Tibet House Trust is the official Tibetan Charity, inaugurated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in September 1994, in order to preserve the Tibetan Culture and Identity and rehabilitate Tibetan refugees.

The Trust is the official channel through which funding from international donors is received and directed to the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India. In addition, the Trust helps administer the humanitarian and development aid received by the Tibetan community.

OBJECTIVES

The aims of Tibet House Trust are to:

Relieve the poverty of people of Tibetan origin
Provide assistance in the fields of health and education
Support relief and rehabilitation projects for Tibetans
Preserve Tibetan identity and culture

Tibet was invaded by China in 1949. The Tibetan people's resistance to China's occupation and systematic oppression led to the Tibetan National Uprising on 10 March 1959 against Chinese rule in Tibet. This was ruthlessly crushed by the People's Liberation Army of China. Tibet's head of state and spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, together with some 80,000 Tibetans sought political asylum in India, Nepal and Bhutan. As a direct result of China's invasion 1.2 million Tibetans have died.

Since 1959, thousands of refugees have continued to emerge from Tibet to escape Chinese persecution. In their effort to escape large numbers die, while others suffer untold hardship, privation and the risk of death from exposure - yet thousands still attempt the crossing each year. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of child-refugees attempting to leave. At the present time, over a quarter of the refugees are children, and almost half are young monks and nuns.

Those who succeed in making the journey are in urgent need of medical attention, food and shelter. And as they begin to adjust to life in exile they need access to education - and eventually opportunities for skills training and employment. Many of these refugees are former prisoners of conscience, having sustained torture and hardship in forced-labour camps, and as a result often suffer from mental and physical impairment.

ROLE OF TIBET HOUSE TRUST

Tibet House Trust is striving to support Tibetans in exile at every stage of the transition from their homeland, and to assist them in preserving the unique Tibetan culture. It has had a high degree of success in rehabilitating refugees and in preserving Tibetan culture and identity.

Refugee reception centres, hospitals, schools, workshops and cultural education programmes receive support from Tibet House Trust. By these means, the Trust is endeavouring to enable the refugees to acquire the knowledge and skills they will need in order to cope with new lives, and to build a future for themselves in readiness for the time when they can return to their homes.

Tibet House Trust programme matches the aims and aspirations of the Tibetan community. It reflects also the general pattern of the social and economic development pursued by Tibetan Government in exile, under the direction and guidance of His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES IN INDIA & NEPAL

Sponsorship of monks and nuns The Trust has sponsored 200 sick, disabled and elderly monks and nuns, newly-arrived from Tibet, who have been living without support in extreme poverty. There are still many hundreds who require our help.

Sponsorship of school 102 children through education
The children attend residential schools and our sponsorship covers the entire cost of their education, including books, food expenses, clothing and school fees.

Scholarship of university and college students
30 students who have achieved top grades from poor families have been sponsored for degree courses. Their degrees are between 3 and 5 years. Subjects include Law, Business Studies, Teacher Training and Engineering.

We have also arranged scholarships for Tibetan students to study in UK and Norway.

Tibetan Classes for Tibetan children in the United Kingdom
It is imperative that the Tibetan Community sustains its traditional culture while in exile. It is difficult for Tibetan children living in the UK to study Tibetan culture and tradition. Tibet House Trust has arranged weekend Tibetan classes to preserve, promote Tibetan language, culture and traditional identity. The classes are attended by children aged 5 onwards.

Music Teacher Training
Due to the acute shortage of music and drama teachers in Tibetan schools in India, a project has been set up to train music and drama teachers. The project has trained 22 teachers who are now teaching music and drama in Tibetan schools all over India.

Leadership & Self Development Training Program for Women
51 Tibetan women from various settlements and offices in India and Nepal with potential to become executives were trained. The aim of the project was to introduce the participants to extensive administrative and management tools and techniques in order to help them conceptualise issues and analyse problems, thereby enhancing their abilities and productivity. The course covered:

Self awareness
Administrative and management concepts and techniques
Identification of personal strength
Leadership & decision making
Managing boundaries between official & family responsibility

The training proved extremely effective not only in enhancing the administrative work of the trainees, but also in motivating them to meet the broader challenges of serving the Tibetan refugee community. In view of the success of the training programme the Trust has made funds available for the following training programmes:

Specialised training for 25 managers and administrators in the Tibetan refugee community
Training of 25 newly-recruited personnel in office management, including record-keeping and filing systems
Six-month basic foundation course for 30 graduate trainees to serve in the Tibetan refugee community

Old People's Home The Old People's Home was too small to offer places to the large number of elderly requiring urgent residential care. We have therefore made funds available for the extension of the old peoples home.

Tibetan Women's Association The Trust assisted the Tibetan Women's Association delegates to attend the United Nations Women's Conference. The conference took place in Beijing and it was extremely important that Tibetan women had the opportunity to be represented at the conference.

Support of Primary Health Care Services in the settlements for health care and the supplementary salaries of over a hundred Community Health Workers.

Snowstorm Victims in Tibet

In February 1996 there was earthquake in Eastern Tibet. Resulting snowstorms devastated many places and it is estimated that the area lost over 700,000 livestock causing 100,000 nomads to be on the verge of starvation and 55,000 to suffer from frostbite. Tibet House Trust joined a world-wide relief fund to give emergency aid to this tragic disaster. The Office of Tibet and the Trust has raised and transferred almost £60,000.

Tibetan Self Help Centres The Trust has donated funds to the Self Help Centres for the purchase of looms and other equipment to increase production of handicrafts.

FMajor statements made by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Tibetan from 1959 to 1997 on Non-violence, Peace & Freedom

Major International Declarations passed from 1959 to 1997 in support of preserving Tibetan language, cultural heritage and religion

Primary School Text-books in Tibetan Language

Statements and booklets written by former prisoners on their experience in Tibet

Due to the growing influx of new refugees the reception centres are finding it difficult to meet the needs of the refugees and still more urgent is the torture victims who require immediate care.

The Trust has provided £28,051 for:

Rehabilitation Centre construction
Medical treatment and counselling of tortured victims
Medicine
Livelihood training for tortured victims ­ to help them become self-sufficient

FUNDS SECURED FOR FUTURE WORK

A further £9325 has been secured for the Torture Survivors Programme:
Livelihood training for 30 torture victims
Medical and psychiatric counselling treatment for 15 torture victims
Rehabilitation of 15 torture victims who are unable to earn their livelihood

European Commission funding has now been received to finance the construction of a new school complex for 650 Tibetan children from extremely remote areas along the Indo-Tibetan border. Tibet House Trust has been selected by the European Commission to be the Euro-Tibetan NGO acting as implementing partner in this work.

This school will be one of the largest projects undertaken by the Tibetan community. In addition, EC funds have been secure for the construction of staff quarters for 15 staff members at the Manali School in northern India.

FUNDRAISING EVENTS & PROJECTS

Tibet House Trust has invited His Holiness the Dalai Lama to give the Lojong Teaching (Training of the Mind) in Britain in 1999 before the start of the millennium. We are pleased to announce that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has accepted the invitation. The visit will take place in May 1999.

A 'Long Live Tibet' album has been compiled by leading international bands and artistes in order to raise awareness of the Tibetan situation and to raise funds for Tibet House Trust. The 16-track album was released on 14 July 1997.

'Earth Dance' was organised to create a global link-up dance event to focus world consciousness on the plight of Tibet and to raise funds for the work of Tibet House Trust. The event was staged simultaneously in 22 countries around the world on Saturday 4 October 1997. The event in London was attended by over 4000 young people, and was a great success.

'Tibet - Culture in View'. Following much request for information on Tibet and its culture, Tibet House Trust produced a cultural exhibition, consisting of 52 photographs. When funding is secured we aim to expand the existing exhibition to 100 images in order to give a fuller picture of Tibet. This includes its history, religion, people and landscape ­ as well as the threat posed to such culture and the Tibetan identity by the Chinese occupation, population transfer, religious repression and environmental destruction currently taking place. The exhibition will be introduced to audiences around the UK, and will incorporate Tibetan music and dance.

In collaboration with EuroTalk we are producing a Tibetan language CD-ROM. We feel this, together with existing classes for Tibetan children, will be very useful in the preservation and promotion of Tibetan language, culture and traditional identity amongst Tibetan children and youths living in exile, especially those in the West.

'A Song for Peace' - a unique album incorporating rock, techno, ambient, acoustic and choral genres into one work is being produced to raise awareness of the plight of Tibetans and raise funds for the work of Tibet House Trust.

DONATIONS

In order for the work of Tibet House Trust to continue as widely and as extensively as it does, the support of concerned individuals, institutions and organisations is vital. Please give as generously as you can.

Cheque, Postal Order

If you make a donation by cheque or postal order, please make it payable to 'Tibet House Trust'.

Gift Aid

Tibet House Trust can claim back tax on single donations of over £250 from individuals and small companies, and on single donations of any size from large companies. Please contact us if your donation falls within one of these groups, and we will forward to you to appropriate documentation for a Gift Aid donation.

Deed of Covenant

If you are British tax-payer who wishes to give regularly then by signing a Covenant, on page 12, will allow us to recoup the basic tax on what you give at no extra cost.

Banker's Order/Direct Debit

If you would like to make a regular contribution to the work of Tibet House Trust, please write to us.

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This site is maintained and updated by The Office of Tibet, the official agency of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in London. This Web page may be linked to any other Web sites. Contents may not be altered.
Last updated: 29-June-98