INTRODUCTION:

The Tibet Fund is a non-profit organization based in New York City, USA, dedicated to helping Tibetans and supporting and strengthening Tibetan communities in exile through programs in health, education, economic and community development. Since its founding in 1981, with the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Tibet Fund has grown into the principle fund raising organization for the Tibetan people, both in exile and inside Tibet.

MISSION:

The Tibet Fund’s primary mission is the preservation of the distinct cultural, religious and national identity of the Tibetan people. It advances this mission by advocating international assistance on behalf of the Tibetan people and administers grants for projects that:

  • Support and strengthen Tibetan refugee communities in India, Nepal and Bhutan.

  • Offer scholarships and cultural exchange programs to Tibetan students.

  • Support health, education and small economic development projects inside Tibet.

  • Promote the growth of other organizations designed to address the identified needs of the Tibetan people

ACTIVITIES IN 2004

The Tibet Fund’s activities remained focused on the priority areas of:

  • Assistance for new refugees
  • Health projects in Tibetan communities
  • Community and Economic Development
  • Religious and Cultural Affairs
  • Research and Publishing, and Projects inside Tibet through the Khawachen Assistance Program

1. ASSISTANCE FOR NEW REFUGEES

Each year an average of 3,200 new refugees arrive from Tibet. They are met first at a refugee reception center in Kathmandu where they are provided with food, lodging, medical care and a chance to rest and recuperate until arrangements are made to travel to India. From Kathmandu the majority of refugees travel to Dharamsala, India by way of New Delhi. They receive care, temporary housing and rehabilitation services at refugee reception centers in New Delhi and Dharamsala.

 

        

Tibet Fund is the primary source of funding for the three reception centers as well as for the Transit School and TCV School at Bir to which newly arrived older youth are assigned for an education. In 2004, The Tibet Fund provided $690,000 from the U.S. State Department’s Humanitarian Assistance (HA) grant to support the three refugee reception centers and the schools for new refugee children.

2. EDUCATION

A. Support for Primary and Secondary Education

The Tibet Fund works closely with the Central Tibetan Administration’s (CTA) Department of Education (DOE) , the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) and the Tibetan Homes foundation to help educate Tibetan Children in exile.

The DoE oversees 80 primary and secondary schools in India and Nepal serving more than 24,000 Tibetan students. The TCV cares for disadvantaged children in four main Children’s Villages, seven residential schools, six day schools and nine day care centers across India and Nepal and the Tibetan Home’s Foundation provides education and other services to roughly 2,000 mostly orphaned children.  In 2004, the Tibet Fund provided $616,000 to the DoE, the TCV and the Tibetan Homes Foundation for their educational programs.

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