Singing for Freedom

From the age of five, Ani Choying had to struggle to survive.

Not a day went by without a bloody beating from her father, without Ani fearing for her mother's life, or her own.

The day her father nearly stabbed her to death, she decided it was time to run away.

Ani found herself at a monastery in Nepal, where a Buddhist monk offered her sanctuary and understanding, teaching her to embrace life again.

She found her vocation in offering other young girls an education, a fundamental right that is reserved for men only in her country; 80 per cent of women in the Himalayas are illiterate.

In 2000 Ani Choying opened Arya Tara school, just outside Kathmandu.

She went on to adopt a little girl, then two, and then another followed until they become sixty.

Before long she needed more funding to keep her growing community afloat.

One day, an American jazz guitarist heard the young nun sing and was so enthralled by her voice that he invited her to record an album with him.

The royalties provided much-needed funding for her school.

Ani Choying now tours the world giving concerts, driven by her desire to help her young Nepalese charges. In Sing For Freedom she tells her sometimes shocking, always inspiring story.

Ani Choying Drolma has become an acclaimed musician in Nepal and is fast becoming an international star.

Her work at Arya Tara school has been commended by the Dalai Lama.