The former Kingdom of Sikkim was annexed by India in 1975 as its twenty-second state. Sharing a border with Nepal, Sikkim is one of the least developed regions of India.

In 1980, Yapo S. Yongda, a former officer in the Sikkim army and later Buddhist monk, founded DPCA – a school aiming to offer underprivileged children an academic education.In 1989, Mr Yongda was honoured by the Indian President for his exceptional contribution towards social welfare.

As everywhere else in India, the children of DPCA wear school uniforms and meet every morning for short prayers.		The children themselves are responsible for keeping their quarters clean and tidy. Every child attends DPCA of his own free will - in India, orphans usually live on the streets.
Every child is allowed to eat as much as he/she wishes : they help themselves to as much as they can manage.		The children are taught English, Maths, Geography, History, Art, IT and also office work.

In the past year, the cost of accommodation, clothing, medical care, food and tuition for 240 children amounted to 43,000 Euro, just 15 euro per child. The Indian Government contributes 10,000 Euro : for the remainder, DPCA depends entirely on donations.

Padma supported DPCA beween 2003 and 2006.