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From
its humble beginning forty years ago, Tibetan children’s Village
has today become a thriving integrated educational community for
destitute Tibetan children in exile, as well as for hundreds of
those escaping from Tibet in recent years. It has established branches
in India extending from Ladakh in the North to Bylakuppe in the
South, with over 14,000 children under its care. On the occasion
of 40 years of our service to the Tibetan children, we dedicate
this brochure to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the occasion of
the 60th enthronement anniversary and the 50th anniversary of assuming
state responsibility and to many individuals and organizations for
their unrelenting support. Forty years is not a short period in
anyone’s life and certainly not in the life of TCV. Tibetan
Children’s Village realizes the enormous responsibility it
bears for the destiny of our Tibetan children and for goodwill of
the thousands of its donors and friend around the world who have
sustained it through all these years. Today, we are proud to see
young people from our villages serving the Tibetan community in
different capacities and at the same time, accept that there are
few children who have not fared so well. In this respect, extensive
efforts are being made to further improve the lives of our children,
bearing in mind the lessons and shortcomings we have experience
in the past. Though much has been achieved, we still have a long
way to go in fulfilling our aims and objectives of providing the
children under our care with the necessary resources and the opportunities
to develop their abilities to the fullest. As has been highlighted
by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his message on our 35th Anniversary,
the future direction of our programme will be in the field of FURTHER
EDUCATION in specialized studies to meet the human resources needs
of the community during our period in exile and more importantly
when the time comes to us to go back to our home land. We shall
endeavour further to improve the qualities of our children’s
education and their cultural and social upbringing without necessarily
sacrificing the simplicity of our exile life-style. All our achievements
would not have been possible without the constant blessing and inspiration
of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as well as the unwavering supports
understanding from the people and Government of India.. And of course,
we would not have been able to do so much for our children withuot
the continued financial help of so many good friends around the
world especially the SOS Kinderdorf International, the backbone
of our financial support. Not the least, we must pay gratitude and
remembrance to the many, many mothers, co-workers and teachers both
past and present, who have given so much of their life and hard
work simply for the joy of seeing the children secure a meaningful
life. We know our road is not at the end and that there is still
much to be done, for as His Holiness stated, "The children
are the future seeds of Tibet" I appeal to everyone-to our
sponsors, donor agencies and my fellow colleagues-to continue to
be at our side during this difficult period in our history and assist
us in educating and caring for the Tibetan children in exile
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