Tibetan New Year Celebration: Year of the Earth Pig

Losar, the Tibetan New Year, is celebrated all over the Himalayas. It’s 2146 in the Tibetan calendar, the year of the Earth Pig. People born in Earth Pig years are organized, happy, relaxed by nature, and unaffected by criticism.

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 traditional Tibetan dance in spectacular costumes to ring in the year.

This program is co presented with the YindaYin Coaching Center.

About the Presenters

YindaYin Coaching is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in the State of New York. “YindaYin” literally translates to “yes, of course!” in the Tibetan language. YindaYin Coaching is the result of countless discussions between founders Chime Dolma and Tashi Tenzin. Influenced by their experience as educators, they are passionate about empowering young people through education and mentorship. YindaYin Coaching is open to all families living in New York City, but it has its roots in serving the refugee/ immigrant community of Queens.

As immigrants themselves, the founders have worked closely with Tibetan immigrants and refugees in Queens and have therefore witnessed the challenges they face. They hope to provide a platform that can help children of immigrant families take full advantage of the opportunities that the educational system offers in America. That is why YindaYin Coaching Center is strategically located in Jackson Heights, a subsection of Queens with one of the densest Tibetan populations as well as a other diverse immigrant communities. Students are encouraged to embrace the diversity of their community and learn to respect people from all backgrounds. Fostering diversity and compassion in future generation is a key element of YindaYins’s program, equal to achieving academic excellence.

Rinchen Tara is the Center Director of YindaYin Coaching. She obtained her B.A from Duke University in International Comparative Studies and will begin her M.A. in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University in 2019. Rinchen was born into a semi-farming family in Tibet and is one of the first children in her region to attend school, let alone university. She believes that education should not be taken for granted, and she hopes to impart that respect for knowledge to her students.

Chime Dolma is the President and Co-founder of YindaYin Coaching. She holds a M.A. in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University and a B.A. in Political Science and Chinese Language from Middlebury College. She is currently the Assistant Director of Service Learning and a faculty member in the History and Global Studies Department at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx. Chime Dolma grew up in Tibet as an illiterate nomadic yak herder before leaving behind her family to pursue a chance at education in India. She immigrated to the United States, and despite experiencing hardships she was the recipient of several notable scholarships. She is regularly invited to speak at various venues on education policy and her unique experience.