Venerable Dr. Ottara Nyana,

Venerable Dr Ottara Nyana is the Spiritual Director of Birmingham Buddhist Vihara and Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda. He was awarded the prestigious titles of Sasanadhaja Dhammacariya (1972) and Sasanadhaja Siripavara-Dhammacariya (1975). This award is conferred after passing the highest examination in scriptural studies. He has a B.A. from Yangon University (1986). He completed his Post-Graduate education from Delhi University, India, this includes M.A. (1994), M.Phil and Tibetan Diploma (1995), and PhD (1998). He is a former Dean of the Department of Patipatti at the Theravada Buddhist University, Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar government conferred on him the highest religious titles Mahaganthavacaka Pandita (1992) and Aggamahaganthavacaka Pandita (2002) for his academic achievements. He is a teacher of insight meditation and conducts courses in the UK, Europe and around the world.

Dr. Kyaw Myint Oo

Dr Oo is a retired medical doctor (General Practitioner) who retired after 30 years of medical practice from the UK National Health Service. He is currently a patron of the Birmingham Buddhist Vihara Trust. Earlier he served as a president of the Trust. Dr Oo is a great supporter of various charitable works. One such charity is the Sitagu International Missionary Trust, UK, which is dedicated to offering free general medical care, health requisites and eye treatment in Burma. Dr Oo strongly believes that moral and ethical teaching and compassionate humanitarian efforts are essential for the benefit of the wider society. All children should be entitled to education, health care and a safe living environment. Dr Oo’s vast experience benefits the shaping of the Lotus philosophy.

Yann Lovelock

Yann Lovelock is a renowned social worker. Yann was awarded the BEM (The British Empire Medal, formally British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) by Her Majesty the Queen. This British medal is awarded by the Crown and is in recognition of meritorious civil or military service. Yann was a disciple of Ven. Dr Rewata Dhamma, the founder of Birmingham Buddhist Vihara and Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda. Yann was responsible for the Vihara’s educational outreach for many years. He believes in social inclusion. This led him to collaborate with Ven. Khemadhammo and he co-founded ‘Angulimala, the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Organisation’. Currently he acts as Buddhist Advisor to West Midlands Police Chaplaincy. In the field of interfaith co-operation, he acts as Trustee to the Faith Encounter Programme and as Buddhist Senior Advisor to Birmingham Council of Faiths. Having developed the role of Interfaith Coordinator for the Network of Buddhist Organisations, he has since become its Senior Advisor. He believes the sustainability of our future world will largely depend on the way we educate our children.

​​​LCET is operated and managed by a core group of trustees and dedicated volunteers workers and local committee members based in the UK and Bangladesh. In addition, LCET is also guided by an expert advisory board.​​ Also Read Foundation History by the end of this page

                              OUR FOUNDER TRUSTEES

LOTUS CHILDREN'S EDUCATION TRUST -LCET

 Lotus Children's Education Trust (LCET) was established in July 2014 with the prime intention of providing free holistic education and a chance to a bright future for destitute children particularly from the third world countries. LCET is now fully and formally registered with the UK Charity Commission. The UK Registered Charity Number is 1170236.  LCET incorporates and operates from the ‘Lotus Children’s Home’, which is dully registered with the government of Bangladesh. The registered number is: 'Ranga 300/15'.  Lotus Children’s Home stands on five acres of land, which was donated by a devotee of Venerable Dr. Nagasena Bhikkhu in 2010. A temporary bamboo’s house was built in 2013 and accommodated 16 children (male) and one teacher in 2013-2014. See photo​

As numbers of students increased to 20 in 2015, we built two small dormitories in 2016; one for girls and one for boys. The size of the girl’s hostel is 24 feet long by 18 feet wide while the boy’s hostel is 60 by 18 feet.  The second floor of the girl’s hostel was built in 2018 and we are planning to build the second floor of the boy’s hostel in 2020.    20 boys and 16 girls are accommodated in 2017. This number again increased 33 (boys) by 18 (girls) in 2018 and 36 by 30 in 2019 respectively. There are four resident teachers, four visiting ‘volunteer’ teachers, one cook, one caretaker in 2019.

These destitute children are from the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the nearby region. They are from extremely poor families with no access to education and facilities. Given the non-existing social support system, the welfare and well-being of these children is dependent on the generosity of local people. A group of dedicated volunteer workers led by Venerable Dr. Nagasena Bhikkhu manage the day-to-day running of Lotus Children’s Home. A governing committee (group of Trustees) looks after the management of LCET and Lotus Children’s Home. 

 


 
 

OUR ADVISORY  TEAM

​​Venerable Nagasena Bhikkhu
Venerable Dr Nagasena Bhikkhu is the founder and main inspiration behind LCET. For more than a decade Nagasena Bhikkhu has devoted his energies to passionately advocating the promotion of children’s education for a sustainable world. He has been supporting a substantial number of destitute children in the Chittagong Hill Tracts since 2005. In 2007 a local devotee from Chittagong donated to Ven. Dr. Nagasena the six acres of land on which the Lotus Children’s home stands today so that an educational charity could be established. LCET was established in its current form in 2014.
 Ven. Dr. Nagasena is a scholarly Buddhist monk and an academic researcher. He is known for his rational and scientific insight into Dhamma (the teachings of the Buddha). Ven. Dr. Nagasena earned a PhD in the Study of Religion, from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London in 2013. Previously he did his Bachelors and Masters in Buddhist Studies and Philosophy in Sri Lanka and Thailand. He is also trained in advance traditional Pāli and is proficient in many languages. Ven. Dr Nagasena is a resident monk, a teacher of meditation in the Birmingham Buddhist Monastery and Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda. He is on the advisory committee of a number of local and regional organisations in the UK, EU and Bangladesh. LCET benefits from his vision and expertise in designing a holistic curriculum. Ven. Dr Nagasena is committed to designing and disseminating holistic education and providing a chance to a bright future for destitute children..

Ramona Kauth

 Ramona Kauth holds a BA (Hons) in philosophy, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy, and a Diploma in Person Centred Art Therapy. Ramona Kauth is a trained counsellor and a long-term practitioner of mindfulness meditation. She has worked with inter-faith communities under the banner of the Birmingham Council of Faiths, which works for the promotion of social cohesion, religious harmony and peace in Birmingham since 1984. Ramona believes that the model of working with communities in their own environment will benefit both the local people and the wider community and perhaps serve as a model for others, particularly in the field of education. Ramona is a long-term work associate of Ven. Dr Nagasena. She currently lives in Devon and devotes her time to teach children to develop spiritual and moral values. Ramona is the chief financial officer at LCET.

Visakha Sampla
Visakha Sampla is a specialised Religious Education secondary school teacher. She is the author of ‘Butterflies’, a poetry book. Please visit http://vsampla.com/ for more information on her book. Proceeds from the sale of the book supports the Sikh Aid Charity and the free eye camp projects. Visakha is passionate about encouraging students to prosper in all aspects of their lives. She believes that holistic education provides a foundation to improve wellbeing and gives opportunities to gain the necessary skills and knowledge to achieve one’s full potential. Visakha loves to work with children from all backgrounds and is the chief coordinator for children’s activities at LCET. 

Milind Kamble
Milind Kamble has an extensive background in IT and project management in the field of higher education research and business,. He is an avid reader and passionate about learning and education. Milind is a true seeker and has a drive to apply scientific knowledge for human betterment. He divides his time between professional commitments, practicing mindfulness and insight meditation and updating his spiritual knowledge. He is full of ideas and passion to enhance the work of LCET. Milind is the chief of development at LCET who makes sure we're where people need us.

Dr Meghana Kamble
Dr Meghana Kamble is a psychologist and lecturer at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. For the past 16 years Meghana has developed her academic and research work around communication and relational science. She has expertise in curriculum design and delivery and in intervention programs aimed to enhance communication and relational engagement. Meghana believes that a happy and fulfilled childhood is a key to a better society and that every child should have a right of access to a safe environment, basic necessities and a good education. Meghana is the chief of curriculum development at LCET.

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1170236