhist culture and values in different fields: Healthcare, Art, Business, Education, Ecology…

The model founded in Arunachal Pradesh appeared to be one of the most advanced eco-systems I am aware of that so completely embodies this vision. A fulfilled aspiration based on ethics, solidarity, love, and compassion is not some imagined utopia. It exists in this world and is named Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community.

I feel infinite gratitude towards Lobsang Phuntsok, the Jhamtse Gatsal Board and team, and Tashi and all her sisters and brothers… not only for having driven me to profound personal insights but especially for manifesting in this reality such a beautiful and inspirational mandala. May it become just one point of a whole hologram tuning our planet with a new frequency.

Why I Support Jhamtse Gatsal