I was in Leh in connection with the workshop for the science teachers at SOS TCV Choglamsar from 9th to 13th August 2010.

During the period, I took the opportunity to visit the elders receiving sponsorship through Tibet Charity.

Though there are 15 of them in Leh, due to the massive flash flood and mud – slide, I could meet only five of them. The rest have deserted their homes and were away on hills fearing more flash floods and mud –slides. Those that I met were all fine. They have all expressed their heartfelt gratitude to Tibet Charity Denmark for kindly finding sponsors for them. They were all very thankful to their sponsors for kindly helping them at the late stage of their lives. They have all reached a stage where they were in no position to do any kind of work to make a living. So the sponsorship money is the only source of income with which to make a living.

Of the ones I met, Sechu Bhutti (SC 0047) and Samdup Lhamo (SC0053) were the ones worst affected during the mud – slide. Both of their houses were

badly damaged and both got carried away for some distance by the mud – slide during the night along with their daughters and grand – daughters. They were lucky enough to hold on to some trees till they were rescued in the morning by the army. Though they were badly bruised, they were fine when I met them. One of the grand – daughters opened her eyes only after three days in the hospital.

Mr. Lobsang Tsering (SC0044) is in a bad state of health. He has been completely bedridden for the last few months. The people in his village take turn to visit him and cater to his needs.

I am happy to inform all the sponsors that whatever amount we have sent them has reached them uncut. They all



pray for the goof health and long life of their sponsors.

During my visit I also visited Ladakh Animal Care Organization to see how they work. I have had a very fruitful discussion with their chairman. They promised to visit the Tibetan camps whenever required and carry out ABC and Rabies Vaccination program. I introduced the Organization to the settlement officer and the school. I also had an opportunity to give a talk on Rabies to the staff and the students of SOS TCV School

As the place was reeling under the devastating effect of the cloud burst, people everywhere looked shocked and scared. They left their homes to live in make shift tents. Every time at night when there is a thunder or lightening, people ran to the mountains. In such a

circumstance, there was nothing I could do as the need was huge. But I was happy to have got the opportunity to donate some tanks for storage of water in the makeshift camps as per the request of the Settlement Officer. This has been possible due to the amount given to us by the Social Development Section of Tibet Charity Denmark for such emergency use.

I once again condole the deaths in Leh and express my sympathy to the families of all those who have died during that tragic moment.

I request all our well – wishers and friends to kindly donate generously for the cause of rebuilding the affected areas.

I also thank all my friends and well – wishers who have been concerned about my safety. Lack of communication has been the biggest problem during my stay there as both the telephone line and the internet connection were the worst hit.

Glad to be in a position to reply to you all through this newsletter.

A science workshop was organized for the science teachers of some schools in and around Leh. Though we have initially expected to have 15 participants from the region, some teachers could not attend the workshop due to the disaster that struck the region on 5th August 2010.

In spite of the natural calamity that struck the region, 7 participants did actually turned up.

The workshop started with a simple opening ceremony at 9 a.m. on 9th August 2010. The Director of the school was the chief guest, which was attended by the school principal, the headmaster,



the Resource persons from Denmark, the participants and the Director of Tibet Charity in India.

All the speakers on the occasion expressed their shock at the loss of life and property and expressed their condolence to the bereaved families. But in spite of the tragedy, the speakers were unanimous in saying that life must go on and we as teachers must do our best to provide the best of education to the students. As science teachers, it was our duty to make the subject as interesting and as relevant to the lives of the students as we possible could. Thus science workshop must go on despite the tragedy that struck the region.

The workshop went on for five days during which time various topics in physics and chemistry were touched.

The two resource persons Mr. Gunnar Cederberg and Mr. Erland Andersen taught the teachers how to make use of the resources available locally to carry out various experiments from the textbook. They were also taught how to make the subject more interesting and how to relate various topics in the subject related to the day to day life of the students.

At the end of the workshop, the teachers and the schools expressed their gratitude to the Resource persons



for explaining things to them in the simplest of ways and in a very informal and cordial environment.

They also thanked Tibet Charity for organizing the workshop and Mr. Peter Hallum for kindly funding and planning the workshop. They all felt that the workshop has been very beneficial to them and they all promised to implement what they have learnt during the workshop in their day to day teachings.

We on our part would like to thank the two resource persons for coming all the way from Denmark and sharing their experience and knowledge with the participants. They have also been part of our workshops in the past for

teachers in other areas of India.

We also wish to thank TCV Choglamsar for hosting the workshop and for warmly receiving us. I must particularly thank Mr. Choegyal Tashi, the school principal and Mr. Tsering Wangchuk, the school lab assistant for working very hard in making our stay comfortable and in ensuring the success of the workshop.

I thank the two resource persons who have been associated with us right from the very first workshop we organized at CST Chauntra. They were the resource persons also at TCV Bylakuppe and STS Gangtok. Their vast knowledge and experience have greatly benefitted



science teachers at all Tibetan schools as well as some local schools in India and Nepal.

Last but not the least I thank Peter Hallum for planning these workshops and in arranging fund for the same. His effort in raising the education standard in the Tibetan schools is highly commendable. He has been providing the schools with educational CDs and he has also funded kitchen garden workshops and helped setting up kitchen gardens in some Tibetan schools.

With the conclusion of the science workshop at Leh, we have now covered all the Tibetan schools in India and Nepal. We hope that both the teachers and students have greatly benefitted from these workshops.

Sambhota Tibetan School Shillong is located in the state of Meghalaya, North-East India and was established in the year 1980. The purpose of establishing a Tibetan school in this remote place is to cater to the educational need of Tibetan children whose parents are scattered all across the North- Eastern states of India. The school has been working diligently to preserve and promote the invaluable Tibetan culture, religion and language.

Presently they have 67 students and 15 staff members. Most of the students are from remote areas of Tuting (Arunachal Pradesh) and Nepal. These students had no-where to go during the 20 days Summer Vacation because of the distance and the poor financial condition of their parents. To make their stay in the school memorable and to compensate for not being able to go to home, the school office appealed to Tibet Charity, India for some help.

We on our part felt that having to live in

the confinement of the school area for 12 months at a stretch will be too much for these young minds. On top of that the school area is not so much for the children to run around. So we felt that they surely needed to go for some educational trips which will not only provide them with some entertainment outside the school campus but will also provide them to understand the world better.

Our sincere thanks therefore go to STEN MELSON & NETTE VOLSON for kindly sponsoring this memorable trip and putting smile on the faces of the students. With their kind support, the elder children were taken to Gauhati and the younger ones were taken to a place closer by.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the trip and in the process learnt a lot of valuable lessons about wild life, flora and fauna, waves and the law of motion. The students thoroughly lived and enjoyed every moment of their stay in

the zoo as well as the water park as we can see from the report that they submitted.

The school headmaster writes, “Finally it was well worth watching the satisfied look on the face of our students after the trip and they still discuss about the trip and what they experienced during this year’s memorable summer break. For your kind help and support, our school shall ever be indebted to STEN MELSON & NETTE VOLSEN for generously sponsoring our trip and making our summer holiday a memorable one. Our thanks also go to Mr. Tsering Thundup la, The Director, Tibet Charity India, for his continued support and for helping us to impart holistic education to our students. For your kind help and guidance we shall ever be indebted to you.”

see more photos...

- 26th July 2010

We are very happy to write here about the completion of Toilet and Bathroom renovation work at Central School for Tibetans, Paonta Sahib.

As per the project proposal submitted by Sambhota Tibetan Schools Society, the administration running the Tibetans schools under CTA in India, the fund was released to the school to start the renovation.

As the toilets and bathrooms are attached to the hostel, bringing down

the old ones and constructing new toilets were out of question. So the main renovation has been done on the walls, floorings, tapes and pipes of the toilet and bathroom. Tiles are fitted on the wall to avoid dampness and tiles are also laid on the floorings. There is now shower bath facility for the boys and two wash basins are fitted. There are four toilets attached to the bathroom. The entire renovation was completed on 6th June 2010 to the complete satisfaction of the school children.

The toilets and the bathrooms which

were initially in a bad condition giving unhygienic look and stinking smell all around is now looking neat, clean and hygienic.

The Department of Education writes “would like to thank Tibet Charity for supporting this project. With completion of this work, students are overjoyed and delighted with new fixtures and clean bathroom and toilet, which we can see from their cheerful face”.

I thank Save Tibet Austria for kindly funding the project.

We are very happy to have got the opportunity to provide scholarship to 12 students this year to pursue professional courses.

Tibet Charity is extremely grateful to all our sponsors who are involved in helping us to help these students. This is important as it would enable the students to become self reliant and

less dependent upon outside support in the long run. These students who are going to receive scholarship from us could be just staying at home or taking up a course that is contrary to their interest will now be a able to take a course of their choice.

By helping these young boys and girls, we are not only helping them and their

family but we will also be rendering a yeoman service to the Tibetan community by enabling the future citizens of Tibet to become independent.

Thank you once again and we hope to receive more such help in the future. The detail of the list is as under:

17th July 2010