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Mission
The mission of Tibetan Children's Village (TCV) - an integrated
charitable organisation - is to ensure that all Tibetan children
under its care achieve a firm cultural identity and become
self-reliant and contributing members of the community and
the world at large by providing:
- parental care and love to children in need.
- the best of both modern and Tibetan education.
- a competent and dedicated staff.
- a child-centered learning environment conducive to independent
growth.
- learning opportunities to preserve, promote and renew
the rich Tibetan cultural heritage.
The Background
Following the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1950 and His
Holiness the Dalai Lama's flight to India, it was quickly
apparent that one of the most critical needs of Tibetan refugees
was finding a means to care for the many children who had
been orphaned or separated from their families during the
arduous escape from their homeland. His Holiness promptly
recognised that the future of Tibet and its people depended
upon the younger generation. With this in mind and out of
concern for the miserable conditions under which so many children
were suffering, His Holiness proposed that a centre for destitute
children be established in Dharamsala.
On 17 May 1960, fifty-one children arrived from the road
construction camps in Jammu, ill and malnourished. Mrs. Tsering
Dolma Takla, the elder sister of His Holiness, volunteered
to look after them. Initially these children were assigned
to members of the Dalai Lama's entourage, but before long
the Government of India offered its assistance, renting Conium
House to accommodate all the children together. At that time,
the centre was under the name "Nursery for Tibetan Refugee
Children."
Originally, the Nursery for Tibetan Refugee Children provided
only the basic care for children. When they reached the age
of eight, they were sent to other residential schools established
by the Government of India. But eventually this arrangement
could not be continued, as all the residential schools became
filled to capacity. This left the Nursery to find a solution
to problem of overcrowding. Thanks to the foresight and courage
of Mrs. Jetsun Pema, the then Director, it was decided that
the Nursery had to grow and expand despite many apparent obstacles.
A massive reorganization plan was set into motion. This
included seeking help from private donors and international
aid organizations. A period of hectic construction work ensued
to provide for more houses and classrooms for children. The
Nursery slowly toook the shape of a small village with its
own school and homes. This Children's village is what we called
today as the Upper TCV School at Dharamsala
In 1972 it was formally registered under the Societies Act
as Tibetan Children's Village and it also became a full-fledged
member of SOS Kinderdorf International.
During that time when TCV was successfully emerging out
of the critical early stages, the plight of the Tibetan children
in remote areas such as Ladakh remained very grave. His Holiness
the Dalai Lama was deeply concerned by the abject poverty
and total lack of educational opportunities for the Tibetan
refugees in Ladakh. Following his guidance, TCV for the first
time in its history, expanded beyond its confines in Himachal
State. In 1975, TCV Ladakh was founded, followed by TCV Bylakuppe
in 1980. Both of these became full-fledged SOS villages wiht
their own schools and residential facilities.
While TCV busied itself with the new responsibilities, the
political situation in Tibet changed unexpectedly. China was
forced to follow a lenient policy towards Tibet because of
the International condemnation of its record on human rights.
Tibetan were allowed to visit their long lost relations on
both sides. This simultaneously provided new opportunities
to parents to smuggle their children across the border to
freedom. Thousands of children from Tibet flooded the main
TCV at Dharamsala. To solve the overcrowding problem, TCV
turned its poultry farm in Lower Dharamsala into a residential
school. Today, it is a high standard school with both primary
and secondary sections. It is entirely funded by Tibetan parents
in exile. Inspite of TCV's best efforts, the problem of absorbing
the unabated flood of new refugees became very serious. In
1990, TCV took over the Youth School in Bir and expanded its
scope. With more and more children coming from Tibet, overcrowding
of all our villages led us to start a new senior secondary
school at Gopalpur. In keeping with His Holiness the Dalai
Lama's words on education that we should "counsel our children
and encourage them to undergo specialised study in various
fields," a multi-trade vocational and techinical school was
opened at Dehra Dun. 1995 flood at TCV Patlikuhl compelled
us to find a new place at Chauntra near Bir. The construction
work has begun. Plans are underway to open one more school.
The Schools in brief
Following the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1950 and His
Holiness the Dalai Lama's flight to India, it was quickly
apparent that one of the most critical needs of Tibetan
refugees was finding a means to care for the many children
who had been orphaned or separated from their families during
the arduous escape from their homeland. His Holiness promptly
recognised that the future of Tibet and its people depended
upon the younger generation. With this in mind and out of
concern for the miserable conditions under which so many
children were suffering, His Holiness proposed that a centre
for destitute children be established in Dharamsala.
On 17 May 1960, fifty-one children arrived from the road
construction camps in Jammu, ill and malnourished. Mrs.
Tsering Dolma Takla, the elder sister of His Holiness, volunteered
to look after them. Initially these children were assigned
to members of the Dalai Lama's entourage, but before long
the Government of India offered its assistance, renting
Conium House to accommodate all the children together. At
that time, the centre was under the name "Nursery for Tibetan
Refugee Children."
Originally, the Nursery for Tibetan Refugee Children provided
only the basic care for children. When they reached the
age of eight, they were sent to other residential schools
established by the Government of India. But eventually this
arrangement could not be continued, as all the residential
schools became filled to capacity. This left the Nursery
to find a solution to problem of overcrowding. Thanks to
the foresight and courage of Mrs. Jetsun Pema, the then
Director, it was decided that the Nursery had to grow and
expand despite many apparent obstacles.
A massive reorganization plan was set into motion. This
included seeking help from private donors and international
aid organizations. A period of hectic construction work
ensued to provide for more houses and classrooms for children.
The Nursery slowly toook the shape of a small village with
its own school and homes.This Children's village is what
we called today as the Upper TCV School at Dharamsala
Lower TCV was established at a time when Upper Tibetan Children's
Village was undergoing its worst period of overcrowding.
Because of the liberalisation policy adopted by the Chinese
in response to the international condemnation of its human
rights records, the 1980's saw a mass escape of people from
Tibet. A large section of them were children who needed
instant care and rehabilitation. It was once again TCV which
assumed the responsibility of looking after them. With initial
seed money of one lakh rupees donated by the His Holiness
and much of the remainder coming from Herman Gmeiner Fonds
Deutschland, TCV carried out the construction of a new school
at a poultry farm it owned.
The school was opened in 1984. Initially only 100 newcomer
children from Tibet were housed there. Later as the situation
changed and other TCV branches could absorb more children
from Tibet, Lower TCV was completely turned into a residential
school, with the aim of meeting the pressing needs for educational
facilities for children of parents who could afford school
fees. The school was expanded and upgraded with facilities
through class ten. Today, Lower TCV has 715 children under
its care. Over the years the school has developed into one
of the best residential schools in exile solely financed
by Tibetan parents.
Following the Chinese limited liberalisation policy of the
1980s, Tibetans by the thousands crossed over to India to
seek freedom from suppression and persecution. Among the
escapees there was a sizable number of illiterate young
adults who needed help in education as well as eventual
integration into society. The Cabinet Secretariat of the
Tibetan Administration (Kashag) founded an adult education
school in 1986 at Bir - 75km from Dharamsala. It was named
New Tibetan School, and there were 68 students who lived
and studied in rental houses there.
Later in 1990, the Kashag entrusted the responsibility of
running the school to TCV, as it had the required experience
and capacity to do so. At the time of TCV's takeover, there
were already 322 young adults with many joining day by day.
When the school was in its early development, there was
neither proper curriculum, nor adequate infrastructure.
For TCV, it was a moment of great challenge. Everything
had to be reorganised and restructured in a systematic manner,
keeping in mind the unique needs of adult newcomer students.
New policy guidelines were worked out with the aim of standardising
the education and opening other options and opportunities
for further education and training. In spite of considerable
struggles in the efforts to create a new kind of school
within the TCV system, Bir school eventually came out a
success.
The successful handling of the adult school at Bir led to
another development in TCV's continual efforts in combating
the overcrowding problems. SOS Kinderdorf International
agreed to fund the establishment of a completely new SOS
Village at Bir. A plot of seven acres of land was bought
around the TCV Bir School, and hectic construction of the
Children's Village was undertaken. A first batch of 27 children
from Tibet arrived even when the Village was not formally
opened. Temporary arrangements were made for them. As the
major part of the construction was completed in 1994 and
the required infrastructures created, a fresh batch of 303
children from Tibet joined the Village. Since the number
of people escaping ruthless Chinese suppression increased,
the number of helpless children coming to TCV virtually
turned into a flood in 1995.
Presently, the village has twelve children's homes with
an average of 30 to 40 children living in each home or Khimtsang.
Every effort is being made by the TCV administration to
reduce the pressures of overcrowding. In the field of education,
the Village has complete facilities for students through
the primary level. After that, children will join other
TCV branches.
We are proud to say that, today, SOS Village at Bir is almost
entirely staffed by former students of TCV. In spite of
difficulties, every co-worker of the village is doing his
best to make it a true place of love and care where the
suppressed children of Tibet will find their voice.
The school has adapted well to the new system of education
in accordance with the Central Board of Secondary Education
curriculum. Currently, there are 839 students in the school.
To the satisfaction of TCV and its staff, our students at
Bir are known to be the most diligent and hardworking of
all students in exile.
The intense overcrowding problem in all our villages and
schools coupled with the constant arrival of children from
Tibet necessitated a new village in the early 90's for a
long term solution. With the acceptance and funding support
from SOS Kinderdorf International, construction work began
on a war-footing. The children for this village were housed
temporarily at TCV, Suja (Bir). The number of children quickly
increased and soon it became quite unmanageable. Hence,
makeshift, temporary accommodation and schooling had to
be started early on even in the midst of its construction.
Thus, SOS Tibetan Children's Village at Gopalpur formally
became operational in 1997.
Spread over a thirty-acre estate in a lush green environment
with a majestic mountain backdrop, it is now home for the
many children coming across the border. Currently there
are 912 children. It is a self-contained, children's community
with 32 homes, a medical centre and hostels for boys and
girls. The attached school complex will be upgraded to Senior
Secondary level in 2001.
The largest concentration of Tibetan refugees is in South
India, spread throughout five settlements. A growing population
and increasing number of destitute families moving into
the settlements from other places had put heavy demands
for more schools, particularly day-care centres, that would
take care of children while parents toil on farms.
The SOS Tibetan Children's Village at Bylakuppe was opened
in 1981 on sixteen acres of land donated by the settlement.
After a great deal of planning and work, an idyllic children's
village was created. Currently, the village has 29 homes,
two hostels and complete facilities for education through
class twelve. Beside this village, TCV runs ten day care
centres for the benefit of the Tibetan settlers around the
Bylakuppe and Hunsur areas. TCV's commitment in the South
has solved many pressing needs of the people and has contributed
a great deal towards the development of the community.
The Tibetan Settlement in Ladakh in the 70's was the most
remote and least developed of all the Tibetan communities
in exile. Nomadic refugee camps were scattered all along
this Indo-Tibet border region where communication and physical
contacts were almost entirely cut off from the rest of Tibetans
in India. His Holiness was deeply concerned about their
future, particularly the fate of the children. In order
to alleviate their poor condition, a plan was implemented
to provide education and introduce sustainable development
programmes in that region.
With initial seed money of Rs.10,000 from His Holiness and
land donated by the local Indian government, TCV set out
to build a children's village near Leh, Ladakh in 1975.
Today TCV Ladakh is a thriving SOS Village with its own
school and other facilities. The school includes classes
from pre-school through grade ten, after which students
can join other TCV branches for further education. Out of
24 children's homes or Khimtsangs, seven are allotted to
destitute Ladakhi children.
Besides the main SOS Village at Choglamsar, there are now
seven schools, three in Jangthang and one handicraft cum
vocational training centre, one agro-nomadic farm and one
old people's home. Nicknamed "oasis in the desert," TCV
Ladakh has become the pride of the region, serving both
the Tibetan and Ladakhi communities in the best tradition
of universal responsibility and care.
In early 1968, a group of Tibetan road workers in Kullu
valley started a small nursery in Patlikuhl that took care
of their children when they were away working. Due to the
lack of finances, they couldn't continue running it after
a few years. In 1971, TCV took over the responsibility.
The nursery was soon expanded to become a complete residential
school. By 1979, there were 300 children in the school.
With an aim to solve the overcrowding problems, and accommodating
more and more children arriving from Tibet, a massive reconstruction
project was carried out in the mid-1980s with funds coming
from friends of TCV. Today, TCV Patlikuhl can house over
600 children with educational facilities through class eight
after which children are sent to the other branches of TCV.
As the school is close to the Beas river,flooding during
the monsoon has become a serious threat to the school which,
in fact was once completely inundated in 1995. Fortunately,
the alertness and instant action of the staff meant a safe
evacuation of all the children. For many months the school
had to carry out massive repair and dredging work. Eventually,
TCV decided to move this school to Chauntra near the Tibetan
Bir Settlement. The land was already available there through
the Chauntra Tibetan settlement. Construction work is going
on school will start from 2002.
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