THE TIBET FUND NEWS I S S U E 4 DECEMBER 2012 the Tibet Fund Pays Tribute to Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari in Annual Gala
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THE TIBET FUND NEWS I S S U E 4 DECEMBER 2012 The Tibet Fund Pays Tribute to Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari in Annual Gala On Tuesday, October 2nd The cultural preservation, and eco- both Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and the Tibet Fund held its annual gala at nomic development programs. people of Tibet. Words of Wisdom from Le Cirque, co-chaired by Richard His Holiness the Dalai Blum, Richard Gere, and Carey This was an incredible event that Lowell. The event was held in was made possible by our guests, Lama honor of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, the generous auction donors, Le “Whether one believes in a former special envoy of His Holi- Cirque and its staff, wine donors, religion or not, whether one ness the Dalai Lama, to celebrate The Newark Museum, GK Fram- believes in rebirth or not there his four decades of service to the ing, chef Ripert and his colleagues. isn’t anyone who doesn’t ap- Tibetan people and his dedication For more photos of the event visit to strengthening the relationship us at www.facebook.com/tibetfund. preciate kindness and compas- between the US and Tibet. Both sion.” Richard Gere, of the Gere Foun- dation, and House Democratic World-renowned chef Eric Leader Nancy Pelosi gave Ripert hosted the dinner along- speeches at the gala in tribute to side prestigious chef Alan Ash- The Tibet Fund is their longstanding friendship and kinaze, chef Laurent Manrique, collaboration with Lodi. chef Jeremy McMillan, chef a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organiza- Laurie Jon Moran, and chef tion established in 1981 under This year we were able to raise Olivier Reginensi, all of whom the guidance of His Holiness over $226,000 at the event for the donated their time to create an (Photos © Sonam Zoksang, Giles Clarke) the Dalai Lama. The Tibet Tibet Fund’s education, health, unforgettable meal in honor of Fund is the primary funding organization for the health, education, refugee rehabilita- USAID Awards US$2mn Grant to the Tibetan Education Project (TEP) tion, cultural preservation, and The U.S. Agency for International Asia. Both the Department of and state of-the-art resources for economic development pro- Development (USAID) has State and USAID support cultural teachers in the Tibetan settle- awarded a 2-year grant to imple- preservation and sustainable ments in India and Nepal, we will grams that enable Tibetans in ment the Tibetan Education Pro- development in Tibetan commu- be able to create a sustainable exile and in their homeland to ject (TEP). This $2 million project nities through numerous pro- education policy that will have a sustain their language, culture will be administered in association grams. He said, “Through the lasting impact on future genera- and national identity. with the Central Tibetan Admini- delivery of strategic educational tions of students seeking a qual- stration (CTA), the Department of programming, this project will ity education. We cannot thank Education, the Snow Lion Founda- produce significant gains in the the U.S. government enough in tion, and California State Univer- educational outcomes of the Ti- making this possible. We look sity/Fullerton to improve the qual- betan school system as a whole forward to implementing the TEP ity of educational opportunities for and will equip young Tibetans to and strengthening educational Tibetan primary and secondary succeed in the global economy resources for Tibetan students. school students across settlements while retaining their identity and in India and Nepal. culture." To enable a larger number of Tibetan students to access costly USAID India Mission Director The Tibet Fund’s President Rin- and competitive higher educa- William Hammink said the U.S. chen Dharlo added, “Education is tional opportunities, the Tibet government is committed to assist- a top priority for His Holiness, Fund will expand the Central ing Tibetan refugees in South and this award from USAID Tibetan Administration’s college allows the CTA and the Depart- scholarship program and provide ment of Education to address test preparation and coaching for The Tibet Fund some of the most pressing educa- secondary students. The project 241 East 32nd St tional and mentoring needs of will also establish a counseling New York, NY Tibetan students seeking to com- program for students and pete in the global marketplace.” strengthen administration of Ti- 10016 By placing emphasis on science betan schools. and math, as well as addressing For more information email de- 212- 213- 5011 the issue of teacher training and [email protected] retention by offering scholarships tibetfund.org Please remember the people of Tibet in your gift-giving plans. To THE TIBET FUND donate, please visit www.tibetfund.org/donate P A G E 2 Tibetan Scholarship Program: New Students and Program Updates We are pleased to welcome eight Tibetan Administration (CTA), year master’s degree programs in new participants to the Tibetan including Sikyong Dr. Lobsang the US, pending the availability Scholarship Program (TSP) to Sangay. of funds. Since 1989, the pro- the US in August 2012.To date gram has been primarily funded we have enrolled 398 students in The Tibet Fund is pleased to an- by the U.S. Department of master’s degree and certificate nounce the opening of the 2014 State’s Bureau of Educational programs in some of the best Tibetan Scholarship Program and Cultural Affairs and admin- American universities and col- (TSP), a program funded by the istered by The Tibet Fund in leges. Program alumni have re- U.S. Department of State, Bureau collaboration with the CTA’s turned to India and Nepal to of Educational and Cultural Af- Department of Education. For serve the exile community as edu- fairs, for eligible Tibetan refugees further information and applica- cators, health workers, business in Bhutan, India and Nepal. Appli- tions please refer to our website, leaders, and officials in the Central cations are being accepted for two- www.tibetfund.org. The Professional Scholarship Program (PSP) for Tibetans His Holiness the Dalai Lama con- nity development. The goal of the years without additional support. siders the education of the upcom- program is to enhance the human In order to raise additional funds ing generation of Tibetans to be resources present within the Ti- for the program, The Tibet Fund the highest priority of the exile betan exile community. By help- hopes to invest its current funds community. He has said that the ing young Tibetans to pursue into an Indian time deposit Rupee future of the Tibetan people professional degrees and serve account in Dharamsala, where the depends upon well-educated their community, the program current interest rate stands at community leaders who safe- hopes to significantly impact the roughly 9.25%. If this account guard the traditional values of Tibetan people’s welfare and long held $400,000, the yearly interest Tibet while integrating the -term sustainability. The PSP will from the combined funds would knowledge and skills to be enable the Tibetan community in be enough to pay for the scholar- gained in modern education. It is exile to become more self- ship of 40 professional students with this in mind that the Tibet sufficient and will contribute to per year. This would allow 400 Staff List Fund began the PSP in 2009. the overall cohesiveness of the students to complete their profes- Richen Dharlo, President settlements, thereby contributing sional education in the next ten Robert Ankerson, Vice President The Professional Scholarship Pro- to the survival of Tibetan culture years without drawing money Jessica E. Cox, Director gram provides scholarships to Ti- and identity. from the principle amount held in of Development betan refugee students living in the account. Thus, with help from Rhianna Murphy, Director of India, Nepal and Bhutan, who are The Tibet Fund currently has donors and the community, we are Finance and Administration working towards professional de- $200,000 earmarked for the Pro- aiming to raise $200,000 in order Tenzing Choephel Chumegoo, grees in the fields of healthcare, fessional Scholarship Program, to continue the work of the PSP Tibetan Scholarship Coordinator Yangzom Shawa, Sponsorship engineering, science and commu- which would be exhausted in five for the next ten years. Coordinator Emily Vollmar, Development and Finance Associate Update on Healthcare Tsering Namgyal, Assistant to the President The Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Health (DOH) and The Tibet Fund continue to work to- gether on building Health Information System (HIS), a database that allows the DoH to track the general health of Tibetans and allocate resources to communities in exile based on specific needs. HIS will be fully imple- The Board of Directors mented in all 55 healthcare clinics in India and Nepal by late 2012. In the meantime, DoH continues to improve upon the general health of the Tibetan community in exile through Jessica Brackman regular health education and awareness campaigns. Ven. Gelek Rinpoche Staff training and development in various medical fields were carried out in Tibetan settlements in 2011-2012. Shep Gordon Dr. Gail Gross This included training on inclusive education, mental healthcare, rehabilitation, and women’s health. Susan M. Holgate Key health programs for the DoH include: the Tuberculosis (TB) Control Program, the Malaria Control Program, Dr. Thubten Jinpa Langri a Mother and Child Health (MCH) Program, and an Oral Health Campaign. Michael Lemle The DoH launched TB REACH in collaboration with WHO and Stop TB Partnership, a one-year project aiming Elizabeth Lindsey to improve TB detection among high-risk populations with limited access to services. In addition, a TB Confer- Geoffrey Menin ence and Workshop for doctors, nurses, and general health staff was organized in Dharamsala by Delek Hospital. Tsewang Namgyal The DoH also conducted its annual TB screening in selected Tibetan schools in India and Nepal.