Lha observe the World Environmental Day on 5th June.

Environmental awareness is one of the programs that Lha has been focusing on. Lha plays an active role every year in organizing a daily event on “World Environmental Day” in McLeod Ganj, Upper Dharamsala. This event consists of cleaning up the Ling Khor area, Jogiwara Road and Temple Road. We believe that Dharamsala is a sacred place where His Holiness the Dalai Lama has his residence. We should also realize that it is each and everyone’s duty to keep this area a clean place for one’s own and for other’s happiness. The problem of environmental abuse is not just a concern to Dharamsala but also has become a global issue. Specifically, this year we had more than seventy people including Lha’s staff, students and volunteers participating in the Lha project. Everyone involved came away with a sense of well being, gained from the help they provided and by the example set in their community. Principally this event is a way to teach environmental education to Dharamsala inhabitants, most of whom were impressed by the enthusiasm of our cleaners. It is really important for the community here in McLeod Ganj because it helps to make people aware of how essential is to preserve the environment where they live. Every year McLeod Ganj receives many thousands of visitors, from all around the world, in search of an inner cleansing, so we feel it is important that our town reflects that cleanliness. We hope this event can really improve people’s awareness of the importance of preserving a pristine environment and of course offering our small contribution to this important day.
Lha is one of the organizations which focus not only on teaching different languages such as English, Chinese, French and Spanish; it is also important in providing vocational training like photography, computer, massage and yoga courses. We also offer health and environmental education to our students which widen their knowledge.

Lha’s first students’ exchange group for mutual learning this year has been a grand success!

Mutual learning exchange is one of the services offered by Lha. Groups of students from different educational institutes in the USA, such as Tulane University, Loyola College and Centenary College, have come to McLeod Ganj for the past several years to learn and share their knowledge with our Tibetan students.
This year, the first group of 14 students and 1 professor from Centenary College were here from May 22nd to June 3rd and stayed at Lha’s new Ahimsa House building for guests. While they were here, Lha organized lectures on Tibetan Buddhism, traditional medicine and the current Tibetan situation. We also paired each one with a Lha Tibetan student for mutual learning. They were very satisfied with what was learned, shared, and understood during the experience. Towards the end of their stay on June 2nd, Lha arranged a farewell dinner party for the student group and their Tibetan companions at Ahimsa House. It was a great success for all of us. Four more student groups from the USA are confirmed for a mutual learning exchange with Lha this year.

Lha's IT Skill training and massage courses

A student group from Chung Yuan Christian University (CYCU) in Taiwan, come to Lha annually to teach basic computer knowledge to the students. A 20 day computer class was held for 25 Tibetan students. 5 CYCU students taught the class and it was held from the 22nd January to 11th February 2010. At the end of the class, they distributed certificate to the Tibetan students under their University recognition.
Lha has organized their tenth massage class beginning the 15th March, going for two weeks. This class we had ten students with two different levels, beginner and intermediate and each class was two hours. Mr. Allen Walker is our massage therapist who has been practicing massage for six years and graduated from New School of Massage and Healing, Chicago School of Thai Massage and Zen Shiatso, located in Chicago, US. We distributed certificates to all the students at the end of their course, with the massage therapists approval.

Lha is happy to announce the launch of our new website.

Lha is happy to announce the launch of our new website.

Three exciting new services offered by Lha are explained and some important changes have been made.

Changes include:
More detailed information on the services offered to the Tibetan refugee community in Dharamsala
More detailed information on courses offered to visitors and volunteers to Dharamsala
An improved application process – you can now apply online for all courses, programs and services offered at Lha
3 new services for visitors to enhance the cultural exchange experience and directly benefit the Tibetan refugee community including - Homestay
Travel Assistance, and Accommodation Assistance
The launch of the Lha Blog: a way to share feedback and stay connected with other volunteers and Lha
A website style that reflects the beauty and ritual of our Tibetan culture

We hope that the more user-friendly website assists volunteers to find and apply for a satisfying and worthwhile opportunity, to stay connected and inspired by each other and for the message of the social, cultural and educational work we do for the Tibetan refugee community continues to spread throughout the global community.

Take a look, and please forward the link to interested people:
www.lhasocialwork.org

We are grateful to the hardworking contribution of our staff and volunteer web-designer: Ingmar

Lha's Annul Report

Lha Charitable Trust. It is a non-profit Social Work Organization in Dharamsala, India. It was founded in 1997 and registered under the Government of India as a charitable trust, which serves as a vital resource center for the community. Lha’s financial statements are audited annually by an Indian government approved accountant.

Lha’s primary goal is to provide meaningful social services, such as free education, computer skills courses, vocational training, health and environmental education and service, free volunteer coordination, cultural exchanges, free books, and medicine and clothing distribution. The services of Lha are open to Tibetan refugees as well as the local Indian population and people from the Himalayan regions.

On any given day, there are 250 to 300 students attending Lha’s daily classes. Most participants are adults who were deprived of educational opportunities both inside and outside of Tibet. Many were not admitted to schools in Dharamsala due to their age, as only those Tibetan refugees aged 18 and under can attend the special school system set up in India for Tibetans. Lha offers six free different levels of English classes a day, from beginner to advanced levels. We also offer two French classes (beginner and intermediate), Tibetan language class and two Chinese language classes to interested individuals and groups but we are planning to add one more Chinese class as well as two Spanish classes. Apart from that we have English conversation, computer skills, vocational training, photography and blogging, massage course and many more special services programs.

There are 20-30 volunteers working at Lha every month and we have worked with 3,595 volunteers from 38 different countries over the past seven years.  Our donation center has collected and distributed over 20075 articles of clothing to both the local Indian and Tibetan refugee communities. So far, we have 126 people who have graduated from the massage course, 1515 students from the computer classes, 45 people from Photography course, 490 students from mutual Exchange, 870 people who attended Tibetan art, cooking and language classes, 300 people who attended yoga class. All of our classes are taught by volunteers, and from July 2003 to November 2009, the language courses offered by Lha have benefited around 6538 people. We publish 600 copies of Contact magazine every month for free distribution.

Important projects completed in 2009:

·         Four massage courses for 53 people.

·         Five special IT training courses for 50 people.

·         Two photography training courses for 20 students

·         Organized mutual learning exchange for 120 students from abroad. 

·         Free eye check up for 145 people and free eye glasses for 112 people.

·         2921 new students enrollment for language classes.

·         Two new Chinese classes with enrollment of 260 students.

·         Organizes clean up of Mcleod Ganj on World Environment Day and pamphlet and book distribution.

We have the following upcoming projects: community kitchen, bakery training and environmental website project.

Lha offers different volunteer options, we welcome drop-in volunteers with no previous communication or planning and other options for those wanting to plan ahead and receive supported services before arrival in India, upon arrival and during their stay in Dharamsala.

A wide array of meaningful volunteer opportunities is available for both skilled and unskilled individuals. Most volunteers work directly with Lha, while others are placed throughout the community. Some of the areas of ongoing need are the teachers for English, Chinese, French and Spanish classes, tutors, office assistant, class administrator, fund raising professional, project professional, computer professional, web designer, graphic designer, photographer, medical professional, massage therapy instructor, yoga instructor, creative writers & journalists and human rights and legal professionals.

Currently, Lha is solely dependent on the goodwill of volunteers, as well as monetary and material donations. Although Lha increases its sustainability through its staff’s fundraising services, it’s quite difficult to cover all costs solely from the income of such programs, despite low staff salaries and staff members doing more than three jobs each.

Lha also acquired a large new service center.  We are now searching for grants and donors to help us renovate the new building space and pay off the mortgage, so that we can transform the building into a high quality language, computer and job skills institute with a new computer lab, community library, and culinary classroom.  Once the mortgage has been paid off, Lha will become financially fully self-sustainable

Any donations to Lha, no matter how large or small, will help Lha to meet its deficit so that it can continue to operate and to provide its free, invaluable services to Tibetan refugees and the local Dharamsala community. Also with Christmas quickly approaching any donated gifts would be very appreciated and invaluable to the local community. We thank you so much for your kindness and generosity.

You can visit our website at, www.lhasocialwork.org.  Please check it out if you wish to stay informed about what we are doing, as the news feed will be continuously updated.  The website is a great way to let your friends know about Lha’s important work!

The staff at Lha would like to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

In order to ensure that our free and essential social services are able to continue and increase into the future, you can make a financial contribution by:

 -clicking on the DONATE tab at the bottom of this email, via Paypal secure online server, or

 -mailing a check (any nationality) made payable to “Lha Charitable Trust” to

            Lha Charitable Trust

            Temple Road, Mcleod Ganj

            Dharamsala - 176219

            District Kangra (H.P.), India

If you have any comments on our work or the website, your name is incorrect in this email, or you prefer to be removed from this list, please feel free to reply to us at office@lhasocialwork.org.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart and look forward to your visit again!

Yours truly,

Ngawang Rabgyal (Director)

Lha office

Temple Road, Mcleod Ganj

Dharamsala - 176219

District Kangra (H.P.), India

Office Tel: (91) 1892-220992

Email: office@lhasocialwork.org

http://www.lhasocialwork.org/

First post

This is the first post of Lha Blog