(ÒFOTSIÓ)
Friends of Tibetan Settlements in India (FOTSI) aids Tibetan refugees
and projects in resettlement (refugee) areas in India. Health and educational
needs are priorities. Currently most work is in the Mundgod (Doeguling), and
Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlements in Karnataka State, India. FOTSI is a fully
tax-exempt non-profit organization (501(c)(3)) incorporated in the state of
Colorado. The project is directed by Chela Kunasz, President, and the FOTSI
Board of Directors.
All donations to this project are tax-deductible. All donated funds go directly to the Tibetan people and projects described below and none are used for overhead unless this is specifically requested or allowed by the donor. As we grow, we do truly need donations to help with our expenses, so we also request such donations. However, this is the donor's decision, and funds donated explicitly for projects and sponsorships are given in total to them.
Opportunities exist for medical professionals to do short-term
work in the Doeguling (Mundgod) settlement. Volunteers are not paid and must
fund their own travel and living expenses, although housing is usually
supplied. Also, a special "Protected Area Permit" is required for
non-Indian volunteers, and these require as much as 6 months to obtain, so
plans must be made far in advance of any trip to this settlement. Please send
email to the contact at the bottom of this page if interested in such work.
# Drepung Gomang School
# Aid for Needy Tibetans: Sponsors,Students,Aid
# Jangchub Choeling Nunnery: (Sponsorship,Medical Aid)
# Monk Sponsorship, Community Services
# Monks' Health and Emergency Funds
# Hospitals & Kharyak Charitable Society
# Tibetan SOS Children's Village (Bylakuppe)
# New Projects
# Award from Tibetan Government-in-Exile
# Endorsement from Author/Lecturer Dr. Huston Smith
# FOTSI Photo Collage Current, 2006-2007
# 2006-2007 Newsletter with Stories, Data (Adobe Acrobat Format
4.9MB)
# FOTSI Photo Collage (2005-2006)
# 2005-2006 Newsletter with Stories, Data (Adobe Acrobat Format
16.4MB)
# FOTSI Photo Collage (2004-2005)
# 2004-2005 Newsletter with Stories, Data (Adobe Acrobat Format
192KB)
# FOTSI Photo Collage (2003-2004)
# 2003-2004 Newsletter with Stories, Data (Adobe Acrobat Format
148KB)
# FOTSI Photo Collage (2002-2003)
# 2002-2003 Newsletter with Stories, Data (Adobe Acrobat Format
92KB)
CONTACT INFORMATION (chela@colorado.edu)
DREPUNG GOMANG SCHOOL:
A monastery school less funded than many other lay and monastic schools.
At this school orphaned or impoverished boys find a home and are trained in the
ancient traditions of the Tibetan Gelukpa tradition. Some boys return to their
relatives in India (e.g. Ladakh, Zanskar, Assam), Tibet, and Nepal as laymen,
while others go on to become monks and lamas serving the Tibetan and world
community in various capacities. Some students at this school have recently had
very difficult and frightening experiences escaping from Tibet.
The children study Tibetan reading and writing, debating, English,
Hindi, social studies, math, science, and the traditions and texts of Tibetan
Buddhism and the Drepung Gomang Monastery. One time general donations, periodic
donations, and sponsorships of students and teachers are all much needed. Our
continuing contributions have provided desks, medicines, vitamins, food, and
basic supplies. Now we are seeking funds for teachers and for a future program
to teach traditional art classes, such as thangka painting. We've shipped bags
of school books to the School over the years, bought ceiling fans, desks, and
computer disks for the school computer. We've paid for ear and tonsil
operations, eye exams and glasses, and dentistry. We're trying to ensure that
all students get regular health checkups. We seek general funds for projects
like these AND sponsors for individual students, staff, and teachers.
Sponsorships have typically been $15/month, but other amounts are possible. At
$15/month all school students are helped, not only a specific child. Helping
these children through either one- time donations or sponsorships is a high
priority! Support is sent quarterly, bi- annually, or annually.
AID FOR NEEDY TIBETANS:
This project started a few years ago when we found a sponsor for an
especially needy crippled child who had had polio. This girl has now had 5
operations and is doing well at the TCV School in Bylakuppe (see below). Since
that first sponsorship, this project has grown to include sponsorship of old
people, children, and others who have been selected by a representative process
in the Mundgod settlement (known as Doeguling by the Tibetans). Social works
committees periodically visit homes and review the situations of all the people
in the community. This helps provide information on who most needs help.
Tibetans in the camp work on community projects, such as the Home for the
Elderly, so they contribute a lot towards helping each other, and thus make
donated funds stretch amazingly. Only especially needy people, chosen by the
community, are sponsored, so that a "welfare state" is not
encouraged. Sponsorships for individuals in this program are $10.00/month sent
quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. We have also created a Scholarship Fund
that helps needy Tibetan High School graduates continue their education.
Recently this program has been renewed so has to give larger scholarships,
especially to girls attending nursing colleges. This is now one of our major
projects. Three of our Tibetan nursing college graduates are now working in
Intensive Care Units in New Delhi, India. We also fund a Self-Sufficiency Fund
that purchases cows, sewing machines, vendor stalls and other things to help
families support themselves. There is an Emergency Fund to help with special
short-term needs. This helps us care for those who are most needy. All of these
funds are dispensed in the Tibetan camp through the Office of the Tibetan
Government in Exile with the participation with many members of the community.
We have have provided major funding for a conversion from wood-burning to
propane-burning in the kitchen of the Home for the Elderly, and, most recently,
solar panels for emergency lighting in their special care wing, which we also
helped rebuild. This facility supports hundreds of elderly people who have no
support, due to losing relatives directly due to Tibet's invasion or due to
relatives' own difficulties as refugees. Sponsorships for elders is
$10.00/month, paid quarterly, biannually, or yearly. Those wishing to make
periodic donations or one-time contributions instead of sponsorships support
the above Funds and general aid projects. These fund donations the neediest get
assistance when they most need it.
JANGCHUB CHOELING NUNNERY:
A growing nunnery with over 230 residents providing a home and education
to Tibetan refugee nuns, as well as younger girls with nowhere else to go.
These women want to continue the Tibetan monastic traditions and to follow the
example of the Dalai Lama and the great female teachers in the Tibetan tradition.
Donations of funds for medical needs and sponsorships are both possible. We
send funds to pay for dentistry, medical treatments, medicines, and surgeries.
Recently we've helped nuns save their hearing, and we have assisted other nuns
to get treatments for broken bones, ulcers, a hernia, serious sinus infections,
a brain lesion due to an accident, etc. We've banded together with other Tibet
Aid groups such as TibetHelp (Denmark) to do operations, such as when we funded
ear operations to save nun Lobsang Wangmo's hearing. We have sponsored a
program to do eye examinations with follow-up treatment for eye disease and
provision of glasses for all the nuns in this nunnery. Several of the nuns know
English and provide better communication than was previously possible.
Sponsorship level is $70/year, a level requested by the nuns so that more nuns
can be helped, with extra funds going to help the medical needs of all the
nuns. Since we help these nuns in a major way with their medical emergencies,
we are always eager for one- time or periodic donations to the Medical Fund for
the Jangchub Choeling Nunnery. Other aid groups help supply basic housing and
food, so our help goes for the other needs and that is why sponsorship cost is
not high.
SPONSORSHIP OF MONKS/DREPUNG GOMANG MONASTERY PROJECTS: This is the oldest of
our projects. The strong individual connection with refugees with health
problems and other needs has been very rewarding for us. Several sponsors have
gone to India to meet their sponsored monks and have been moved by their
meeting and involvement with people from a different world. Our funds have
helped reduce the health problems and other major difficulties of monks
arriving from Tibet, many of whom have suffered much. Funds are often shared in
living groups or with others, such as parents. Most letters we receive are in
English, but replies in Tibetan can be translated and are interesting to
receive. Sponsorships are usually $15/month, but can range from $7.50/month to
$20/month depending on the situation of the monk and the abilities of donors.
The Drepung Gomang Monastery has also served the Tibetan refugee community in the settlement in many ways. They have planted a vegetable garden and tree plantation, a project which has been funded by several donors, most especially the Tibetan Blues Bash Project which raised funds via Blues Concerts benefitting this and other efforts for Tibetans. In 2003 there was a dangerous fire in the coconut tree plantation due to an accident. Now the trees are doing much better and it turns out the losses were only superficial. This monastery runs a summer school on Tibetan culture open to children of the entire settlement. They serve the community with a major clinic and dispensary that is heavily used and serves the entire refugee community as does the DTR Hospital (see below). In particular we sometimes send funds to help provide regular health checkups and medical assistance for elderly monks, many of whom have not had sufficient access and to good regular care. Contributions can be made to the Monastery itself or towards specific projects such as those mentioned. . We also help monks at some other monasteries in Mundgod. Below we show a photo (at Manipal Hospital in Bangalore) of a teenager who needed 5 surgeries post a yak encounter in Tibet which damaged his eye. He is one of our sponsored monks from another monastery in Mundgod. Donations can also be sent by those wishing to have prayers said for relatives and friends.
MONKS' HEALTH AND EMERGENCY FUNDS: One of our first
projects, the Gungru Khangtsen Health and Emergency Fund, is an innovative
effort aimed at emergency medical help, health education, and sanitation within
the Drepung Gomang Monastery. A group of over 100 monks formed a committee with
elected members managing and keeping records on members' health problems. Funds
help with emergencies, special needs of TB patients and other medical needs for
which there is no other source to turn. Records help to identify problems and
serve a preventative as well as financial purpose. Younger monks gain
administrative experience and all are more focused on health issues. Lives have
been saved with this program, which was started by a Tibetan monk whose brother
died due to lack of available funds and a plan for such emergencies.
Early on, we focused on those with ulcers due to infection by the
Helicobacter Pylori bacteria. We have funded the cure of ulcers of monks in
this group as well as those in other monasteries and nuns in the nunnery. Our
work uncovered the fact that the hospital had acquired defective and harmful
batches of the antibiotic Amoxicillin through an Indian supplier who turned out
to be getting medicine from mainland China. Fortunately the same medicine from
another supplier was excellent. As a result of our work, the hospital's supply
of this critical drug, used for many diseases, including TB, was cleansed of
the faulty product. We work closely with the Doeguling Resettlement Hospital on
health issues, but also fund necessary treatments at more distant medical
facilities when this is required. We have helped a leprosy patient who is
recovering, tuberculosis patients, and many with skin diseases. Some recent
refugees have no immunity to virulent skin ailments that attack them in the hot
south of India where the biggest settlements are. Donations to the Gungru
Khangtsen Health and Emergency Fund are crucial and can be either one-time or
periodic. These provide help when most needed as well as general assistance
with prevention and hygiene.
We now also aid Tibetan monks from other monasteries in Mundgod as
well as various groups within Drepung Monastery by funding a General Monks'
Emergency Fund. See more about all the monks we have helped in our annual
newsletters linked to this near the beginning of the webpage.
HOSPITALS AND KHARYAK CHARITABLE SOCIETY:The Doeguling Tibetan
Resettlement Hospital (DTR), provides sliding scale, inexpensive medical and
dental aid to 13,000 Tibetans as well as local Indians seeking help. This
hospital has a central site as well as out-patient clinics in the separate
villages of Mundgod that dispense treatment and health education. In the past,
our funds were used to install mosquito screens, construct doors for the
Women's ward, assist with video health education projects, essential staff
needs, women's needs, and emergencies not otherwise covered. In 2005 we funded
a complete re-build of the Doeguling Tibetan Resettlement (DTR) hospital's
bathrooms and shower facilities as well as 3 large outdoor solar lighting
fixtures to make the area safer at night. In 2006 we sent a good quality
otoscope to the DTR to help with ear exams.
We have been especially honored to have helped Mr. Tenpa TK, who worked so hard improving many hospitals, including the DTR at Mundgod, Tso-Jhe Khangsar at Bylakuppe, and Dhondenling Van Thiel at Kollegal. We started helping him years ago when he was first at the DTR Hospital. Below we show how many of the rooms looked before he came to the DTR Hospital, and after. We personally took these photos and saw the changes. Tenpa made special efforts on behalf of women employees (strong support of education and hiring of women for jobs such as hygenist, lab technician, dentist, etc. as well as traditional nursing jobs) and supported women patients and their special needs. After working to improve the Bylakuppe and Kollegal Hospitals Tenpa returned to the DTR Hospital, where he again worked hard on upgrades and community programs. Now he has turned hospital management over to others and is working in the community as a local leader and running his new Kharyak Charitable Society (KCS) which aids poor patients and also helps young people get the higher education so many want but find out of reach. Recently FOTSI, KCS and others have aided a Tibetan woman who wants to be an engineer. In 2007 Mr. Tenpa is working with the (Richard) Gere Foundation to assist them in helping seriously ill and needy Tibetan monks and nuns get medical care for major problems. Working with him allows us to apply ourselves to unmet needs and be in tune with current needs.
When Mr. Tenpa TK was at the Tso-Jhe Khangsar Hospital in the
Bylakuppe settlement, we helped him buy sterilization equipment and we began
and continue to support the Tso-Jhe Hospital's Tashilunpo Clinic. After that we
sent funds to help Mr. Tenpa continue his great work improving the facilities
at Dhondenling Van Thiel Hospital in the Kollegal settlement, where he was
stationed for a time. A number of hard-working support groups have helped fund
the wonderful work shown below, including FOTSI.
TIBETAN CHILDREN'S VILLAGE (BYLAKUPPE): The Tibetan SOS
Children's Village in the Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement near Mysore in Karnataka
State, India, serves over 1500 Tibetan children (about half boys and half
girls) from primary to 12th grade in a Montessori style education system which
emphasizes a "commerce stream" in the last 2 grades, although many
students are interested in other types of future careers, such as in the
medical field. We sponsor children here and also send general funds and pocket
money in cases when donors cannot afford a full sponsorship ($360/year per
student). This school is a boarding school and is especially suited for and
intended for recent escapees from Tibet, children with special needs (such as
former polio patients), and orphans or children from dysfunctional homes.
Currently we are helping 5 children here. One is a former polio patient who
walks with a brace, is an excellent student; the two others were abandoned by a
parent with severe mental difficulties. Another boy and girl we began
sponsoring in early 2005 are from families who cannot provide what they need.
We specialize in helping children we find through our work in the Mundgod
settlement. These are children the community feels really need the special care
given by the School's thirty homes and two youth hostels in which the students
live with Tibetan home-parents for young children. Older students live in a
boarding school environment which also is run like a family. This is a wonderful
way to change a child's life and offer a priceless chance for a good education.
Our sponsored first grade girl came out of a desperate situation to be first in
her class! Sponsorship of a child at TCV Bylakuppe is $360 per year, sent
bi-annually.
NEW ACTIVITIES: New projects include our grant for
"Leadership for Young Tibetans", Fund-Raising Workshops, and
innovative Donor Initiatives. The Mediators Foundation gave us a grant in 2007
to help develop young Tibetan leaders. We are beginning this effort and will
have more to report next year. Phoenix Artemisia has been doing some very
helpful fundraising for us through her yoga and chanting workships. One of our
FOTSI donors obtained glucose meters to help needy Tibetans monitor diabetes
and a means of transport to India via Medical Expeditions International. Others
helped us obtain an otoscope for the DTR Hospital and get it there. Many have
helped. We have especially benefited from the unpaid help we get from many
Tibetans in the camps to run our programs. Some are employees of schools or
organizations while others are not. All of our special helpers have assisted
our projects either without pay or beyond the call of duty. None are paid
salaries by us. We are grateful for all of these efforts. Please see details in
our recent newsletters and the Links section of this page for more on these and
other topics.
ENDORSEMENTS:
1)TIBETAN GOVERNMENT-IN-EXILE AWARD: FOTSI has been given an award
of recognition and appreciation for its efforts in social welfare for Tibetan
refugees. (see FOTSI full webpage for details).
2)ENDORSEMENT AND ENCOURAGEMENT FROM DR. HUSTON SMITH: FOTSI has
received a letter of endorsement and support from writer/lecturer/educator Dr.
Huston Smith.
CONTACT:
For more information,
please use chela@colorado.edu to contact
Chela Kunasz, FOTSIÕs President.
Please note that Chela goes to India for direct work with the
Tibetans, so sometimes, between late October and early February, for example,
we may not be able to respond quickly to email. Do give us a try though and we
will respond as soon as we can. Thank you so much for your interest in helping
Tibetan refugees!
LINKS:
# Tibetan Government in Exile Official Website
http://www.tibet.com
# Tibetan Settlements Address List
http://www.tibet.com/Address/settle.html
# Drepung Gomang Monastery Home Page
http://www.gomang.org
# Tibetan Children's Villages in India
http://www.tcv.org.in
# Medical Expeditions International-India
http://www.medexinternational.org/india.html
# Mediators Foundation
http://www.mediatorsfoundation.org
# Ashtanga Yoga Workshops and Benefits
http://www.phoenixyoga.net
# Dr. Huston Smith Web Site
http://www.hustonsmith.net
# Tibet Online
http://www.tibet.org
# Archive of Websites on Tibet
http://www.tibetsites.com