In 2012 we are focusing on Saving the Manasarovar School. This is a special school located in Kathmandu, which carries out a very important role for the education of the Tibetan children in exile and for the preservation of the Tibetan cultural identity.

Manasarovar School

ASIA has supported this school from it’s beginning with Long distance Sponsorships, we know very well the care and professionalism of the teachers and the school team.

The School is at risk of being closed and we cannot permit the 350 children attending to lose the chance to receive a proper Tibetan education. ASIA is committed to help the Director of the School to raise the funds needed to survive.

The children enrolled in the school belong to the poorest families in the community of Tibetan refugees and are selected through home visits and interviews. With ASIA  Long-distance sponsorship contributions the Manasorovar Educational Foundation can afford the necessary expenses: school supply, food, basic healthcare, clothes, heating.

Cadel Evans is one of our sponsors, he reports on his visit to the Manasarovar school:

“Since we started sponsoring little Tashi, every day we’ve been asking I wonder what Tashi is doing now? The curiousity to meet this little kid, coming from such a distant and different place, was so strong that we decided to go and visit him.”

Another terrible tragedy has struck the Tibetan people.

On 14th April 2010 an earthhquake of magnitude 7.1 hit the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai and razed to the ground entire inhabited areas resulting in 100,000 displaced persons urgently in need of food, medicine,water and most of all, blankets, tents and heavy clothing to protect them from the severe temperatures that reach minus 10 degrees. The epicentre was in the Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, south of Qinghai and one of the poorest and most remote areas in the region, where 90% of inhabitants are Tibetans.

Since this tragedy occurred, ASIA’s staff have been in the field actively supporting local authorities with whom they have been collaborating for years. ASIA is the only NGO in the Tibetan area working since 1993 and has provided help to the local population with numerous emergency relief projects, including relief for the victims of the the last earthquake that struck Sichuan in 2008.

We are happy to inform you that a new aid shipment is ready to go for the people of Yushu who are still living in extremely difficult conditions.

The organization of this aid wouldn’t be possible without you. We would like to thank you from our hearts for this:

Donate now by credit card made directly through our link.

In 2009 we launch a specific project for the reconstruction of Galenteng monastery in East Tibet. Donations and sponsorship for this project can be made directly through our links.

Galenteng monastery

Galenteng monastery is considered to be one of the most important Tibetan cultural centres in East Tibet.

It was founded in the IX century by Lha Lung Dpal Gyi rDorje, a student of Padmasambhava, who took refuge there after the assassination of the king of Central Tibet, Lhang Dharma. Established by the Nyingmapa, subsequently it was annexed to the Sakyapa order by the regents of Derge. Still today it is characterised by its combination of practices of these two traditions.

On 9 February 2009 a fire broke out in the evening when the monks had all assembled in the temple for their evening practice led by Khempo Tashi Choepel. It blazed through the new part of the College, finished in December 2008, completely destroying it. The cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained; it could have been started by a short circuit, a candle or some other cause. Fortunately no monks were hurt, but the 20 rooms of the College were razed to the ground. Some of the old rooms of the College were also destroyed, and were demolished with dynamite to stop the fire spreading throughout the College.

Finally the last wing of the College flanking the Temple still remains to be built, to serve as accommodation for the Master Kyentze Rimpoche, as well as a second hall for the Teachings. Reconstruction of the College is very important, above all at such a difficult time when the very survival of the culture of the Tibetan people is seriously at risk.

Reconstruction of the College is a difficult commitment because of project management on-site and considerable financial burden, which is estimated to be about 117.000 Euro. We want to highlight the importance of this project and remind you here of the words of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu :

“The monastery of my uncle teacher, is the monastery called Galingteng. We built a very nice college of study on top of the monastery. After new year I received a communication from there, that half of which we built new, finished in December, is burnt in a fire. I dont know what happened, nobody knows still, they are doing research. But we should rebuild this. We dont know how we can rebuild, because it is expensive, but we should, we have to do it. So I want to ask people, ask everybody to help ASIA to rebuild this, because it is necessary, we couldnt leave it that way.” (14 april 2009)

The smallest commitment from all of us will be enough to give new life to this sacred place.

The Tibetan School of Dongche village was built by ASIA and inaugurated in 1997. The school provides education for 500 children , including lodgings for 120 nomad children and for 20 teachers. ASIA has funded a cultural centre within the school including  a library of over 4000 volumes in Tibetan, Chinese and English languages.

In collaboration with IFAD, the school is a centre for Teacher Training Programs in English and Computer Science for the school teachers in the Prefecture and since 1999 over 100 teachers have received training in the English language and in computer science. The Program receives on-going support and approval from the Qinghai Province Department of Education in Xinning and  organizes teachers throughout Hainan prefecture to attend the ASIA Teacher Training Programme.

The current  project is for the ongoing support for the development of computer skill training at Dongche and was initiated by Helen Williams during the ASIA computer skills field training at the Summer training camp at Dongche in 2001.

Dimension Data Sydney has generously provided the support and training  for this project at their Sydney campus for computer skills training and in July 2002 ASIA Tibetan teacher Dorjie ( Xiawu Duojie ) from Repong College, Qinghai, China successfully completed their course.