In stitches! Maternal & child health. The projects behind Enlightened Gifts TIBETMATTERS. Project update. Issue 16 Summer 2013 TIBETMATTERS

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1 Issue 16 Summer 2013 In stitches! e projects behind Enlightened Gifts e past couple of months have been eventful; folloing a trip to India at the beginning of May to visit a number of our merchdise suppliers, I as reminded of just ho inspiring these projects are. Not only do they produce ftastic merchdise they also benefit local Tibet communities by providing sustainable employment, health care, education d skills training. In this issue, e ted to share the background stories of the projects behind the goods e sell in our merchdise catalogue d on our Enlightened Gifts ebsite. We take you behind the scenes of the Rogpa d Dolls4Tibet orkshops in northern India, as ell as the Cle Upper Dharamsala project. Find out ho your support has helped the Gu Chu Sum tailoring centres that help ex-political prisoners ho ould otherise have nohere else to go. We also give you a glimpse of some of the exciting ne products e ll be stocking in 2014! Get motivated by our fundraising pages d find out ho you c get involved this summer. Don t forget to send your raffle tickets in by the end of June to be in ith a chce of inning one of our amazing prizes. We ill be draing the inning raffle ticket on 6th July, the Dalai Lama s birthday. Make sure to follo us on or like us at facebook.com/tibetrelieffund to keep up to date ith all the latest Tibet Relief Fund nes. Or, if you ould like y information on y of the subjects covered in this issue, please us at trf@tibetrelieffund.co.uk or call us on Philippa Carrick d all at Tibet Relief Fund CONTENTS Rogpa Cle Upper Dharamasala Dolls4Tibet p2 p3 p4 Gu Chu Sum p5 Fundraising p6-7 Merchdise p8 Maternal & child health Project update Tibet Relief Fund has been supporting maternal d child health projects for a number of years d, as featured in our last issue, ith your support e have funded the building of a maternity clinic d provided a grt for maternal health d hygiene training. Folloing a hugh interest in the article on pregncy & childbirth in eastern Tibet, e asked our project partner to update us on their pls for the coming year. With the completion of the building of the maternity unit due by September this year, e hope to continue ith birth attendt training. e pl is to have the building d training running side by side. Once building is complete d the birth attendts trained e hope to find funding for a doctor to mage the project on the ground d trained birth attendts to provide a service for their communities based from this clinic. is project hopes to serve nomadic d semi-nomadic populations of around 14,000. In the long run, e t to extend this further into other communities, ith our activities being guided by hat e have learnt from carrying out the present project. Our main role d priority is to carry out the training nually in the nomadic d semi-nomadic communities as e receive requests. ese trainings have the potential to benefit a population of 37,400. e key strategy for reducing maternal d child deaths in the remote high altitude environment is through maternal d child health training. Ensuring funding for this is our top priority. 1

2 SUMMER 2013 Rogpa C D T T e D fr c Ti of P pa m vi ec ra by ot Tibet Relief Fund beg supporting the Rogpa Women s Craft Centre in 2011 ith the introduction of the charming hd-embroidered mini cushions, hich c be seen in our 2013 catalogue. Established in 2004, Rogpa mes trusted friends d helpers. We are delighted to be able to support this inspiring project hich continually strives to preserve Tibet culture, integrity d independence for generations to come through three key projects. Womens Craft Centre (WCC) e WCC is focused on providing economic empoerment for lo-income Tibet omen ho have fe opportunities for education d employment, by helping them develop tailoring d seing skills. At the centre ladies receive fair ages, good orking conditions d free childcare as ell as social support from each other. Rogpa Baby Care Centre (BCC) Currently caring for more th 40 babies under the age of three, BCC takes care of children during orking hours, enabling parents to ork full-time so they c improve their on living conditions. Rogpa shop & café A not-for-profit community space hich aims to promote ethical consumerism d shocase the ork of local Tibet artists 2 d designers. Rogpa shop & café stocks products made in the Women s Craft Centre d accepts donated clothes hich are then sold on d c even be used as material to make some of Rogpa s products. With Rogpa goods available in our merchdise catalogue, Tibet Relief Fund folloers are able to support this ftastic project directly. And, folloing a recent visit to the Rogpa orkshop by Tibet Relief Fund CEO Philippa Carrick, e are delighted to nounce our 2014 catalogue ill feature even more Rogpa products, all in support of Rogpa s ftastic d innovative projects. e Rogpa key rings d card holders are already hit here in the office so keep eye out for them in 2014! e alnut story Whilst visiting Rogpa our CEO Philippa learned that after alnuts are used to make alnut cake for the Rogpa cafe, the shells are collected d passed on to the Womens Craft Centre ho use the shells to make the mini alnut cushions. A brillit example of instt recyling. P C em a al by An fr go re Ph m m

3 .enlightenedgifts.org.tibetrelieffund.co.uk Cle Upper Dharamsala e Cle Upper Dharamsala Project (CUD) as established in June 1994 hen the local Tibet Settlement Office initiated innovative environmental programme to provide Upper Dharamsala ith efficient d environmentally friendly aste magement system of rubbish collection d recycling. Tibet Relief Fund has supported this initiative for a number of years no through the sale of products from the Hdmade Paper Recycling Workshop. e hdmade paper recycling orkshop e aste paper, cardboard d cotton collected by green orkers is used to create 100 percent hdmade recycled paper. Here all kinds of paper styles, colours d designs are made into a rge of products from letter riting sets, books d notepads to photo albums, greeting cards d lampshades. e CUD project not only acts as a role model centre for other villages d projects but also actively promotes sustainable economic, social d ecological development. e project also raises environmental aareness on the importce of recycling by educating d actively disseminating knoledge d skills to other Tibet settlements, communities, schools d colleges. e Green Shop Products created at the recycling orkshop are also sold at the CUD small Green Shop hich provides jobs for a further ten employees. e proceeds generated from product sales provide a salary for the orkers d help sustain the project as a hole. e Green Shop also provides the public ith refills of boiled d filtered ater, offering a safe healthy alternative to local ater as ell as providing a desperately needed solution to the alarming mountains of plastic mineral ater bottles discarded by tourists. Another initiative run by e Green Shop provides environmentally friendly d locally produced alternatives to chemical-based goods by selling chemical-free, herbal d Tibet toiletries d teas, d locally made peut butter d jam even using recycled paper shopping bags to reduce plastic bag consumption! Photos - Top: Son Tentso at cylinder machine orkshop: e cylinder machine orkshop. Centre: Recycled paper; ready to be turned into merchdise. Bottom: Workers in the books & binding room. 3

4 SUMMER 2013 Dolls4Tibet Nestled on the hillside beteen upper d loer Dharamsala is the Dolls4Tibet orkshop here the unique Tibet Bopa Dolls are made, each one individually named by the omen ho make them. e dolls have been a great hit in our merchdise catalogue in previous years d this year is no exception. Aiming to empoer omen by training them in ne skills, offering enjoyable ork opportunities to generate income ithin a homely d supportive environment - e are proud to support the Dolls4Tibet orkshop through the sales of the Bopa Dolls as ell as Himalay Angel mobiles d cards; e look forard to supporting the project for my years to come! e orkshop itself is the brainchild of Mona Bruchmn, ho lives in Dharamsala ith her husbd, Tibet artist Karma Sichoe d their to daughters. e story goes that hilst making the first Bopa doll as a Christmas gift for their daughter Samdol, the idea of setting up a doll-making orkshop for the local Tibet omen sloly took shape. From humble beginnings, the idea has gone from strength to strength d in spring 2007 Dolls4Tibet employed their first Tibet trainee. Since then, the orkshop has gron d gron d no employs 14 craftsomen. Mona is often approached by omen ho are in desperate fincial need d are very keen to ork but ho, unfortunately, have little or no skills or training. Some, especially ne arrivals from Tibet, speak very little Hindi or English. Dolls4Tibet are able to address these different needs by creating employment ith flexible orking times d training individuals in accordce ith their abilities. Dolls4Tibet has achieved a great deal since its inception in 2007 d this ork has been made possible, in part, by the support its orkshop has received from the purchase of their onderfully innovative Bopa Dolls. From the hills of northern India, these dolls ith a soul made by this small-scale, self-sufficient, socially aare enterprise are hat Tibet Relief Funds merchdise is all about! G T b p a G p vo G b ce th ar ed ed Top: Tibet children enjoying the Bopa dolls Bottom left: stitching in the orkshop Bottom right: making Himilay Angels in the orkshop Donate a doll to a Tibet child To live as a refugee is emotionally hard for ybody, most especially for innocent child. Here at Tibet Relief Fund e are offering a ne virtual gift; the Dolls4Tibet donate a doll. is ftastic initiative offers Bopa dolls as gifts to Tibet children in exile. 4 T a ce By purchasing this virtual gift, you c send a Bopa doll to children ho ill benefit the most; either to children ho arrive at the Tibet refugee reception centre in Dharamsala or to orphs in Tibet schools across India. A L p fin Visit.tibetrelieffund.co.uk/donate-a-doll to support these children by giving them a precious ne compion for their childhood years. H to S

5 .enlightenedgifts.org.tibetrelieffund.co.uk Gu Chu Sum e Gu Chu Sum movement as established in 1991 both to look after the elfare of former political prisoners d their family members d to increase aareness on the situation in Tibet. Gu Chu Sum achieve their aims in a number of ays; through providing free health care, computer d lguage courses d vocational training. Gu Chu Sum has to tailoring centres hich not only offer training but also provide employment for 30 tailors. As ell as the tailoring centres they have a Japese restaurt in Dharamsala here all the chefs are Gu Chu Sum members ho have been trained in the art of cooking. e Gu Chu Sum teaching centre also provides educational courses in basic Tibet, English d computer education. Tibet Relief Fund are proud to have supported Gu Chu Sum for a number of years both through providing grts to the teaching centre d selling merchdise crafted in the tailoring orkshop. Anything created at the tailoring centres are knon as Products of Lungta. Lungta mes a strong or poerful horse d the products of Lungta are hugely successful due to their excellent finishing d strong traditional design. Having stocked Lungta products in previous years e are excited to nounce, e ill be re-introducing a number of Gu Chu Sum orkshop products in the 2014 Enlightened Gifts catalogue. Tibet Entrepreneur Kalden Aukatsg In 2003 Kalden Aukatsg as aarded a business start-up grt through Tibet Relief Fund s youth empoerment programme. Kalden quickly established a small tailoring centre for sampling d production of export orders Auka Exports. From humble beginnings ith just one client, today Auka Exports has over 15 clientele from across the continents d employs ten people. Ten years on from the youth empoerment programme, e are immensely pleased to be orking ith Kalden to produce some amazing ne fold-aay backpacks d holdalls. ese bags are sure to be a hit, so keep a look out for them in our next merchdise catalogue. 5

6 SUMMER 2013 Running M An intervie ith Tibet Relief Fund s six marathon m Graham Titcombe 6 As you may have read in our Ne Year issue of Tibet Matters, this March, Graham Titcombe took on the incredible challenge of running one of the toughest footraces in the orld the Marathon des Sables - a six-day, 156 mile series of marathons across the Sahara desert, in aid of our ork. Graham completed the race in just 42 d a half hours. Intrigued to hear about his challenge, e asked Graham hat motivated d inspired him to take on this enormous marathon, d hy he chose to support Tibet Relief Fund in doing so. Ho did you first get involved ith Tibet Relief Fund? I c t remember the route precisely, but one thing leads to other doesn t it? My interest in Tibet as first sparked almost at rdom hen I happened to take out the Dalai Lama s autobiography as a library book. Other books etc. folloed d I also became aare of Tibet Relief Fund. I ve been a supporter of Tibet Relief Fund for my years d, once I d decided to try d raise some sponsorship for my jaunt, it as the obvious choice. For most people the idea of doing one marathon is enough... hat made you t to do six?! I ve asked myself that question my times! It s probably got a lot to do ith having a slender grip on reality! is is your second time doing the event, as it y easier this time around? My people ho ere also returners seemed to think that the course, terrain, temperature d humidity ere harder this year. ere as certainly a lot more climbing involved. It also felt harder to me because I as a bit cautious for my first time last year, but this year I really ted to push myself as hard as I could, d I think I did. What as the orst obstacle you had to face? Er, the hole course? Soft sinking sd hich saps all your energy. Very hard rocks hich alays seem to find your toes. Big hills. I could go on...! Did you feel like giving up at y point? Not really. In fact, remarkably fe people drop out. is year only about 50 did out of over 1,000. It s very hard ork d sometimes painfully slo but you just keep plodding it out. Also, it s more expensive if you don t finish, as you don t get your security deposit back! What as it that kept you going? I kne I d trained for it d could do it because I had before. Pride in toughing it out. And the fact that a blind m as taking part d a team of French firemen ere carrying hdicapped children in a chariot over the course. Last year 80 year-old m did it. ey all finished. It puts your on grumbles into perspective! C e expect to see you doing the Marathon des Sable for Tibet Relief Fund again next year?! Oh dear, I m afraid not. I m delighted to have done it tice, d that this year I c give Tibet Relief Fund a small benefit from it, but tice is enough. ere are other things to do. at s not to say I on t try d raise some more money for TRF, of course. What ould you say to yone considering doing a sponsored challenge for Tibet Relief Fund? Absolutely go for it. Nothing you ll do is likely to be harder th fleeing your on country d slogging across the Himalaya to safety, so hat s stopping you? You ll be doing good d feeling good about it too. We cnot thk Graham enough for his invaluable dedication d support. No matter ho big or little the challenge, sponsorship raised from challenges makes up a vital part of our income d provides much needed support. If you ve been inspired by Graham s story d ould like to take up a sponsored challenge of your on, please georgina@ tibetrelieffund.co.uk or call Introducing our ne Head Fundraiser, Georgina Having taken up the role of Head Fundraiser in mid-april, moving from a very similar position as the Fundraiser at the Green Party, I have spent the past month getting to kno this ftastic charity, its supporters d all the people ho make it hat it is. I am delighted to be part of the Tibet Relief Fund team d look forard to orking ith all our supporters in the future. C B W B fo ve Fu be ge on ch re F al su ea to

7 .tibetrelieffund.co.uk.enlightenedgifts.org Events WOMAD We are delighted to nounce from 25th 28th July e ill be at the WOMAD festival - the World of Music Arts d Dce. is internationally established festival aims to excite, inform d create aareness of the orth d potential of a multicultural society. Tibet Relief Fund ill be in the global markets section, informing people of our ork d selling merchdise featured in our Enlightened Gifts catalogue including my items as seen in this edition of Tibet Matters. If you re there, please come d say hello!! Calling all runners! British 10K run With the 10k course passing the Houses of Parliament, Toer Bridge d the river ames this iconic London route makes for enjoyable d challenging event. We have three places available for Tibet Relief Fund supporters. Runners ill receive a free running vest or t-shirt as ell as plenty of help fundraising. e Tibet Relief Fund team ill be there on the day to cheer you on d e ll also be orgising our nual picnic in St. James park for our runners d supporters to relax d celebrate after the event. Please contact georgina@tibetreliffund.co.uk if you re interested in taking part. ebay for charity ebay for charity is easy ay for buyers d sellers on ebay.co.uk to support Tibet Relief Fund. Buyers c shop knoing they re supporting Tibet d sellers (hether individuals or businesses) c donate a percentage from y sale to Tibet Relief Fund, d c even add gift aid to their donations too. Visit.bit.ly/trf_ebay to get started! Give as You Live.giveasyoulive.com By signing up to Give as you Live, you c support Tibet Relief Fund simply by going about your usual online shopping. e Give as you live site orks by installing a simple programme on your desktop hich recognises Tibet Relief Fund as your chosen charity; each time you make a purchase through one of over 2,000 registered stores the store ill make a commission to Tibet Relief Fund d support one of our vital projects. is commission is already included in the price of hat you re buying, so you c support Tibet Relief Fund, at no extra cost to you. On average, 2.5% of each purchase c be donated. Simply visit.giveasyoulive.com to sign up or find out more. Recycle4charity Recycle your old mobile phone, inkjets, laser or toner cartridges d raise money for Tibet Relief Fund. Simply georgina@tibetrelieffund.co.uk or call to request a freepost envelope or go to.bit.ly/trf_recycle to order your freepost envelopes online. en, send your unted items by free post to recycle4charity ho ill convert them into donations for Tibet Relief Fund. Photo: e 2011 TRF 10k running team 7

8 SUMMER 2013 Have you been inspired by the products featured in this issue of Tibet Matters? Both our merchdise catalogue d our online gift shop feature products from all of the projects mentioned. By purchasing our enlightened gifts, you c directly support these ftastic schemes d ensure that they are able to continue their ork for my years to come! We currently stock alnut dglies direct from the Rogpa orkshop; note books d picture frames made from the recycling orkshop at Cle Upper Dharamsala, as ell as dolls, gel cards d gel mobiles all hdcrafted at Dolls4Tibet. In a Nutshell Charming hd-embroidered mini cushions set into empty alnut shell ith a threaded hging loop. Each design is unique! 2.50 each Buy five for 10! Cotton Coasters Unique drinks coasters made from Indi cotton d jute - each patchork coaster is double sided, using different patterns. Pretty d practical, they c be machine ashed d come in a delightful cotton bag. Set of four. Size (each coaster): 100 x 100mm 8.25 Bopa Dolls Unique hdicrafted Tibet dolls in traditional dress. Large doll 340mm high 40 Small doll 250mm high 25 Photo Frames Himalay gel card ese unique cards ith a Himalay Angel floating above mountains d clouds are crafted in the Dolls4Tibet orkshop using hd-combed sheep ool. e Angel c easily be detached to brighten y room all year round. A great, inexpensive ay to display postcards, mementos or family snaps on your alls. Ideal for y room in the home they come in a variety of colours. Made from 100% recycled cotton d paper. Display area - 140mm x 88mm 3.50 Size: 125 x 178mm 3.95 Purchase y of these items from Rogpa, Cleup Upper Dharamsala, or Dolls4Tibet through our ebsite d receive a 10% discount..enlightenedgifts.co.uk Discount code: TM10 For a closer look at the full collection of Tibet merchdise e have to offer, d a free copy of the 2013 catalogue, phone us on or go to.enlightenedgifts.org Patron: Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama Chairm: Fredrick Hyde-Chambers, OBE Reg. Charity No: Tibet Relief Fund Unit Fonthill Road London N4 3HF Telephone: info@tibetrelieffund.co.uk.tibetrelieffund.co.uk.enlightenedgifts.org Staff Contacts: Chief Executive Officer: Philippa Carrick Office Mager d EA to CEO: Kathryn Smith Head Fundraiser: Georgina Turner Sponsorship Co-ordinator: Tsering Passg Fincial Administrator: Monica Lee