A Place to be MYSELF
Jigme Singe can finally be himself at Landis at Home, but it was a long journey to get here.
become a Buddhist monk because I was the reincarnation of a special teacher,” Jigme recounted. “I said I didn’t believe that. I didn’t want to be a monk.”
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But it didn’t matter. Jigme traveled to his uncle’s monastery in Nepal. He spent 13 years there, learning to be a monk. But something didn’t feel right.
“I didn’t want to be a monk. I wanted to be myself,” he said.
So, in 2003, Jigme made the momentous move to the United States. He settled in New York City briefly before moving to Boston for a decade to live near his aunt and work at a café and a bakery.
After getting married, Jigme, his wife, and son moved to Lancaster in 2012, where Jigme discovered there were many refugees in the area. Jigme speaks seven languages – Tibetan, Nepalese, Chinese, English, South Indian, Bhutanese, and Hindi – so he volunteered with Church World Service. He helped refugees acclimate to a new culture and ran errands with them. For four years, he worked at Reynolds Middle School as a refugee advisor, where he supported refugee children.
When his contract with the school district ended, Jigme became interested in Landis at Home, so he applied for a part-time position. He was hired shortly after and began serving clients through home care, companionship, transportation, and housekeeping.
“I really enjoy working with seniors,” he said. “When I was little, I spent a lot of time with my grandpa in our village. My bottom line is, no matter what, we’re all getting old.”
It has been three years since he came on staff at Landis at Home. His respect for the seniors he serves through Landis at Home is evident, particularly in his patience and love of listening.
Tough being a monk was not Jigme’s lifelong calling, the values he learned in the monastery have served him well at Landis at Home. “As a monk, we did a lot of meditation and focus on patience,” he said. “I use that while working with seniors.”
“For me, this feels like a friendly place,” he said. “Some of the seniors like to talk and share their stories, and that’s the best part of working. I love listening to their stories. I’m learning from them.”
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Landis.org | FLOURISH | Fall 2021
igme was born to Tibetan parents, who fled Tibet for a refugee camp when Jigme was a child before settling in south India.
“When I was in 5th grade, my uncle came to our house and told my parents that I had to
CULTIVATING GROWTH
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