Thank you Acho

I grew up in a farm. When I say farm, it is not as in the context of a farm in the developed western countries. Bhutan is a small country, landlocked between India and China. More than 70% of our people depend on agriculture -- the subsistence farming.

I was born into a couple who made their living from subsistence farming. I was born as the youngest of the seven children. My elder brothers and sisters had to go through hardship: helping our father cut wood, get firewood, sell fruits, etc. But I being the youngest didn't have to go through all this hardship they did.

My eldest brother, who did not get to go to school, saw education as a very important tool to live in the world that was changing fast. My second elder brother did not get to go to school either. But both of them looked for opportunities to learn to read and write and thus, on their own interest and effort, they did learn to read and write. And then one day, my eldest brother helped him run away from home to the capital where he got an opportunity to go to school.

Likewise, he encouraged us, convinced our parents to send four of us to school. I'm here today because of him. Even today, we respect and look upon him like our father. He guided us all through and we are today living on our own feet, because of him. Thank you acho for seeing beyond your age and thinking of us like your own children.

//A frail attempt to write an article paying gratitude to my eldest brother for sending me and other three siblings to school.