Help for Tibetan refugee children
Asia - India
Preparation of house/school and start-up of a health, education and food programme to assist 40 Tibetan refugee children. Rebuilding work will be carried out by local staff of the Tibetan Children's Village, monitored by Soleterre ONLUS staff and supervised by the Dalai Lama's sister, Jetsun Pema.
Type of project:
Protection of human rights, provision of extra food, health assistance, educational and recreational activities, social and economic support.
City / Location:
Dharamsala, northern India, in the state of Himachal Pradesh, home to the exiled Tibetan government
Direct beneficiaries:
40 Tibetan refugee children and their families.
Local staff:
1
Starting date:
January 2008
Summary of the Project:
Before the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950, this land, known as the Roof of the World for its altitude of 4,900 metres, was an independent state inhabited by Tibetan Buddhists. Since 1980, over 10,000 children have crossed the Himalayas to exile in India in search of what was denied to them in their Tibetan homeland: health, education and security. The recent dramatic events of protest and repression in Tibet have exacerbated the migratory phenomenon, also involving the Tibetan Children’s Village with the consequent need for living space. The construction of the home/school is part of a larger project underway to support the homes within the Tibetan Children’s Village and the education and integration of the Tibetan refugee children. In particular, Soleterre is involved in the rebuilding of a home that will house 40 children in exile from Tibet and living in the village of Dharamsala. There is not enough space to construct new buildings, and the existing ones no longer offer a safe place to live. During the rainy season, the water gets into the homes through holes and cracks in the roof and walls. The wooden beams can no longer bear the weight of the roof and walls, and even the floors need redoing, because during the monsoon season, the water seeps into the cement and creates a damp, stagnant atmosphere inside the buildings. These buildings are also used as education centres for the children; they work to maintain the Tibetan culture and to provide a modern education to match that of other schools in India. In this way, the children can learn to integrate into their host country without renouncing their own roots; The building that the project intend to renovate is an old house (already inhabited by the children) with two dormitories, a kitchen and a storeroom, a general-purpose room, shared bathrooms, lodgings for the mothers, a laundry area and a courtyard. The most serious diseases affecting the children are tuberculosis and meningitis, particularly as a consequence of the difficult conditions of the journey to cross the border.