TIBET Tibet is a vast area, equal in size to the whole of Europe and is one of the poorest areas in the world. In contrast to other developing countries, Tibet suffers an extremely harsh winter. In consequence a substantial part of peoples’ income must be spent on heating. There is one qualified doctor for each 16,830 of the population (one to 500 in Switzerland). Only 37% have access to clean water. ROKPA has been concentrating its efforts in the rural areas of Eastern Tibet: traditionally known as Kham and Amdo. These now extend over 5 Provinces: The Autonomous Region of Tibet, Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan and Gansu. In project areas, a high percentage of the population is of Tibetan ethnicity. Geographically, the land is on a high plateau; the average altitude is over 16,500 ft with valleys from 10,500 ft to 17,400 ft. 75-95% of the population are of Tibetan origin. In the sparsely populated areas in the North-East small-scale agriculture and animal husbandry are the principal occupations. There are often no roads and the region is only accessible across the steppe by jeep or on horseback. Serving the Poorest like Dolma Tsering – a story we often find By Lea Wyler The little girl had lost her mother three days ago. There she was, standing in a strange classroom in Labrang, Gansu Province. Courageous, with tears streaming down her face, she held a crumpled, not quite white sash in her outstretched hands, offering it to Akong Rinpoche, begging to be admitted into the ROKPA school. Her father had died when she was still quite small. She lived with her mother, her little brother and her grandmother in a small room. Her mother worked at a construction site, heaving boulders out of a river bed. Three days ago she died when a truck turned over near the river. She was the only provider of food for the family. The grandmother said without emotion: “The neighbours brought food lasting for the time of mourning. After that we’ll go hungry”. She is old and very frail, but the girl has the future ahead of her. Now she attends the ROKPA school. We also take care of her little brother and her grandmother. 140 students from Palyul from poor families, or families with many children or from a broken home are being educated in traditional Tibetan medicine or art at the Sichuan Provincial Tibetan School in Dartsedo. There are many children in Tibetan areas who are orphans or whose families are so poor that they cannot afford to send their children to school. Although the government now contribute towards educational costs for the first nine years, this does not cover the full cost of food, nor of clothes, bedding, medical care, transport or for care of the orphans during the school holidays. Education is also becoming increasingly unavailable in the native Tibetan language. Also, education after lower middle school has no government support, so that the whole cost has to be met by the family. ROKPA needs your help: To provide an education for children who would otherwise not be able to go to school. To give particular support to children who are orphans, at risk, or disadvantaged by poverty. To encourage the education of girls wherever possible. Through education, to give students a higher level of skills enabling them to support themselves through life (including vocational skills where appropriate). Culture & Heritage For hundreds of years Tibetans evolved their own rich language, arts, medicine and philosophy. As well as seats of spiritual accomplishment and training, monasteries were the heart of all social, educational and medical provision. Most were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and, whilst some have been rebuilt over the last 15 years, with the recent influx of other ethnic peoples into the area the Tibetan culture and traditions are now seriously endangered. In some areas Tibetans are now unable to speak their own language. ROKPA supports Tibetan culture in many ways. Where possible we ensure that the Tibetan language is taught in the schools we support. Children are encouraged to learn traditional crafts, dance and song, college text books are printed in Tibetan, the art of woodblock printing is funded, Tibetan medicine factories and clinics are supported, students are sponsored to become doctors of Tibetan medicine and ROKPA supports the training of monks and nuns. Environment - The ROKPA Horticultural Project Up to 1998, tree felling took place in a number of Tibetan areas and there was subsequent erosion and flooding. Climatic changes caused further difficulties to the nomadic way of life and hunting led to the extinction of some species and endangered others. ROKPA supported projects to set up tree nurseries, plant trees, employ local people as rangers, protected the flora and fauna and educated villagers about their environment. Sites are protected that are considered sacred and in danger of being used for mining or other exploitation. More recently, with the increasing popularity of Tibetan Medicine (in China and the West), medicinal plants began to be harvested in large quantities by locals without training, which has subsequently led to a number of species becoming extinct or endangered. ROKPA has embarked on a unique project to save these endangered species and train others in maintenance and harvesting. Tibetans Medical Doctors have been brought to the UK for training in the conservation of some of the most endangered medicinal plants on the Tibetan plateau. We work closely with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the Scottish Agriculture College and are seeking funding to support three students, two of whom will stay until at least September, 2011. Health Care Affordable and adequate health care is still not available to the majority, particularly in rural area and most cannot afford the medical help available. Large numbers die from easily treatable conditions like dysentery and pneumonia, and are forced to live with untreated trauma such as broken limbs. Tibetan medicine was successfully practised for hundreds of years but nearly died out around the time of the Chinese cultural revolution. Produced mainly from locally available natural materials, Tibetan medicine makes health care affordable and accessible to local people. ROKPA is helping by training health workers and doctors, in both western and traditional Tibetan medical methods. Over 300 medical students have now graduated and have set up clinics in their own villages. Over 20 health centres have been started in areas where people would otherwise have no access to healthcare. Tibetan Healthcare Project – Yushu area The Tibet Healthcare Project aims to provide free basic health care to people living far below the absolute poverty line (as defined by the World Health Organisation). The disciplines offered are optometry, dentistry, midwifery and general health and safety. Western practitioners volunteer in the region annually and we are currently raising funds to sponsor the higher education of six ROKPA students who will run the clinics in the future. Most rural Tibetans live far below the absolute poverty level as defined by the World Health Organisation. The per capita annual income in rural areas of the Tibet Autonomous Region is only 2,434.96 Yuan – approximately £218 (source: 2007/2008 UNDP China Human Development Report). The traditional nomadic and farming way of life is now becoming more difficult to sustain, and Tibetans find it hard to compete in the modern job market. Unemployment levels are high, there are no government pensions and virtually no social services. ROKPA helps by supporting the old, the sick and those who are destitute, such as the villagers of Cha Den who suffer from Kashin Beck disease - a chronic and painful inflammation of the bones, and are unable to work. NEW PROJECT - HELP FOR WOMEN IN DISTRESS This project, established by Dolkar Lhamo, 'Help for Women in Distress' aims to help and support Mothers who, through being sexually assaulted, have borne children, or who have been abandoned by their husbands.   Location: Tibet and rural Asian areas Donate by Check Payable to "ROKPA USA" and Mailed to 6501 Gretna Green Way  Alexandria, Va 22312 USA Contact Us   Thank You For Your Support