MRS. JETSUN PEMA was born in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, on July 7, 1940. She came to India in 1950 and studied first at St. Joseph's Convent in Kalimpong and later at Loreto Convent in Darjeeling from where she completed her Senior Cambridge in 1960. In 1961, she went to Switzerland and then to England to do further studies. She returned to India in April 1964.

In June 1964, she was directed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to take over the responsibility of running the Tibetan Children's Village in Dharamsala. Ever since, she has been the moving force and mother of thousands of destitute and orphaned Tibetan children. The children in a very natural way call her "Ama La" (Respected Mother). With her dynamic leadership and untiring dedication, coupled with her sense of urgency and clarity of purpose, the Tibetan Children's Village has become one of the most successfully flourishing Tibetan institutions in exile.

The story of the Tibetan Children's Villages is very much a part of Mrs. Jetsun Pema's life. Today, TCV projects include 5 Children's Villages with attached schools, 7 Residential Schools, 7 Day Schools, 10 Day Care Centers, 4 Vocational Training Centers, 4 Youth Hostels, 4 Old People's Homes, and an Outreach program for over 2,000 children in exile. All in all, the TCV overlooks the well-being of more than 15,000 children and youths.

In 1970, at the first General Body Meeting of the Tibetan Youth Congress, Jetsun Pema was elected as its Vice-President, and at the 1984 first General Body Meeting of the Tibetan Women's Association, she was elected as an Adviser. In 1980, she was sent by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to visit Tibet as the leader of the 3rd. Fact Finding Delegation and for three months traveled extensively all over the country.
Jetsun Pema is also the Governing Body member of the Tibet House in New Delhi and the trust of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Charitable.

In May 1990, His Holiness the Dalai Lama convened a special Congress of the Tibetan People-In-Exile in Dharamsala to elect the Kalons (Ministers). This was a first in the history of Tibet. Jetsun Pema was one of the three Ministers elected and became the first Tibetan Woman Minister. In 1991, she was again elected by the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies (Tibetan Parliament) as one of the Ministers and was allocated the portfolio of Minister-In-Charge of the Department of Tibetan Education. In July 1993, she resigned from the Kashag (Cabinet) and is today the President of the Tibetan Children's Villages.
In 1995, the Tibetan National Assembly-In-Exile awarded her the title, "Mother of Tibet," in recognition of her dedication and service to Tibetan children.

Her autobiography, Tibet: My Story, published by Editions Ramsay in 1996, is now available in 10 languages. Mrs. Jetsun Pema, at the invitation of Tibet supporters and various organizations, has traveled widely to speak about her people and her work for Tibetan children in exile.
Tibetan World: First of all tell us something about yourself, which is not known in general.
Amala: Not known! I don't think there is really anything about me that's unknown, because I wrote my autobiography where I have written all that I can remember about my childhood and my life.

TW: What was your reaction when you were honoured with the title 'Mother of Tibet'?
Amala: Well! I was a little bit surprised and also felt that I really don't deserve this title. I know it's because of the work that the Dalai Lama has been doing. The people who are really worth this recognition are the home mothers who are looking after thousands of children, because the life of home mothers is not that easy since they have to look after 45 to 50 children. So, that's not an easy job. And when the title recognition was given, I accepted it on the behalf of these home mothers and all the mothers who have worked for many years in bringing up Tibetan children.

TW: Amala is known as a very strict lady by TCV students. How strict are you?
Amala: I believe in certain moral ethics which drive a proper code of conduct, so because of that may be and also I was educated in a convent. Since convent education is quite strict and the boundary for doing something is well defined. I feel that, in life the most important thing is to have inner discipline and if you have that inner discipline you are guided through out your life while deciding what you have to do and what is right and wrong. But then when you are dealing with children you also need to be a little firm. I do not believe in beating children, but I also believe in informing the children how much they can do, how much they cannot do and in that respect I think one has to be strict. And I always say if you make a rule for children that rule must be like a stove, a stove burns everybody whoever touches it. The rules also shouldn't be different for one or another person. There should be equality in this regard. In a school when you live with hundred and thousands of students/children there has to be certain discipline, there has to be certain rules and regulations. And I believe once you make rules and regulations, one should follow it, because the rules are for the benefit of the children. But then, I also believe that the rules are made to bring out the best in a person. So, if the rule is something which is not bringing out the best then rules can also be changed. There is an English saying that "Rules are made to be changed". May be that's why students feel that I am strict, people know that I am no nonsense person, this could also be scaring them.

TW: What makes you happy and what makes you angry?
Amala: What makes me really happy is to see that you believe in the work that we do and that u follow what His holiness advises, then I feel very happy. Suppose if the people do their work without any commitment and just do their job for the sake of only getting salaries. I think that makes me angry. Seeing purposeless people who just live on their life without any commitment to society, to the office they work in and to their country, I feel very bad about such people. In life one must have a purpose and a meaningful life and that which enriches oneself and others around you. Tibetans generally live a happy go lucky life, in one way it's good but on the other hand it becomes a complete drawback. So, sometimes we Tibetans have to check ourselves more often and ask 'am I fulfilling the duty I am responsible to do?' If more people ask this question and do their duties properly then I will be very happy.

TW: Tell us something about your schooling.
Amala: Well! I was sent to school when I was nine years of age that was in the end of 1949. I was put in a boarding school, a convent in Kalimpong and during 1951, I moved to Loreto convent. Both the schools were run by catholic nuns and they were strict but also very kind and understanding and one thing which I learnt in these schools is the service for others because they instill in your mind that the best thing you can do is to serve others. In a way that's the missionary spirit. But at the same time I think it is worthy to help others, even in class two and three we have to help others. So, they instilled in our mind that because you are privileged you must to do something for those who are less privileged than you. And that learning was a great benefit for my life.

TW: 1970- Vice President of Tibetan Youth Congress, 1990-first Tibetan woman to be a cabinet member in Tibetan Govt. in Exile, 1995- Mother of Tibet, 2002-woman of Courage, president of TCV since 1964 and many more. Do you think all of these have been possible even if you were not Dalai Lama's sister?
Amala: Of course there is always advantage of being Dalai Lama's sister and then also when you are brought up saying that you belong to a special family related to His Holiness people expect more from you and then also how you behave, what you do everybody watches you. So you are always kind of on your toes. But at the same time I think it is not just who you are born, what really makes a difference is what you do with your life that's the most important thing and in my case of course being His Holiness' sister was a great privilege. People pay a lot of respect and everything, but at the same time I think I proved myself through my work because you know with the work I think we have to do something and be able to accomplish something and if you are able to do that I think one's life is a bit different..

TW: How is your relation with your brothers? Can you please tell us about all of your brothers and who is closest to you?
Amala: Well I left Tibet when I was nine years of age and then my brother Gyalo Dhundup was like a father to me because he was living in Darjeeling. He came to darjeeling in 1950 or 1951 and then we moved to Darjeeling, I was put in Loreto Convent school but all weekends, all winter holidays I spent with brother Gyalo Dhundup and his wife and they were like parents to me because my mother was in Lhasa (Tibet) and she only came out in 1959 when His Holiness left Tibet. So, I was closest to Gyalo Dhundup when I was young. Then later on I was also very close to my brother Lobsang Samten because he was somebody who had very good and very kind, very mild character. He was always somebody who was joking. He was very good person and then of course from childhood I have great admiration for His Holiness and have always considered him somebody very special and someone who was high up there someone who was kind of a guiding force for all us in the family. And I got on well with everybody.

TW: Would you like to share your experience of your mother's role in seven years in Tibet?
Amala: I have never done any acting and even in school I never used to join the drama, debating etc. I was always there when there was work to be done like being in charge of the games, equipments and things like that. Behind the scenes I like doing things but I didn't like to go to the front and speak and act. So, when Mr. Jean Jacque Annoud asked me to take the part of your mother, I was little bit hesitant. But then all my brothers said 'We don't want somebody else to take the role of our mother. So you better go take this part.' So I wrote to him and said I would like to see the script before I say 'Yes'. So, I read the script and asked him to change few things in the script which he did and then agreed to act. And then what was really good was that whenever I said what I have to do he always told me 'Just think you are your mother and you do what she would do and that's fine.'

TW: Who is going to succeed you regarding this presidential position of TCV and when?
Amala: Well, I wasn't the president of TCV right from the beginning of1964; I was a village director for a couple of years. I only became the president in late 1980s.When I was the village director I used to do all the sponsorship work, I think I knew most of the children's name and I had a very good rapport with the children and then slowly when I became president, the link with the children became little bit lesser. But I always tried to have the link with the children because the work of TCV is the work which deals with students and if you don't have close contact with children, then TCV work is not going in the right direction.
Since, I have been holding the position of president for 41 years I think the time for me to step down has come. Change is important for growth, also one should do there work according to their ability, according to one's need at a time and also not have a name just for the sake of the name but also for the output. So now I feel that its time to retire because in TCV's rule the retirement is at 60. I was involved in making these rules, for the last four years I have been telling the governing board of TCV that I am now over 60 and I must resign and they always told me," Oh, no you are keeping in good health continue, continue". Now this year, I made it a point now it's really the time to retire and to give up that name of the president. I feel that His Holiness gave us a constitution and that democratic constitution is not just for the people to vote their representatives in parliament, that democratic constitution should also be applied to organizations, institutions and if as a nation as a community we have to grow in strength from inwards then I think whatever kind of organisation there is, which benefits many people, it should be based on a democratic system. In the case of TCV there are number of people who hold responsibility, who are in charge of the schools like principals, who are in charge of the village like the directors. All these people have a very responsible kind of work and I think that these people who have this responsible kind of job are answerable to all the work TCV is doing. These are the people who are answerable as to how to bring up the TCV children, therefore I think these people should be involved in selecting the next person who is to take my place. I do not believe in nominating somebody, because I think this is not fair. The choice should be made by those people who are going to be dealing with the person who will be there in my place. In my case it is so happen that I took over after my sister passed away and then it continued. But then if you think of a democratic system then this is not likely. So, now in the next couple of months I hope to have names given by responsible people. There are 27 of them; the village directors, the school principals and also the administrators of our hostels. They will then nominate three persons and out of those three persons I will take these names to the governing body and the governing body will select one person out of three. So, the next president of TCV will be an elected one.

TW: Why have not you considered being actively involved in politics, why not Jetsun Pema la for our next Kalon Tripa?
Amala: Oh not at all! You know I believe that I always feel that I can serve best the Tibetan people at grass root levels and I like to be in touch with people. Politics is a very important thing but politics is something which I do not understand and especially at the present moment the Tibetan politics or the Tibetan sort of internal governance, the way voting goes on and the way issues are dealt with is in a very regional kind of way, very personal and I think politics should be above personal things. A Politician should be somebody who really works for the people and if you represent the people it shouldn't be like either you are Amdo or you are U-Tsang or you are Kham. I don't believe it should be that. At the moment our people elect the members of parliament, they are not issue oriented. They are more oriented to their region, they support their region more than the core issues and I think we have to still get little bit mature. And I feel that in my way of thinking I can't deal with that kind of situation and then also I realised that I am more made to work at the grass root level to see what I am doing. I am more action oriented and don't like passive involvement in whatever I do. But modern day politics has evolved into a more passive form, where action is supplemented by passivity. And if you become a politician you speak a lot of things and when it comes to seeing what you have really done, no body really bothers. So, I think if you are action oriented, its better to be at the grass root level than high up there. Therefore I opted to be at the grass root level and I think His Holiness also understands that I can serve more by being down at the grass root level than having a name and I don't believe in names. What speaks louder is what you have achieved rather than having a name.

TW: You are an idol for many Tibetan students, what would you like to advice them through Tibetan world magazine?
Amala: You know that in our school system education is very much text book oriented and that text book oriented education makes a student learn, but it doesn't teaches him or her how to think. The teachers are all so engrossed in covering their courses that they don't really care to think how much has really filtered down to the children and how much do they digest properly, how much is that what they've learnt is making a difference in the life of the children. Education should make the children conscious and aware about themselves, it should give them a sense of self realization. This will not only help them in future but will also guide them in choosing a career for themselves. Besides, one must keep in mind that high qualification and academic records are not the only criteria for a person's success. I am not very much qualified academically; I did my secretarial training in England, where I learnt typing, short hand, administrative work etc. My aim was always to serve His Holiness and the people of Tibet in one way or the other. I had this conviction that I will be able to do something good for our society. So, the important thing is to have a focused faith on what you want in life and what you want to do, it could be anything, no work is big or small. In my case I was determined to serve and the best way I could serve was serving the Tibetan children. You don't have to do great things. You can start with small things and then in the end it becomes something big. It is not only through academics, more importantly it's the determination that counts. There are a lot of great people, who made a difference in this world and in the life of several thousand individuals and many of them were not well educated. Therefore, I think as long as you have the determination that you want to make a difference, that you want to be committed to what ever you believe in and that you want to work for others, you will surely make a difference. But it is up to you! Every one of us has the capacity and the ability to make a difference in whatever way possible, it's just how we cease the opportunity and work hard for it.

TW: Who were the women that inspire you the most in all that you do?
Amala: When I was little kid I used to admire Joan of Arc who was really a great lady and then also in Indian history we have the queen of Jhansi and then you have Florence Nightingale and Mother Teresa. All these kinds of people who did something for the cause of their country and who looked after the sick and the poor, inspire me a lot.

TW: At last what would be your advice for Tibetan Youth?
Amala: Well, I feel that at this age, the Tibetan youth must make their voice heard and not only that; they should have faith in their beliefs and their ideals. They must uphold that belief because I always say, we all have our opinions but the thing is that opinion must also have a spirit that will take it up forward and that's something we are lacking. We need to be more focused as to what one wants to do in his or her life. So, it is important that you to stand up for your beliefs and work towards realizing it. Every faith, every dream should have a strong foundation without which, its realisation becomes impossible.