Celebrate the Tibetan New Year of the Earth Dog

Losar, the Tibetan New Year, is celebrated all over the Himalayas. It’s 2145 in the Tibetan calendar, the year of the Earth Dog, which represents loyalty, protection, and friendship. Chime Dolma and Rinchen Dolma from YindaYin Coaching Center in Jackson Heights, Queens, will demonstrate how Losar is celebrated in Tibet and share their vision for the future of education in New York’s Tibetan refugee community. Children from the YindaYin School will perform a traditional Tibetan dance to ring in the year.

This program is co-presented with the YindaYin Coaching Center.

About the Speakers

YindaYin Coaching Center is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in New York. It was founded by Ms. Chime Dolma and Tashi Tenzin, who believe in revolutionizing the current education system in this country; their mission is to reduce education inequality by pushing for programs that provide equitable access to education for all, including the children of immigrant communities in Queens, New York. YindaYin Coaching has been primarily serving children of Tibetan refugees and immigrants in New York and New Jersey since 2015. The center is strategically located in Jackson Heights, a subsection of Queens with one of the densest Tibetan populations as well as a diverse population of other immigrant communities. YindaYin is committed to high-quality education, workshops, mentorship, and networking opportunities for underserved immigrant communities in Queens. The center offers classes for students from three years of age to high school seniors, in subjects such as Tibetan, Mandarin, English, Mathematics, Tibetan Music, and an intensive SAT prep course. YindaYin also organizes weekly events such as workshops to educate parents about the complex education system, as well as “Kick Back Fridays,” in which guest speakers are invited to discuss community and global issues.

Rinchen Dolma is the Director of YindaYin Coaching Center. She was born into an agricultural family in Amdo Ngawa, Tibet, and is one of the first members of her family to attend school. Her family sent her to India at the age of ten in search of a better education and future. In 2010, she received a full scholarship to study at the United World College in Norway. Upon completing her UWC education, she continued her education at Duke University in North Carolina, where received the Davis Scholarship and Johansson International Scholarship.

Chime Dolma was born into a nomadic family in Kham Lithang, Tibet. She moved to India in search of educational opportunities, and a year later she landed in a tough neighborhood in Brooklyn with no English language skills and little formal education. She excelled in high school, graduating with top honors and receiving the Gates Millennium Scholarship. She attended Middlebury College and went on to obtain a Master’s in Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College. She is currently a faculty member in the history department of Riverdale Country Day School, a prestigious private school in Manhattan. She is the president and co-founder of YindaYin Coaching.