Tibetans in exile

The programme ‘Tibetans in Exile’ is aimed at helping to build a sustainable future for the vulnerable and needy Tibetans living in exile, especially those in India and Nepal.

Since 1959 when some 80,000 Tibetans followed HH the Dalai Lama into exile, Tibetans have been living as stateless refugees dependent on the hospitality of India and support from international aid agencies. The influx of refugees continues intermittently and, at present, the Tibetan exile population is more than 140,000 of which approximately100,000 are based in India.

The Central Tibetan Administration was set up with the dual-purpose of rehabilitating Tibetan refugees and promoting their education, paving the way for a self-reliant future where they could survive with self-esteem and confidence and the ability to help their compatriots in Tibet.

Since its inception in 1985, Tibet Foundation has managed the ‘Tibetans in Exile’ programme in cooperation with Tibetan institutes in India and Nepal. These include the CTA's Departments of Education, Health, Welfare, Religion and Culture, as well as a number of monasteries and nunneries, together with autonomous schools such as the Tibetan Children’s Village and the Tibetan Homes Foundation.

Tibet Foundation has adopted a variety of different schemes from short-term relief work to long-term investment in education, healthcare and specific projects to relieve poverty. Through comprehensive sponsorship schemes, the Foundation supports:

• education for Tibetan children in schools and colleges,                      
• Buddhist education for monks and nuns in monasteries and nunneries,
• care for the elderly in old people’s homes, and
• general help for the settlements which are home to Tibetan refugees

Today, Tibet Foundation operates aid projects in many Tibetan settlements in India - from Ladakh in the West, to Tezu and Miao in the East, and Mundgod and Bylakuppe in the South.

All our projects are managed by local Tibetan registered charities with supervision by our field officer, Geshe Tenzin Sonam, appointed directly by Tibet Foundation, UK.