TIBETAN CHILDREN'S FUND

The Chinese Communists invaded Tibet in the late 1950s, driving the country's ruler into exile in 1959. Then just 24 years old, the Dalai Lama and about 100,000 of his followers settled in and around Dharamsala, India.

Through the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and the political instability of the 1970s and 1980s, the Chinese treated Tibet as a vassal state, plundering its wealth, destroying its great institutions, torturing and murdering millions of Tibetans. The story of Tibet is one of the great tragedies of the latter half of the 20th Century.

The systematic destruction of Tibet continues. Amnesty International regularly issues alerts for human rights violations. Political prisoners are still routinely tortured and murdered. And the Chinese have staged a massive influx of new settlers into the region: in the vast area once known as Tibet, Chinese now outnumber Tibetans by a large majority.

When the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, he said, "The problems we face today, violent conflicts, destruction of nature, poverty, hunger and so on, are human created problems which can be resolved through human effort."

Millions of Tibetans have fled the old country in search of peace and freedom. Far too often they have faced the fate of refugees everywhere: racism, poverty, fear. The Tibetan Children's Fund strives to give deserving kids a leg up, a chance to better themselves, by providing food, clothes, and an education. The future belongs to them.

For more than a hundred years, children from the regions around West Bengal State (India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet) have received English-language instruction at schools in Darjeeling.

The Tibetan Children's Fund provides food, shelter and education to Tibetan refugee children living in the heart of the Himalayas in Northeastern India. Sponsored children attend the Central Schools for Tibetans, where classes are conducted in Tibetan and English; and private Catholic boarding schools, where all instruction is in English. These schools have long prepared leaders of Tibetan government, education and commerce.

These are the people who will peacefully guide Tibet into its uncertain future.

TCF's mandate is to help the children of Tibet flourish. These children will be there to carry on Tibet's civilization and cultural heritage.

TCF Today

During 1996, TCF is working on establishing an orphanage project in India's north-easternmost state of Sikkim. Additionally, we are meeting with officials of the Tibetan Government in Exile to consider sponsoring children living in restricted refugee areas in Southern India.

The Tibetan Children's Fund sponsors children with varied backgrounds. Children are selected based on their scholastic ability, ambition, and need. Here are a few of their stories:

Lhakpa is an orphan being raised by his elderly, destitute grandmother. She can barely afford to feed herself, much less him. TCF is sponsoring Lhakpa at the Central School for Tibetans in Kalimpong as a full-board student. He has shown great promise in spite of extreme adversity. TCF is working diligently to place him in one of the English-language boarding schools, to give him the best academic preparation available.

Gyelek and Tshering, brother and sister, attend school in Darjeeling. Their father is an artist who works with a traditional form of Tibetan art, painting "Thangkas." Gyelek and Tshering are conscientious students. They have, with the encouragement of their parents, established a pen-pal relationship with students in the U.S..

Loreto Convent is an all-girl's school where we are sponsoring several children who are doing exceptionally well academically. For example, Norzing's teacher writes that she is "a hard working child"; she is earning A's and B's in science and math.

About the Tibetan Children's Fund

More than 100 Tibetan refugee children are currently sponsored in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sonoda, and rural areas of Northern India.

All overhead expenses are borne by corporate sponsors. Volunteers pay their own travel and living expenses.

All money donated by individuals goes straight to the children, either through their schools or the Tibetan Welfare Office.

TCF only sponsors Tibetan children. Their progress is monitored by the Board of Directors, who pay special attention to progress in English, math and science. TCF sponsorship is contingent on maintaining high scholastic standards.

TCF has developed a strong presence at the Central Schools for Tibetans, with participating co-operation of the Tibetan Welfare Office, a unit of the Tibetan Government in Exile.

Many sponsored children attend private, English-language, parochial schools in the region. The Sisters who run these fine institutions have given invaluable love and guidance in helping us with the children.

TCF also receives donations of children's clothes and shoes, which are air-freighted to India for distribution to Tibetan children in need.

Founded in 1993, TCF is an IRS recognized 501(c)3 non-profit, charitable corporation, incor-porated in the State of Colorado, USA.

Tibetan Children's Fund Post Office Box 473 Pinecliffe, Colorado USA 80471 Voice: 303-642-0492 Fax: 303-642-0491 YES! Enclosed is my contribution for: $250 to educate a Tibetan child at a top- flight English language school, including room and board for one school year. $60 to help a child buy books, uniforms, meals, and meet medical needs at the Central School for Tibetans. $___ to support other TCF activities, including school construction projects, ad-hoc scholarships, etc. Donor: ______________________________ Address: ______________________________ ______________________________________ Tibetan Children's Fund Board of Directors Linda Sharp-Leonhard President and Executive Director Jeri Baker Treasurer Margaret Wyss Secretary

This brochure was made possible by donations from
Pinecliffe International
and other corporate sponsors.