Dressed in matching orange T-shirts and black tracksuits, the students stood in neat rows at Paro International Airport, their boarding passes clutched like passports to a new life. For most of them, airports were places seen only in television and on social media clips shared by friends living in towns.

But on that winter morning, the airport was real—its check-in counters, the rolling suitcases, the roar of engines somewhere beyond the runway. They were 47 students (23 boys and 24 girls) drawn from 20 dzongkhags across Bhutan. Among them were three students with special needs, and alongside them seven teachers who looked equal parts proud and anxious, like parents on a first day of school.

Many students came from remote schools where the road ends in mud and the day begins with long walks across fields, suspension bridges, or mountain tracks. They were selected because they were academically strong, from disadvantaged backgrounds, and had never travelled abroad before.

The journey was part of the Tongsa Penlop Inspire Program (TPIP), an educational outreach initiative run by Drukair, Bhutan’s national flag carrier, repurposed from the earlier Tongsa Penlop Rolling Trophy Annual Golf Tournament.

Conceived by its founder, Yab Dasho Dhondup Gyaltshen, the program was designed with an idea so simple it feels radical: that inspiration, when offered at the right moment, can permanently reshape a young person’s horizon. “An opportunity to travel abroad and to see the world differently will inspire less privileged students for life,” Yab Dasho Dhondup Gyaltshen said.

TPIP had already been held successfully in 2018 and 2019. Its third edition, launched in December 2025, brought together students and teachers for a carefully designed itinerary that mixed cultural grounding at home with international exposure abroad. The program was not a luxury holiday dressed up as education. It was a deliberate attempt at confidence-building, an effort to tell students from the margins that the world, too, belongs to them.

Before Thailand, Bhutan

The program began even before the students boarded an international flight. The first group arrived in Paro on December 18, with others joining the next day. They were hosted at Druk Gyalpo’s Institute, an environment that itself felt like a different universe to students from small village schools.

There, they went through orientation sessions that included grooming and confidence-building sessions, travel etiquette briefings, and an introduction to how airports and airlines work—lessons that quietly signalled something bigger: that they were being prepared for the wider world, not merely visiting it.

On December 20, the students visited Dungkar Dzong for cultural reflection, a grounding moment that reminded them who they were even as their environment expanded. On December 21, they traveled to Thimphu, visiting Buddha Point, the Takin Preserve, and Changyul Park. That evening, Drukair hosted a warm reception dinner that became, for many students, one of the most unforgettable moments of the entire journey.

Each student was presented with a full set of travel merchandise, thoughtfully put together to ensure they lacked nothing on the trip. The package was comprehensive: gho with lagey and kira with tego and wonju; formal shoes and sneakers; formal socks and two sets of casual socks; tracksuits; a thermal jacket; a suitcase for check-in luggage and a backpack for daily movement; T-shirts, half pant and cap; and a dedicated toiletry bag stocked with a complete kit—shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb and sunscreen—along with a bath towel.

The students also received their passports, ID card, baggage tag, and water bottles, details that may sound ordinary but carried extraordinary meaning for children who had never traveled beyond their districts, let alone across borders. On December 22, they visited Paro International Airport, not as travelers yet, but as learners, observing firsthand how Bhutan connects with the world through aviation.

“When the aeroplane took off…”

For one student, the first shock came even earlier, from a domestic flight. Dawa Tshomo, a student of Tshekharla Central School, flew for the first time from Yonphula Domestic Airport. The moment the wheels left the runway, fear rose sharply inside her. “When the aeroplane took off, I felt scared at first,” she recalled. “But when I looked down and saw the mountains growing smaller, I realised how fortunate I was to get this opportunity”.

It is hard to overstate what that view means to a child raised in the mountains. In villages where horizons are blocked by ridges, the world feels physically close, enclosed by geography. From the sky, the same mountains shrink into shapes. The mind does, too. It loosens. It begins to believe.

Another student, Jamyang Yoezer, captured the emotional weight of the experience in a single sentence. “I never even dreamt of flying on Drukair, let alone staying in a big city like Bangkok,” he said. “This trip showed us there are no limits to what we can achieve if we study hard and believe in ourselves”.

Bangkok: a new world

When the group arrived in Thailand later that evening, Bangkok did what big cities always do. It overwhelmed. For students who measure distance in hours of walking and roads in hairpin bends, Bangkok was scale and speed made visible. Cars moved like rivers. Shopping malls looked like airports. Buildings rose into the sky as if they had no reason to stop.

And at the centre of it all was their hotel—Grand Four Wings, a five-star property where the students stayed for five nights. For Pema Samdrup, a Royal Academy student, the hotel experience was not simply about comfort. It was about access. “I had never been inside a five-star hotel before,” he said. “That night made me realise that such places are not only for rich people. If we work hard, we can reach there one day too”.

Learning across borders

On December 23, the students travelled to Dhammajairine Wittaya School in Ratchaburi Province. There, they interacted with Thai students—sharing stories, observing classrooms, and discovering that education can look different while still serving the same purpose: to broaden life choices. For Dawa Choden of Samtengang Higher Secondary School, the experience was deeply personal.

“We learnt about a different education system and saw how students are prepared for practical skills alongside academics,” she said. “This opportunity has changed how I see my future. I will remember this trip for the rest of my life”.

A teacher escorting the students from eastern Bhutan noticed a particular spark in them as they encountered technology abroad. Dorji Phub said the children were fascinated by the digital gadgets and equipment they saw—items that many already knew existed, but had rarely touched or seen in abundance. “With access to similar facilities,” he said, “Bhutanese students can also learn quickly and gain hands-on experience”.

Seeing the sea for the first time

On December 24, the students visited Khao Kheow Zoo and then Pattaya Beach. The day offered two kinds of wonder: nature’s diversity and the ocean’s immensity. For children raised among mountains, the sea feels like a myth made physical. Karma Yuden said the trip allowed her to learn beyond textbooks. “We have read about oceans in our textbooks, but seeing the oceans with our own eyes was unbelievable,” she said.

The interaction with Thai students, she added, inspired her to study harder. “It made me realise that with similar educational facilities, Bhutanese students could perform even better”. The program was curated to ensure an empowering and enjoyable experience for them. Dream World amusement park on December 25 gave the students their first taste of a theme park: rides, lights, laughter and joy. Ocean World on December 26 extended that wonder into marine ecosystems, sparking curiosity and awareness. The day also included a lunch hosted by the Royal Bhutanese Embassy in Thailand, and later, interactions with Trongsa Penlop scholarship students.

Even the shopping trip, a Bangkok rite of passage, had meaning. For students who rarely enter urban stores, a mall is not merely commerce, it is exposure, a sense of how the modern world functions.

Coming home, changed

On December 27, the participants returned to Bhutan. But they did not return the same. “They didn’t just return with photos. They returned with confidence, curiosity, and dreams that are now much bigger than before,” observed an escort teacher. According to Drukair, the program’s impact is reflected in students’ confidence, aspirations, and educational motivation, extending well beyond the trip itself. In fact, testimonials from earlier participants suggest a lasting effect. Two past participants from 2019, now working professionals, said the program inspired them to work harder and pursue their goals.

Why it matters

In Bhutan, conversations about inequality often focus on infrastructure—roads, internet, schools, facilities. Those matter. But there is another inequality, harder to measure: the inequality of exposure. Some children grow up seeing airports, meeting professionals, hearing about universities abroad, imagining careers beyond their district. Others grow up never meeting anyone who has travelled internationally, never seeing the sea, never understanding how big “big” can be.

For those children, the world narrows not because they lack talent, but because they lack reference points. TPIP addresses that gap directly. It tells underprivileged students that their starting point does not have to define their destination. It also normalises diversity, bringing together students from different dzongkhags, including those with special needs, and placing them in environments where difference is not just included, but celebrated.

Beneficiaries were selected jointly by the Office of the Gyalpoi Zimpon (Kidu Office) and the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MOESD). The selection process prioritised students who were academically strong but came from disadvantaged backgrounds, and who had no prior experience of international travel. Drukair sees TPIP as aligned with its broader CSR goals—youth empowerment, inclusive development, and nation-building beyond commercial aviation. In this way, Drukair becomes more than a carrier of passengers. It becomes a carrier of possibility.

The most valuable souvenir

At the farewell event, the students were recognised with certifications. Partners, including the Office of Gyalpo Zimpon, the MoESD, and Druk Gyalpo’s Institute and media partner—BBS, were honoured for support. There was a closing dinner hosted by Dawa at Hilltop.

But the most valuable souvenir was invisible. It was the moment Dawa Tshomo looked down and saw the mountains grow smaller. It was the moment Karma Uden saw the sea and realised textbooks were only the beginning. It was the moment Pema Samdrup walked into a luxury hotel and understood that ambition is not reserved for the wealthy. For 47 students who once thought the world ended at the edge of their valley, TPIP offered a rare and powerful message: the world is wide, and they, too, have a place in it.