We met her near an archery field, where her village was practicing for an upcoming match. Tshewang is a betle nut addict, as seen by the reddening on her teeth. Her family manages child, rice, and vegetable fields, which she has farmed on her entire life. Although she’s never received an education, the children in her family will soon receive one, and she’s optimistic about their futures.

We met Karma at the same archery field where we met Tshewang Lhan. Recently, he has picked up archery, Bhutan’s national sport, and is part of the village team. He noted that Bhutanese archery has modernized over the years and people have swapped from traditional bamboo bows to Western carbon bows. After graduating secondary school, he became a tour guide, both showing visitors around Bhutan and showing Bhutanese visitors nearby countries, such as Vietnam and Laos.

He was a public official, teaching Dzongkha (Bhutan’s national language) at schools. He’s seen numerous changes throughout his lifetime. Public officials used to get paid very little, but nowadays, his children, who are also public officials, get excellent wages. The amount of towns have increased greatly as the young move from tiny villages to population centers. He says that almost every aspect of life has improved when compared to the past. He holds great hope for the future, and believes strongly in the younger generations to bring Bhutan forward.

We met him as he was hitchhiking for a ride down the mountain from his temple. At 70 years old, his physical health is getting worse, and he lacks the vigor he once had. Nowadays, his hearing is poor, and he can only look after a temple, which he’s been doing for the past twenty years. Having been a monk for 60 years now, he’s seen Bhutan grow and develop — people are getting wealthier, education is getting better, and infrastructure is improving.

Thinley Wangmo is the founder of the Shari Early Childhood Care and Development Centre, the Bhutanese equivalent of preschool. In the past, she used to teach in Bhutanese public schools, working with all age groups — however, after working for twenty-four years, she realized she wanted to nurture core values into young children, which led her to founding the Shari ECCD.

We met Tandin, a young learner in grade 5, near her family’s farm. She dreams of being a doctor someday, to care for sick patients and save people. In order to do so, she focuses hard at school and plans on going to college. During her free time, she plays badminton with her older brothers, one of whom is Sangay.

We met Sangay in a village near Paro, by his family’s fields. He’s 19 years old, and will soon go off to college, to pursue a bachelor's degree in commerce and business administration. Although he wants to become a public official for the Bhutanese government after graduating, he also dreams of moving to Canada, where he’s heard wonderful tales from the many Bhutanese who have migrated there.

Tenzin Chodra is one of the older monks at the Eutok Goenpa Monastery. At a young age, his father passed away and he was raised by a single mother. At the age of 8, he became a monk because he was inspired by his friend, who also became a monk. Only a few years later after joining the monastery did he begin to understand what being a monk meant, and the path he would have to take to reach nirvana. Even as a monk, he owns a mobile phone, and during his free time, he uses it to talk to his family and study Chinese.

We met Chencho and Sonam on a hike up to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, one of Bhutan’s most famous landmarks. The horsemen duo offer rides to tourists looking to go up the mountain (which we were). Although they share the same last name, they are not related by blood; rather, Chencho owns the horses, and Sonam simply helps him.

The old Chencho was a monk before becoming a horse-owner. He was forced to resign after breaking the vow of celibacy, with “too many girlfriends”. The young Sonam had a tough childhood — after becoming severely ill in grade 5, he lost his hearing, and could not keep going to school. After a failed attempt at carpentry, he now works under Chencho.

Tshewang is a program officer at Draktsho Vocational Training Center, a civil organization dedicated to helping disabled people build up skills and join the workforce. When he was in college, he studied environmental science. But by coincidence, he met a few members of Draktsho one day and was inspired by what they did for these people. He feels privileged to work with all these people with disabilities and is filled with pride when they go on to succeed.