Dawa Dhondup, aged 35, was employed as a Tibetan language teacher at the Gyatso Institute for Orphans. He was responsible for preserving and teaching Tibetan linguistic and cultural traditions to the students attending the school.

In 1999, he was arrested alongside fellow staff members following the intervention of Chinese security authorities against the institution. The closure of the school not only terminated his teaching activities but also deprived many Tibetan children of access to culturally rooted education. His case demonstrates the broader restrictions imposed on Tibetan educational expression and identity.