University of Arkansas Clinton School graduate Tshering Yudon of Thimphu, Bhutan, has written and published her first book, Bumo Jarim, a children’s book about her home country.
Bumo Jarim is a Bhutanese folktale about a young, courageous girl named Karma who helps readers to redefine and examine beauty, compassion, and courage and is illustrated by Sonam Chophel of Thimphu, Bhutan. The book was originally conceived in 2014 as a commitment Yudon made while attending the Clinton Global Initiative University. Yudon later created an online platform – Shingira – to contextualize and highlight the purpose of the project, even starting a gofundme page to help with some of the initial costs.
“Through Bumo Jarim, I hope to not only inspire and celebrate young girls and their fortitude,” Yudon said. “But also make notions of compassion and true beauty more ubiquitous for young and impressionable minds.”
Yudon graduated from the Clinton School in 2015 after earning her undergraduate degree from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. While at the Clinton School, she was a McLarty Global Scholar working with Vital Voices in Washington, D.C. She is currently pursuing another writing project while promoting the children’s book, and also seeking opportunities in Seattle in the field of global development and public health.
The book is now available for purchase online here, along with postcards and thank you cards that compliment the story. For every book purchased, a copy of Bumo Jarim will be given to a child in Bhutan.
I recently reached out to author Tshering Yudon about the project:
In 2014, during my first year at the school, I was presented an opportunity to build a “Commitment to Action” for the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) in Phoenix, Arizona. I reflected on my life and the paths I had dared to embark upon and realized how greatly reading had guided and nurtured me and how much it would mean to share that with others.
What inspired you to write this book?
Stories matter – stories help us imagine and reimagine ourselves – stories behave as tools to build conversations and relationships across cultures and generations. Growing up, I had a fervent passion for reading and books in general. I remember the trips to the bookstore that my father and I took and the joy that came from getting one of those thick-picturesque-hardcover books. However, often I wondered why the books I read and treasured didn’t much resemble the local and familiar.
I pledged to write a children’s book based on folktales from Bhutan, a book that would represent the local and familiar. The later part of the commitment would include distributing copies of the book to rural schools in Bhutan. At the core of my commitment, I wanted to celebrate and sustain the local.
What did you want to accomplish with this publication?
The greater goal of the project had always been more than writing a children’s book. I put forth an online platform – Shingira that stands for “root of a tree” – to contextualize and highlight the purpose of the project. The platform’s mission is to engage dynamically with our roots and shifting identities within the context of modernity and social change.
In keeping with the mission, I am currently working on distributing at least 1000 copies of the book – Bumo Jarim – to schools in Bhutan. I have self-published the first batch of Bumo Jarim, which is now available on our online platform, any funds would go towards printing and distributing copies in Bhutan. Simultaneously, I am communicating with local educators to promote storytelling and reading at schools.
Did you have an idea about the illustrations or was that mostly Sonam’s lead?
Being the project lead and writer, I had a vision for the storyboard and what the protagonist would look like. I pitched my concepts for the storyboard and Sonam, our lead artist, sketched them out. Sonam not only possess a creative and imaginative mind, but he also knows how to draw for a younger audience. Together, we laid out all the illustrations for the book.
How important was it for you to tell a Bhutanese story, about a young, courageous girl, specifically?
Sharing a Bhutanese story is absolutely an important part of the project. Bhutan is a relatively young and budding nation, and is still negotiating with elements of modernity and change. I think it is critical to examine our future whilst being cognizant of our past, and with that in mind I launched Shingira. I hope to work on more creative projects in the future – books, videos, podcasts and the like.
It is an absolute thrill to introduce a strong female protagonist who not only exhibits courage and judgment, but also helps readers to redefine and examine beauty as being akin to compassion and courage. Through Bumo Jarim, I hope to not only inspire and celebrate young girls and their fortitude, but also make notions of compassion and true beauty more ubiquitous for young and impressionable minds.
Do you relate to Karma at all? Did you write from some of your own experiences?
I spent a great deal of time testing out different names for our main character, and finally settled with Karma. The name itself is gender-neutral and stands for “a star.” In Buddhism, Karma connotes action or deed with a broader implication of the forces of cause and effect.
I think our young Karma is inspirational and models what it means to live and give authentically. I have always striven for those ideals in my own life. I relate to Karma’s journey into the wild to find and be herself; I was 15 when I made a brave decision to attend an international high school in Canada – Pearson United World College – that has a mission to make education a force to unite people, nations, and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. My time at Pearson played a pivotal role in laying the foundation towards a path to service and building better communities. I am really proud of the work we have done with the book, and I truly hope that Karma inspires young girls and boys to become more courageous and compassionate.
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