Projects: Tibetans In Exile
Working closely with more than 25 Tibetan Refugee Settlements across India and Nepal, AHF brings peace and comfort to lives in exile.
Tibetan Elders Carry the Flame
TWA Elderly Home, Kathmandu
The prayer wheels rarely stop turning at the Tibetan Elderly Home in Kathmandu. Sitting high atop the hill near Swayambhunath, 69 elders who once had no one to care for them, now live in a safe and loving home. Since 1997, AHF has partnered with groups of volunteers from the Tibetan Women’s Welfare Group to make sure the elders have a home, first helping them buy and convert the building, and now funding half of the home’s expenses.
All of the elders were born in Tibet and all managed to escape. Some became freedom fighters, others lived in refugee camps, but they all ended up alone. They may be impoverished but they are a spirited group and do what they can to carry the flame for Tibet – including a few who participated in hunger strikes. After lives that have seen hardship and conflict, we think these elders deserve some comfort and happiness in their old age.
The prayer wheels rarely stop turning at the Tibetan Elderly Home in Kathmandu. Sitting high atop the hill near Swayambhunath, 69 elders who once had no one to care for them, now live in a safe and loving home. Since 1997, AHF has partnered with groups of volunteers from the Tibetan Women’s Welfare Group to make sure the elders have a home, first helping them buy and convert the building, and now funding half of the home’s expenses.
All of the elders were born in Tibet and all managed to escape. Some became freedom fighters, others lived in refugee camps, but they all ended up alone. They may be impoverished but they are a spirited group and do what they can to carry the flame for Tibet – including a few who participated in hunger strikes. After lives that have seen hardship and conflict, we think these elders deserve some comfort and happiness in their old age.
Passing on the Richness of Tibetan Culture
Lopheling School in Manang, Nepal
Six remote mountain villages in Manang, Nepal, became home for 68 Tibetan refugee families, who settled there after escaping Tibet in 1959. In these villages, spread out over 30 miles, the Tibetans, struggling to make a meager living in trading, herding or farming, longed for their children to have the chance at a better future that only education can bring. There was a primary school, but it was empty - the distances were too great for the children to attend.
Today Lopheling School has 71 children gleefully learning Nepali, English and Tibetan, thanks to an AHF-built hostel and funding for teachers. When they graduate, they'll continue their education in schools run by the Tibetan Government in exile. Lopheling School has revitalized this far-flung Tibetan community, making good on a promise of hope for the next generation.
Six remote mountain villages in Manang, Nepal, became home for 68 Tibetan refugee families, who settled there after escaping Tibet in 1959. In these villages, spread out over 30 miles, the Tibetans, struggling to make a meager living in trading, herding or farming, longed for their children to have the chance at a better future that only education can bring. There was a primary school, but it was empty - the distances were too great for the children to attend.
Today Lopheling School has 71 children gleefully learning Nepali, English and Tibetan, thanks to an AHF-built hostel and funding for teachers. When they graduate, they'll continue their education in schools run by the Tibetan Government in exile. Lopheling School has revitalized this far-flung Tibetan community, making good on a promise of hope for the next generation.