After his mother died, 13-year-old, Sopa lived with his father in a remote village in Zanskar in the Indian Himalayas. Like many in their community, they struggled to survive.
Sopa and his father often went to bed hungry and slept on exposed dirt, in an unlit room with a broken window that let in the freezing cold, wind and snow. His father could rarely afford fuel for heating.
The Zanskar region in Ladakh is known for its brutal winters. For 6 months a year, Sopa’s village endures one of the world’s harshest climates. Snow blocks roads and high mountain passes, and temperatures fall below -20 °C.
This isolation has preserved a unique culture. But it also means communities lack access to education and health care. In a region where the growing season lasts only 4 months, low-income families suffer from malnutrition. Many are destitute.
Although the government invests in schools, parts of Ladakh are considered hardship postings, making it difficult to attract qualified teachers to remote villages like Sopa’s. Many local classrooms are empty or abandoned.
With the nearest school a 4 hour walk and few local hostels, Sopa’s only hope of an education was to board. But his father had no income. He dried cow dung on a rock face to earn the equivalent of a few cents to buy his only son a pencil and notebook.
Sopa’s life was transformed when Lille Fro sponsored him to board at a hostel in Leh and attend a local school. It also donated a greenhouse to the village, so fresh vegetables could grow year-round and generate a sustainable income for his community. Today, Sopa is a proud college graduate.
