CHAPTER 3A

3A.1 Background

3A.1.1 Introduction

3A.1.2 Problems and Needs

3A.1.3 Profile of the New Refugees

3A.2 Current Activities

3A.2.1 Office of the Reception Centers

3A.2.2 Department of Health

3A.2.3 Schools

3A.2.4 Department of Religion and Culture

3A.3 Goals

3A.4 Rehabilitation Programs for New Refugees

3A.4.1 Reception Facilities Development Program

3A.4.2 Treatment of Torture Victims Program

3A.4.3 School Program for New Refugees

3A.4.4 Monastic Support Program 3A.5 Implications for Free Tibet
3A.6 Budget Summary

3A.1 BACKGROUND

3A.1.1 Introduction

Ever since coming into exile, the Tibetan Refugee Community has had a rehabilitation program that seeks to bring all Tibetan refugees into community groups large enough to allow them to sustain their language, culture and traditions and thus preserve their national identity. These groups were placed in Settlements, established on land given by the Government of India and the Indian State Governments, the Governments of Nepal and Bhutan. In the Settlements, the refugees could secure food, shelter, health care, education and means of livelihood to develop economically self-supporting communities during their exile. However, all refugees could not be accommodated in Settlements: in some cases they continue to live around camps in which they were temporarily housed while others moved to towns in search of livelihood opportunities. This led to the formation of smaller groups outside of official Settlements, and these are termed as scattered communities.

In 1994 there were 69,428 people living in 54 Settlements in India, Nepal and Bhutan. In addition there were 51,715 Tibetan refugees living in India and Nepal in scattered communities outside of these Settlements. The map on p. v shows the location of each Settlement, and Table 1.1.3 the Tibetan refugee population by region.

Rehabilitation continues to be an important priority of the Tibetan Refugee Community. Indeed, on account of a dramatic increase in the number of new refugees arriving from Tibet in recent years, the problem has become more acute. Since rehabilitation of these new refugees is one of the most immediate and top priorities of the Central Tibetan Administration, the problem has been allocated a separate chapter (3A) in the second IDP. The programs and projects to provide rehabilitation facilities for the existing Refugee Community are taken up in Chapter 3B.

3A.1.2 Problems and Needs

The rehabilitation of the Tibetan refugees who came in the early years of exile has been comparatively successful, due to the generosity of the Governments of India, Nepal and Bhutan, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), foreign donor agencies and the work, faith and tenacity of the Tibetan refugees themselves. However, the dramatic increase in the number of new refugees arriving from Tibet in recent years has put severe strains on the existing Refugee Community in seeking to rehabilitate these new arrivals. From 1986 to 1993 just over 15,000 new refugees wishing to stay have come from Tibet, increasing the total Refugee Community by more than 10 percent. In terms of financial resources the Refugee Community had to allocate Rs 8.0 million to the Office of the Reception Centers in 1992-93, which represents an increase of 240 percent over the previous year. And this does not include the expenditure for developing two new schools for the many children among the new refugees.

The strains on the existing Refugee Community that this influx of new refugees has caused have been particularly acute for the following reasons:

- The Governments of India, Nepal and Bhutan, while continuing to be supportive of the existing Refugee Community, are less favorably disposed to the new refugees. Thus these Governments are not allocating any new land where the new refugees could be rehabilitated. The existing land used by the Refugee Community is already overcrowded due to the natural increase in population and cannot legally be used for the new refugees unless they have been formally identified by the host Governments as refugees. Moreover, there are still 9845 refugees who arrived between 1959 and 1979, who have not received any rehabilitation facilities so far (see Chapter 3.B).

- Few in the international community have recognized the influx of new refugees as a serious problem; the rehabilitation of the Tibetan Refugee Community is seen as a success story and is therefore no longer regarded as a priority recipient of refugee aid and assistance. However, without such aid and assistance the existing Refugee Community cannot absorb the dramatic increase in new refugees from Tibet, which has already increased the existing refugee population by over 10 percent. The Refugee Community is very grateful to those donors who have recognized the seriousness of the problem, in particular the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the United States Congress, DANIDA, SOS Kinderdorf International, as well as a number of smaller donors.

How to cope with the influx of new refugees has become one of the most pressing policy issues confronting the Central Tibetan Administration. Many of the new refugees choose to go back after seeing His Holiness the Dalai Lama and getting his blessings, meeting their relatives, or leaving their children behind for education. However, the vast majority of the new refugees are unwilling to go back to Tibet at this juncture, in view of the repression there. The rehabilitation of those new refugees who are unwilling to return is one of the top priorities of the Administration.

3A.1.3 Profile of the New Refugees

The opening of the Tibet-Nepal border in 1980, and the change in China's policy that allowed, after more than 20 years, Tibetans in Tibet to make pilgrimage and visit their families in exile have resulted in a steady flow of Tibetans from Tibet into India and Nepal. Renewed political turmoil and the public demonstrations in Tibet since September 1987, and the subsequent harsh repression let loose by the Chinese authorities to repress these, have added significantly to the refugee-flow.

The number of refugees who arrived in India and Nepal is given in Table 3A.1.3.A overleaf. The Table clearly indicates the rise in the number of refugees arriving every year. During 1992 as many as 3774 new refugees escaped to India. During 1993 the number jumped to 4477, an increase of almost 20 percent.

The different reasons due to which people are still fleeing Tibet can broadly be classified as follows:

1. Political, or prisoners of conscience. Those who have been active in the peaceful pro-independence demonstrations or have spoken against the denial and suppression of the Tibetans right to self-determination, freedom and human rights by the present Chinese regime in Tibet. Many of these refugees have undergone long-term prison sentences and suffered torture and atrocities. They are often in need of medical treatment for broken bones, infections, malnutrition, psychological damage and so forth.

3A.3 GOALS

The following goals have been established for meeting the problems faced by the new refugees:

To provide free reception facilities for all newly arrived refugees for the first 30 days.

To provide medical treatment and rehabilitation to torture victims, as well as basic medical care and vaccinations for all new refugees, especially pregnant mothers and young children.

To integrate all newly arrived refugees who are children within the school system.

To provide a basic stipend for all newly arrived refugees who are monks and nuns.

To provide assistance to the monasteries and nunneries for absorbing the newly arrived monks and nuns.

To provide newly arrived refugees between the age of 18 and 25 with basic adult education and vocational training.

To rehabilitate 1000 new refugees who are lay adults.

While resettling only 1000 lay adults among the new refugees is inadequate in view of the dramatic increase in the number of new arrivals, the financial and other constraints currently faced by the Central Tibetan Administration make this goal realistic.

3A.4 REHABILITATION PROGRAMS FOR NEW REFUGEES

The CTA accords the Rehabilitation Program for New Refugees the most immediate and highest priority. The Program has four sub-programs:

1. Reception Facilities Development Program

2. Treatment of Torture Victims Program

3. School Program for New Refugees

4. Monastic Support Program

3A.4.1 Reception Facilities Development Program

Objectives. The following objectives have been set for the program:

- To provide adequate reception facilities for the newly arrived refugees in Dharamsala, Delhi and Kathmandu;

- To train 240 newly arrived refugees over the age of 25 each year in vocational and income-generating skills, so as to increase their earning potential in exile and make them self-supporting;

- To impart language skills and adult education for newly arrived refugees over 25 years of age.

Progress since the first IDP. The construction of the Reception Center at Delhi was completed by the Kashag (Cabinet) Secretariat in 1991, and the Office of the Reception Centers has taken the building on a low rent. The water supply for the temporary transit Reception Center at Dharamsala has been installed.

Projects

Project 1. Construction of Reception Center and Adult Education Center, Dharamsala. A suitable plot of land for the new Dharamsala Reception Center is available, and construction of 84 rooms for 250 people, as well as classrooms, toilets and bathrooms, a kitchen, storeroom, recreation room and staff quarters will begin in 1995. The new buildings will also incorporate the Adult Education Center which provides two years of basic education in English, Tibetan and rudimentary mathematics to youths aged 18 to 25 years. So far the Adult Education Center has been using temporary structures erected on the existing plot of land. Four hundred students have studied at the Center, of whom 258 are currently there.

The Office of the Reception Centers will be responsible for the implementation of this project. For the human and financial resources required for the project see Sections D and E below.

Project 2. Construction of Reception Center, Kathmandu, Nepal. The present reception building is inadequate to meet the needs of the increased influx of new refugees, most of whom first arrive in Nepal before continuing to India. Renting the current building is also expensive: the annual rent is more than Indian Rs 100,000.

An excellent site in Jorpati, about 12 km from the heart of Kathmandu, is available for the building, and architects had already submitted a design proposal for a four-storied building which would have been able to accommodate 100 refugees at any one time. It would also have promoted social, cultural and religious activities within the entire Refugee Community in Nepal, thereby ensuring swifter integration of the new arrivals within the mainstream of existing Refugee Community.

However, the cost of the proposed Center was too large and the design is now being revised to reduce the costs. The Office of the Reception Centers, in collaboration with the Kashag (Cabinet) Secretariat and the Office of the Planning Council, is responsible for fund-raising for this project. The actual construction will be supervised by the current office of the Reception Center in Kathmandu. The office will appoint an experienced Construction Supervisor. The existing staff serving in the current Reception Center will continue to work for the Center once it moves to its new building.

Human Resources. With the increased number of newly arrived refugees every year, the Office of the Reception Center needs more permanent staff to provide prompt welfare services and maintain person to person relations with the new arrivals. The new staff to be recruited for the Reception Facilities Development Program are:

2 Joint/Deputy Secretaries 1 Computer Programmer

4 In-charge/Managers 3 Office Secretaries

12 Adult Education Teachers 3 Lower Division Clerks

3 Nurses or Health Workers 14 Cooks and Assistants

2 Translators 4 Peons, Sweepers, and so on.

2 Accountants

Financial Resources. The construction of the Dharamsala Reception Center will cost Rs 17 million funding for which has already been committed by DANIDA. The construction and recurring costs of the Adult Education Center total Rs 34.3 million over five years for which the CTA is still seeking funding.

The original cost of constructing the Reception Center in Kathmandu was Nepalese Rs 11.13 million (equivalent to Indian Rs 6.74 million). It is expected that the redesign of the planned construction will reduce these costs by around a third to about Rs 4.5 million. The Community will contribute 40 percent of these costs. Funds to cover the recurring costs of running the Reception Center will be raised by the Central Tibetan Administration as in the past.

In spite of reducing the costs of the Kathmandu Reception Center, the overall costs of this Program are higher than in the first IDP. This is because of the addition of new plans for the Reception Center in Dharamsala.

Monitoring and Evaluation. Construction work is monitored by the respective head of each branch center; in the case of the new Reception Center in Dharamsala the Director of the Office of the Reception Centers in Dharamsala will monitor the construction by making weekly site visits to the Center. Quarterly reports and statements of accounts will be submitted to the Kashag (Cabinet) and funding agencies; the reports will include photographs showing the exact position of the work in progress. The accounts of the Center will be audited by the Office of the Auditor General and will be submitted to funding agencies. Similar procedures will be followed to monitor construction work on the Reception Center in Kathmandu.

Once the Reception Centers and the Adult Education Center are operational, the head of the branch center will check regularly on the services provided to the new refugees. They will continue to submit quarterly reports to the Kashag and to any donors funding the recurring costs of the Centers.

3A.4.2 Treatment of Torture Victims Program

Objective. To identify the nature of torture received by torture victims among the newly arrived refugees from Tibet, and to provide medical treatment and rehabilitation to 20 such torture victims each year.

Rationale. An important reason for many Tibetans to flee their country is that they have suffered from torture under the Chinese authorities in occupied Tibet. While not all the torture victims require treatment, many do suffer from post-traumatic disorders.

Progress since the first IDP. This Program was started in 1993 with a small donation from an individual. A team of doctors and consultants for the Project has been put in place, and ten patients who need immediate treatment have been identified and interviewed.

Implementation. Each year about 200 new arrivals from Tibet, identified by the Department of Security, who have undergone different types of torture will be surveyed. Of these, 20 who most need medical and psychiatric treatment will be selected, and will be referred to the medical and psychiatric consultants for the Program. The team managing the Program will gain experience over time in correctly identifying appropriate cases, as it is not always easy to identify those victims of torture among the many newly arrived refugees who need medical and psychiatric treatment. A strategy to rehabilitate the individuals after treatment so that they can take up appropriate livelihoods still needs to be developed.

Human Resources. The team managing and implementing the Program comprises one doctor as Project Director, one Project Officer, one allopathic doctor and one Tibetan medical doctor as medical consultants, and one doctor as psychiatric consultant.

Financial Resources. The program was started with a small donation, but now needs to be placed on a more sustainable footing. The annual recurring costs of the program are estimated to be Rs 1,165,000. Over five years this amounts to Rs 6,437,000 (incorporating 5 percent inflation).

3A.4.3 School Program for New Refugees

Background. Between 1979 and 1993 TCV admitted 2052 new refugee children into the main Children's Village in Dharamsala. Admitting these new refugees has caused serious overcrowding in the Village, and the practice of immediately admitting children from Tibet into the existing school causes great psychological and transitional difficulties for the newly arrived children, as well as disrupting classes for the existing pupils.

TCV has admitted an additional 1657 at its branch in Bir in Himachal Pradesh. In the past many of the youth among the new refugees have been placed at this branch in Bir, which accepted youth aged from 14 to 25. However, experience has shown that the education system used by this school has not been appropriate for the older youth and the wide range of age groups at the school has given rise to social problems. TCV has thus changed its policy to admit only children below 18 at this school. As a result new hostels which can provide educational facilities more adapted to the specific needs of the older youth are necessary.

Objectives

- To assimilate all the newly arrived refugee children into the Tibetan school system in exile;

- To provide schools, with an appropriate curriculum, for children newly arrived from Tibet so that they can receive the necessary care, attention and support to integrate smoothly into the Refugee Community and to receive an education through which they learn about their culture and become responsible, productive and self-reliant members of society.

Progress since the first IDP. TCV has been able to start implementation of all three projects reviewed below. Funding has been assured through SOS Kinderdorf International.

Projects

Project 1. New School at Gopalpur, H.P. TCV is establishing a new school specially designed for some 800 children from Tibet at Gopalpur, a town located close to Dharamsala. The construction of school buildings has already begun and the school is expected to be fully operational by the end of 1996. 350 children will be admitted to the school in 1995, when the school becomes partially operational.

Project 2. A new Tibetan Children's Village at Bir, H.P. To facilitate further the intake of new children from Tibet a new village with ten homes is currently being built at Bir. Altogether 250 children will be accommodated here. A primary school will be attached to the new village. The project is expected to be completed by 1996.

Project 3. Hostels for New Arrivals from Tibet, India. Due to the change in the policy at the Bir school, so that only children below 18 years of age are being admitted, it has become necessary to make alternative arrangements for the age group from 18 to 25 years. The Office of the Reception Centers has established a temporary Adult Education Center for them near Dharamsala, but this is already overcrowded. Thus TCV is establishing two hostels, one in Dharamsala and one in Ladakh, to which 120 students from the Adult Education Center will be transferred in 1994. The main objective of the hostels is to provide for and develop the youth from Tibet so that they have better opportunities for their future in exile. The project will give priority to those youth who did not have the opportunity to study or receive training in Tibet. The hostels will provide adult literacy, as well as on-the-job vocational training to develop skills with which the new refugees have some basic familiarity.

Financial Resources. Construction of these projects will be completed in 1995 and 1996, and funding for this has already been secured through SOS Kinderdorf International. Thus the budget for this Program is lower than in the first IDP, as it now only covers the recurring costs over five years of running the schools as follows: Rs 34.6 million for Gopalpur; Rs 12.0 million for Bir; and Rs 6.5 million for the hostels, giving a total of Rs 53.1 million. These costs will be covered by TCV through its sponsorship program.

3A.4.4 Monastic Support Program

Background. The Department of Religion and Culture is responsible for assisting newly arrived refugees who are monks and nuns with rehabilitation. A third of the monastic population in exile now comprises new refugees who have come to India and Nepal since 1980. This dramatic increase in the monastic population has led to serious overcrowding in many of the monasteries and nunneries, and 35 of the 60 monasteries and nunneries covered by the IDP survey indicated that they urgently need more hostel facilities.

The other major concerns of the monasteries and nunneries covered by the survey were related first to health conditions, which have deteriorated with the severe overcrowding (for example many of the patients in the TB wards in the Tibetan hospitals in south India are monks), and secondly to educational facilities especially for new monks and nuns. Thus the monasteries and nunneries expressed the need for clean drinking water, sanitation, medical services and nutrition, and for teachers, classrooms and textbooks.

While many of the monasteries undertake income-generating activities to supplement their income from community donations for religious services and from sponsorships and donations from abroad, the influx of new refugees has meant that outside support for absorbing these new monks and nuns has become essential.

Projects. The Monastic Support Program, which is primarily directed towards rehabilitating new refugees who are monks and nuns, consists of the following projects

- Monastic Hostels

- Stipend for New Refugees who are Monks and Nuns

- Teachers in Lay Subjects for the Monastic Schools

- Teachers of Traditional Philosophy

- Supply of Traditional Textbooks for Newly Arrived Monks and Nuns

- Support for Sick, Disabled and Elderly Monks and Nuns

- Tibetan Nun's Project

Project 1. Monastic Hostels. Since 1980 over 5500 newly arrived students who have been deprived materially and psychologically in their homeland due to the Chinese occupation have risked escaping to India in the hope of receiving an education at the monastic centers reestablished in exile. The monastic learning centers now face extreme problems due to an acute shortage of accommodation for the newly arrived students. Due to overcrowding the health conditions are often very poor.

Objective. To reduce overcrowding and improve health conditions by providing proper accommodation for the newly arrived students at ten major monastic centers based in south and north India by 1999.

Implementation. The Project will construct two-storey housing units at each of the ten major monastic centers by 1999. Each unit will house 50 monks in rooms of 225 square feet for four monks each; the units will also have toilets and bathrooms. The land for these buildings is available within the monastic or Settlement areas. Construction will be undertaken under the direct guidance of the Department and the supervision both of the local Settlement Officer and of the concerned monastic centers themselves. While qualified building contractors will be hired for each project, much of the unskilled labor will be provided by the monks.

Project 2. Stipend for New Refugees who are Monks and Nuns. In order to relieve the difficulties the monasteries and nunneries face in supporting so many new students, the Department of Religion and Culture currently provides a basic stipend for each student of Rs 50 directly to the monastery or nunnery they chose to enter. This is intended to contribute towards the cost of their meals from the monastic kitchen. It was hoped that this amount could be increased, but with the influx of new refugees this has not been possible; indeed, it has been difficult to maintain.

Objective. To provide all newly arrived monks and nuns with a basic stipend so that they can be adequately supported in their monastery or nunnery.

Implementation. It is necessary to raise the stipend to Rs 300 a month in order to fully support student monks and nuns, both for their living and their education. Because this cannot be done immediately the Department plans to raise the stipend by Rs 50 each year. The stipends will continue to be provided directly to the monasteries and nunneries chosen by the individual student monks and nuns.

Project 3. Teachers in Lay Subjects for the Monastic Schools. The Tibetan Community strongly encourages younger monks and nuns to study English and modern academic subjects. This will allow Tibetan scholars not only to place their knowledge of Buddhism in the present global context, but to communicate it to interested people, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, from around the world.

In order to maintain a balance between traditional and modern education, the study of mathematics, science and English, Tibetan grammar and history are introduced at the secondary level in the monastic schools. In this way the students acquire a solid foundation in these subjects before embarking on the difficult and demanding curriculum of their full monastic studies.

Objective. To provide adequate teachers in lay subjects to give the newly arrived monks and nuns a basic modern education.

Implementation. Since such teachers are rarely found among the monks themselves they have to be hired from outside. They require a salary of Rs 2500 a month. At present there is an urgent need for 150 such teachers in the monasteries.

Project 4. Teachers of Traditional Philosophy. The existing philosophy teachers of the monastic learning centers are either paid minimal fees or receive no pay at all. Some centers have no teachers and would need to bring some from other monasteries. Teaching is a full-time activity and since the academic growth and development of the monasteries depends on the teacher's time and dedication, it is important to encourage monks to pass on their knowledge.

Objective. To provide a stipend of Rs 1000 to support 300 teachers of traditional philosophy to ensure that the new monks receive a proper education.

Implementation. Although a full salary is not necessary for such monastic teachers, a basic stipend would allow these monks, who often have many dependent students, to supplement their diet and those of their dependents. This could be achieved with Rs 1000 per month per teacher.

Project 5. Supply of Traditional Textbooks for Newly Arrived Monks and Nuns. The newly arrived monks and nuns are usually very short of funds and have difficulty in buying the textbooks they require for their studies. The Department would like to assist them in purchasing books, and to create funds in the monasteries which could contribute to the cost of the books. The size of each fund would depend on the number of monks in the monastery concerned.

Objective. To supply traditional textbooks for 5500 newly arrived students already in exile, as well as for those who come in future.

Implementation. The textbooks are available for sale at the Drepung Printing Press at Mundgod, the Tibetan Cultural Printing Press at Dharamsala, and elsewhere. A monastic student needs a minimum of Rs 150 a year for buying such traditional textbooks.

Project 6. Support for Sick, Disabled and Elderly Monks and Nuns. There are over 450 sick, disabled and elderly monks and nuns, many of them new refugees, who are not living in monasteries or nunneries where they could be cared for. Many live unsupported in extreme poverty and do not get adequate food, shelter, clothing or medicine; they are not in a position to work and earn a living. Thus they are urgently in need of humanitarian assistance. The Department of Religion and Culture is helping some already, but is unable to help all of them because of insufficient funds.

Objectives. To improve the health and living conditions of 450 sick, infirm and elderly monks and nuns and to give them a sense of belonging.

Implementation. The 450 people will be provided monetary help according to their needs to acquire adequate food, clothing, shelter and medicine. An average of Rs 4500 per person a year is needed.

Management of the Program. The Department of Religion and Culture will take full responsibility for managing all the above projects. A Deputy Secretary and an assistant will be appointed to take charge of the program. They will be responsible to the Secretary and through him to the Kalon (Minister). The disbursement of funds for many of the above projects is simple because they mainly depend on the structures already present in the monasteries and nunneries which the Department is seeking to help. The funds come to the Department and all the files and records are kept by the Deputy Secretary concerned. Every six months the Deputy Secretary travels to the respective monasteries where he hands over the funds to the administrators of the monasteries or nunneries who are then responsible for their distribution. These visits also allow the Deputy Secretary to review the progress of any projects on the ground. The Department will appoint a competent person to monitor on site the progress of any construction project, including costs incurred, planned schedule, the quality of construction materials used, and so on. The Deputy Secretary is thus able to monitor the progress of each project and provides the Secretary of the Department with regular reports, which are then discussed with the Kalon.

Financial Resources. The total budget required for these projects over five years is Rs 156.4 million, of which the monasteries, nunneries and local communities will contribute Rs 12.1 million or 8 percent. The total budget is much higher than in the first IDP, because the Department of Religion and Culture has since then been able to draw up a more comprehensive strategy for meeting the needs of new refugees who are monks and nuns. Thus the value of the basic stipend needs to be increased, and the five other projects are new to the IDP. The costs of individual projects are as follows:

Monastic Hostels. Each two-storey housing unit for 50 monks will cost Rs 900,000. Over five years 20 such units will be constructed, giving a total cost of Rs 19.9 million (incorporating 5 percent inflation). The monasteries and the local communities will contribute 20 percent of these costs.

Stipend for New Refugees. By raising the stipend by Rs 50 each year until it stands at Rs 300 in 1999, and allowing for an increase of 500 monks and nuns each year, the total budget over five years for this project is Rs 81.0 million.

Teachers in Lay Subjects. To pay 150 teachers Rs 2500 a month will cost Rs 4.5 million a year or Rs 22.5 million over five years. The monasteries will contribute 20 percent of these costs.

Teachers of Traditional Philosophy. To pay 300 such teachers Rs 1000 a month will cost Rs 3.6 million a year or Rs 18.0 million over five years. The monasteries will contribute 20 percent of these costs.

Supply of Traditional Textbooks. By allowing for an increase of 500 monks and nuns each year requiring such assistance the costs of project total Rs 4.9 million over five years.

Support for Sick, Disabled and Elderly. To provide for 450 such monks and nuns at an average or Rs 4500 a year per person will cost Rs 2.02 million a year or Rs 10.1 million over five years.

Project 7. Tibetan Nuns Project

Background and Progress to Date. In the past few years over 400 nuns have escaped from Tibet into India. Because the few existing nunneries in India are themselves poor and overcrowded they have been unable to absorb this large influx of new refugees. Hence over 300 nuns have come under the care of the Tibetan Nuns Project, which through its sponsorship program is providing them with food, shelter, medical care and education.

Approximately 60 nuns have been housed in two existing nunneries in or near Dharamsala and the Nuns Project channels its sponsorship support to them through those nunneries. Another 50 or more nuns live on their own and receive their support on an individual basis.

It has also been necessary to establish two new nunneries. A group of over 60 nuns have arrived over the past three years who are from Shugsep, a Nyingma nunnery located just outside of Lhasa in Tibet. Almost all were expelled from the nunnery by the Chinese regime in Tibet because of their involvement in the pro-independence demonstrations that took place in Lhasa from 1988-90. Because of the size of the group, the fact there is only one other Nyingma nunnery in the Refugee Community, and the importance of maintaining the unique traditions of Shugsep which was the home nunnery of one of the foremost Tibetan teachers of this century (the Shugsep Jetsunma) it was felt important to assist this group to maintain their distinct monastic identity.

Hence, in 1992, the Tibetan Nuns Project took a loan of Rs 1.1 million in order to purchase a small plot of land with two buildings on it and found the Dharamsala branch of Shugsep Nunnery. The Nuns Project has since been able to pay off half that amount from their general fund; the other half remains an outstanding loan.

There is another group of over 100 nuns under the care of the Tibetan Nuns Project who come from all regions of Tibet and all Tibetan Buddhist sects. They are currently housed in overcrowded rented housing. The Nuns Project has undertaken to establish a new non-sectarian nunnery, called Dolma Ling, that will provide them with a permanent and stable living situation. Land has been purchased near Dharamsala and a three phase building project drawn up. Construction began in 1993, on Phase One, which will provide the bare minimum in facilities required to get the nuns out of the sub-standard rented housing they currently occupy and into an environment where their basic needs in terms of living situation, food, education, and health care can be met. Phase One is scheduled for completion in September 1994.

An educational program has also been implemented. The nuns currently have two Tibetan teachers, one to teach them Tibetan language, grammar, and so forth, and one introducing them to the traditional course of philosophical study. They also have two English teachers. A curriculum modeled on that developed by the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, but including also instruction in such basic subjects as science, mathematics, and geography, is in the process of being formalized. Once Phase One is complete and workshop space is available income-generating projects will be begun. Two volunteers are coming in 1994 to investigate the feasibility of various projects under consideration and to train the nuns in specific handicraft skills.

Future Plans. What is required now is to complete the nunnery building project and to move on to build an Institute of Higher Studies for Nuns, the first such institute ever to be built for Tibetan Buddhist nuns. Through this Institute advanced study and training will be made available to nuns from nunneries throughout India and Nepal, thereby raising the educational level of all the nuns. These two goals constitute the second and third phases of the building project.

Phase Two will complete the buildings required for the new nunnery, along with the buildings to be shared by the nunnery and Institute, by late 1996; the project will then be able to accommodate 200 nuns. Phase Three represents the construction of the Institute for Higher Studies for Nuns to accommodate 100 nuns. Phase Three should be completed by the end of 1997.

The curriculum for the Institute is in the process of being developed cooperatively by the Department of Religion and Culture and the Tibetan Nuns Project in consultation with the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics. The Institute will function specifically as an educational facility with a fixed term course of higher studies and a rotating student body. This study will combine high-level training in traditional topics of Tibetan Buddhist studies with practical training courses in such things as health-care work, teacher training, social work, income-generating skills and administration.

Implementation, Management and Monitoring. The Director of the Tibetan Nuns Project is responsible for the overall management of the project and is assisted by two Western volunteers. The Director, the Construction Manager and the Accountant for the Nuns Project oversee the day to day progress, check and control the funding, and make changes if necessary. The nuns themselves are assisting in the construction of their nunnery and the Institute in whatever ways they can. Annual reports giving full accounting of construction costs and progress will be provided.

Financial resources. The total funding required to complete Phase Two and Three of the construction of the new nunnery and the Institute is Rs 19.7 million. The Tibetan communities living in India and abroad and individual foreign donors will meet 25 percent of the construction costs. The Tibetan Nuns Project seeks to raise 75 percent of the funds, or Rs 14.8 million, from institutional donors. The cost estimates to run the nunnery and Institute once construction is completed are as follows:

- non-recurring costs for furnishings, staff training, vehicles and the development of income-generating projects totalling Rs 3.2 million.

- recurring costs for basic support, maintenance of facilities, education, medical care and administration totalling Rs 10.1 million over five years (without incorporating inflation). The Tibetan Nuns Project expects to meet 50 percent of this need through its sponsorship program, private donors, and, over time, income from self-sufficiency projects. The Project is seeking 50 percent of the funds (or Rs 5 million) from institutional donors.

The total funding required for Phase Two and Three of the Project is thus Rs 33.0 million, of which the Project is seeking Rs 26.0 million from institutional donors. In addition the Project is still seeking Rs 3.0 million to complete the first Phase of construction. The total budget is significantly higher than in the first IDP, when the Tibetan Nun's Project was only just beginning; since then the Project has been able to develop detailed plans for its operations over the next five years.

3A.5 IMPLICATIONS FOR FREE TIBET

The preservation of Tibetan language, religion and culture and imparting modern education to both monastic and lay children have become one of the urgent needs and problems of the Community. The unique Tibetan civilization is under threat of annihilation as manifested by the systematic destruction of its culture, identity and religion and total lack of basic education. In order to make a nation or community viable, proper education and freedom to preserve and promote its culture, identity and tradition is a must. This has been denied to the Tibetans in Tibet. As a result the number of young children escaping Tibet to receive both monastic and modern education in exile is increasing every year. The Community in exile has been putting all its resources to provide adequate material, spiritual and education support to the new refugees. Some progress has been made but the needs increase ever more.

The different educational and rehabilitation programs undertaken by the CTA will serve as useful examples and experience to educate the vast number of illiterate people in Tibet. Since future Tibet will be a democratic country, education of its people is most essential. Also in order to develop future Tibet into a modern nation based on Buddhist philosophy, education is quite essential. Since rebuilding of future Free Tibet depends on the quality of the youth, who will become the leaders, it is necessary that proper material, spiritual and education facilities are provided to them. In short, through these programs and project, the seed of the Future Tibet's leadership is sown.

3A.6 BUDGET SUMMARY

The total budget is Rs 307.7 million, of which the project holders will contribute Rs 14.8 million or 5 percent. Rs 79.1 million or 26 percent have already been secured, primarily for the Schools Program and the Dharamsala Reception Center.

With the ever increasing number of new refugees coming from Tibet the overall Plan budget allocated to meet their needs has had to be more than doubled since the first IDP, even though significant progress has been made in developing reception facilities and schools for the new refugees.

PROGRAMS	YEAR (all figures in Rs '000s)					TOTAL	Request
and projects	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	(Rs '000)	Donors
RECEPTION:	19464	19656	7496	7709	7931	62255	43455
Dharmasala Branch Kathmandu Branch Torture Victims	16049 2250 1165	16183 2250 1223	6212 1284	6360 1349	6515 1416	51318 4500 6437	34318 2700 6437
SCHOOL PROGRAM:	6192	10674	11376	12078	12780	53100	0
Gopalpur School Bir TCV School Hostels	2940 2100 1152	7200 2250 1224	7680 2400 1296	8160 2550 1368	8640 2700 1440	34620 12000 6480	0 0 0
MONASTIC SUPPORT:	33870	35325	40189	38362	44646	192392	170339
Monastic Hostel Stipend (Monks & Nuns) Teachers of Lay Subjects Philosophy Teachers Supply of Textbooks Stipends for Elderly Nuns Projects	3600 6600 4500 3600 825 2025 12720	3780 10800 4500 3600 900 2025 9720	3969 15600 4500 3600 975 2025 9520	4167 21000 4500 3600 1050 2025 2020	4376 27000 4500 3600 1125 2025 2020	19892 81000 22500 18000 4875 10125 36000	15914 81000 18000 14400 4875 10125 26025
TOTAL:	59526	65655	59061	58149	65357	307748

[ Homepage ] [ Govt ] [ Integrated Development Plan ]



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: 30-Sept-96