SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMME
BACKGROUND & INFORMATION

TRF Sponsorship Programme
The Tibet Relief Fund’s sponsorship programme began supporting a handful of students. Over the years it has now grown to provide sponsorship for over 1,250 Tibetans living in exile. Through the support of sponsors like you, children, university students, elderly people, monks and nuns receive vital funding to help with education, training and welfare costs.

We work with eleven different agencies in India and Nepal, responsible for managing the sponsorships and distributing your money to either the schools, monasteries, families or elderly care homes most in need. The appeal of the programme for many of our sponsors is that you have the opportunity to make a real human connection with the Tibetan you sponsor. As well as receiving reports on their progress at school, many sponsors regularly exchange letters, photos and drawings with their sponsored children. Sponsored adults may send a card to their sponsor each year or the agency may send a report giving you information about them. Such a commitment makes a real difference in the lives of needy Tibetans in exile.

Length of sponsorship commitment
The length of your sponsorship is entirely up to you. You can sponsor for just one year, or view it as a more long-term commitment. It is wonderful if you can undertake sponsorship as a medium or long-term commitment and many sponsors do, but you are under no obligation to do so.  If you decide to continue with the sponsorship, you will have the opportunity to support the same child until they leave school. Elderly / Buddhist sponsorship has no fixed length. Occasionally, a beneficiary may be withdrawn from the programme if they leave the school or monastery, or their circumstances change. We will consult with you at this point, to check whether you are happy to transfer your support to another beneficiary.

The cost of sponsorship
The costs of sponsorship have been set in consultation with our overseas partnership agencies and are subject to review every three or four years, to reflect the effects of inflation or increasing costs of care and education The rates include provision for project management and administration by the Tibet Relief Fund and our partnership schools and agencies in India and Nepal, which enables the initiative to run efficiently and effectively, bringing long-term and sustainable benefits to everyone in the programme.

Education

Education system
All students in Tibetan schools in exile follow the curriculum taught in other Indian or Nepali schools. The school-leaving age differs between individual students, but as a general rule students tend to be in school slightly longer than students in the UK. This is partly determined by the age at which they started school. Often, especially in the case of students who have travelled from Tibet, early education is disrupted.

Another significant factor affecting school-leaving age is that students need to pass their exams in order to advance to the next year of school. It is not uncommon for students to be held back a year to ensure they make the grade. Schooling can be completed after passing the externally assessed Secondary Board Exams taken in year 10 and 12 (comparable to our GCSE and A Level examinations). As part of these assessments, students take compulsory examinations in Tibetan and English language. Between class years 10 and 12, students will choose a ‘subject stream’ such as science, arts or commerce.

Tibetan Buddhist studies undertaken by monks and nuns vary depending on which of the four main traditions they follow. It can often demand up to 15 years study to attain recognised status.

Language
Students generally begin learning English when they start school. In later years some other subjects may be taught in English. English is an important language in India and Nepal. In India in particular it acts a lingua franca between the many languages that are spoken there - Hindi, Urdu, Tibetan, etc.

Preservation of their own language and culture is vital to the Tibetans in exile, as inside Tibet all education is now conducted in Chinese. Students in exile use spoken and written Tibetan in lessons, in addition to Hindi and English.

What happens after the students leave school?
Many young Tibetans go on to university. Some students gain the opportunity to study in countries such as the UK, USA or Canada, and others go into vocational training. It may be possible to continue supporting a young Tibetan on into higher education, should you be able and willing. This will depend on various factors and needs to be decided on an individual case basis, in consultation with the Agency managing the sponsorship.

However, the outlook is not always rosy. There is a relatively high rate of unemployment among young Tibetans in exile. The Government-in-Exile have begun work to address this. And, in 2003, TRF set up Youth Opportunity Trust Asia (YOTA) – aiming to create employment, self-employment and training opportunities for young, disadvantaged and unemployed Tibetan refugees in India. YOTA has been set up as part of the TRF’s ongoing Enterprise Project, and will work with the Government-in-Exile to establish a framework to assist young Tibetans develop to help themselves and the Tibetan Community. 

For more information please visit the YOTA website on www.youthopportunity.org

Visiting students
Sponsors have been known to visit students whilst travelling in South Asia. A day or afternoon visiting a sponsored student is certainly possible. If you would like to do this and are making plans, we would be pleased to make initial enquires with the respective agencies on your behalf, although we are not able to make arrangements for you or take any responsibility for your trip.

It is worth remembering that for some settlements, such as Miao in northeast India, you will require a special permit. This takes around three months to arrange, so forward planning is essential! Also, do check whether your sponsored child will be in school when you plan to visit, as they may be away for holidays.

Communication with students

Letter writing
Adult monks, nuns and elderly people are often unable to communicate in English, so the sponsorship agencies may send a card on their behalf, once or twice a year. Usually a sponsorship secretary can help translate any simple communications that you send. Cards are often well received, as images can transcend language barriers.

You can expect to receive occasional letters and school reports from your sponsored child in school. Children often begin writing letters in English before they fully understand the language. Often teachers or elders in the community assist with writing and reading letters and it is an excellent means for children to learn English. It may mean though that letters from sponsored students alter in tone or ‘personality’ – especially in the early years, because they will be affected by the language and personality of the person helping them. Sometimes the English may be misleadingly good, or the quality of the English may change between letters. Occasionally, an adult might write on behalf of a child. Please do not be alarmed if you spot differences like these. However, if you are concerned or mystified, please do get in touch.

Arrangements for posting letters
If you would like to send a light letter, card, or photo, you are welcome to send them to us at anytime for inclusion with the next mailing. Agencies receive sponsorship payments and mail in batches once or twice a year, with an extra mailing of letters and gift payments for Losar, the Tibetan New Year (see schedule on last page). If you choose to send correspondence via us, please put it in a separate envelope with the student's name, reference number (if known), agency and location, along with your name and sponsor reference code on the front (e.g. Kalsang Youdon UK/357 DOE – Miao, from Kate Smith ref: 736). You should be able find your sponsor reference code on letters from us. If your student’s details are not fully listed on their case sheet or in correspondence you receive, please feel free to contact us.

You are welcome to send letters direct to your sponsored student, however, this may occasionally result in families making direct requests for money. Please be aware that such requests contravene the Programme Guidelines and we would urge you not to respond unless the request is investigated by the sponsorship agency concerned. Remind families that any requests need to be made through the sponsorship agency.

The student may give you a correspondence address during the course of their letters, in which case you can send mail there. If they do not, letters can be sent to the agency. Addresses for posting to students can be found at the end of this information sheet.

Posting parcels
Because of the extra costs and bulk, we are not able to forward parcels. If you wish to send a parcel, you need to send it direct to the agency, and are advised to send it recorded delivery. The ‘international signed for’ service through the Post Office costs an extra £3.30 on top of the normal cost of airmail postage.

Gift payments
Some sponsors like to send a gift payment as ‘pocket money’ in addition to their sponsorship money. Please be aware that we are not normally able to track the receipt of gifts in the same way that we are the sponsorship money. Gift payments are sent in batches to the schools/agencies with clear instruction and they disperse them from there. They may differ in their policies for distribution, although most pass gift payments directly on to the individual named, some of the gifts for children in residential homes are held in trust by the ‘house parents’ and used to buy things for that child.

Gift payment amounts
The cost of living in South Asia means that a relatively small amount can go a very long way. Also, large amounts going to individuals can cause inequality amongst the community. For these reasons we advise that monetary gifts are restricted to between £10/£20 per individual. If you would like to send a contribution to a student's school or a monk’s monastery for their general funds this is also acceptable.

At present the Tibet Relief Fund does not deduct any administrative percentage from gift payment amounts received – we pass on exactly what we receive.

 Culture

Tibetan names
The two names generally used by Tibetans are both forenames. Most Tibetans do not use a family name, which is why children's names frequently differ from their parents. It is generally appropriate to address Tibetans by both names, although sometimes the student may take to using just one of their names. A good general guide is to address your sponsored Tibetan as they sign their letters. Spellings may alter slightly between communications because of the different ways Tibetan sounds can be transposed into anglicised spelling. So – Dickyi may mutate to Dekyi, Dickey, Deckyi... and so on.

Birthdays
Most Tibetans do not celebrate their birthday – indeed, many Tibetans do not know when their actual birthday is. This is partly because Tibetans follow a lunar calendar and the system of inserting days to correspond with the Gregorian calendar is haphazard. Also, if they are born near an auspicious day, they may count that as their birthday. The date that is given on the case history sheet is therefore not necessarily the specific date on which they were born and does not represent a significant date for them.

Christmas
Tibetans do not celebrate Christmas. They will be aware of it as a festival though and some schools organise for students to send Christmas cards/letters to sponsors.

Losar
The most important celebratory date for Tibetans is Losar – Tibetan New Year. If you wish to send any festive correspondence during the year, this (rather than Christmas) is the date to aim for. Losar festivities go on for up to a week and the celebrations dominate February – the month in which it usually takes place. The actual dates alter from year to year, as they are dependent on the Lunar calendar.

Each Tibetan new-year, like the Chinese calendar, is attributed to a specific animal sign and element. You will usually receive specific information about the forthcoming Losar from the Sponsorship Co-ordinator, sent out with any Christmas mail from your sponsored Tibetan.

Losar mailing
In January we organise a mailing of letters and any gift payments to arrive in time for Losar. There is a deadline for receipt of letters (which varies each year) in order that all sponsors have the opportunity to send something to reach India/Nepal in time for Losar, should they wish to. We would normally start to include the deadline date in sponsorship-related correspondence in December. If we don’t have cause to write to you regarding sponsorship during that period and you would like to know the specific deadline for the mailing, please contact the office.

The Tibetan National Flag                                             
Designed by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama at the beginning of the 20th century, the elements of the Tibetan Flag originate from much earlier times, found in seventh century military flags. It is intimately connected with the history of Royal lineages in Tibet, and for Tibetans today it is a potent and moving symbol of the Tibetan identity in the context of the Chinese occupation.

The snowy mountain in the centre represents the nation of Tibet; on its slopes stand a pair of Snow Lions, mythical beasts with manes of fearlessness, representing the unified spiritual and secular life. The sun with its rays brilliantly shining in all directions signifies the equal enjoyment of freedom, spiritual and material happiness for all beings in Tibet. Across the dark blue sky, six red bands spread to symbolise the ancestor tribes of the Tibetan people: Se, Mu, Dong, Tong, Dru and Ra. The radiant three-coloured jewel held aloft by the snow lions represents the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. The two-coloured swirling jewel underneath signifies the self-discipline of correct ethical behaviour (the 10 exalted virtues and 16 humane modes of conduct). Lastly, the yellow border represents the spread and flourishing in all directions and times, of the teachings of the Buddha, like purified gold.

Renewal of your sponsorship

Renewing your commitment
Sponsorship is renewed on a year-by-year basis. There is no obligation to renew, although it is wonderful if you are able and willing to commit to supporting your sponsored Tibetan for a number of years.

There are a number of ways you can pay your sponsorship each year. By setting up a standing order you can help us cut down on administration costs. Should your circumstances change, you can cancel the standing order very easily by contacting your bank. Your standing order can either be monthly, quarterly or annual, although each instalment needs to be a minimum of £10.

You can also pay by Visa, Mastercard, Switch or cheques made payable to “The Tibet Relief Fund”. Alternatively, you can pay online by going to the Sponsorship page in our Enlightened Gifts catalogue www.enlightenedgifts.org and using the option to "renew my sponsorship" at the correct rate.
You will need to quote your sponsor reference code, as listed on all correspondence from us.

If you do not pay by standing order, we will write to you just before your sponsorship is due for renewal to ask if you would like to continue. Please let us know if you do not intend to renew. If you cannot continue your sponsorship, we ideally need to find another sponsor before the next grant is due to be distributed.

Enlightened Gift Sponsorship
It is now possible to buy one year’s sponsorship as a gift for someone. You can do this using the order form in our Enlightened Gifts catalogue or ordering online via our website www.enlightenedgifts.org
You will receive a special card to give away and then the recipient contacts us to register as a sponsor.

If you have started on the Sponsorship Programme as an enlightened gift sponsor, we will write to you after a year, to ask if you would be willing to continue as a sponsor by taking on the cost yourself.

Addresses for posting to students

TRF mailings to agencies take place as follows:
Department of Education, Snow Lion & Trek Aid – March & September
Tibetan Women’s Centre – April & October, TCV Bylakuppe – February
Sermey Thosam School & Jamyang Choling Institute – April
Tibetan Homes Foundation – July & December, Scholarship students – August
Lhodak Gadan & Tashi Lhunpo Monasteries – September
And most agencies in January, for Losar, depending on the volume of mail received.

Department of Education [Student’s name] [Student’s reference] c/o Dealing Officer, Sponsorship & Scholarship Section Department of Education Central Tibetan Administration of HH the Dalai Lama Gangchen Kyishong Dharamsala – 176216 District Kangra (H.P.), INDIA	Tibetan Homes Foundation [Student’s name] [Student’s reference] c/o Sponsorship Secretary Tibetan Homes Foundation Gadenling (Happy Valley) Mussoorie – 248179 (U.A.) INDIA
Lhodak Gadan Monastery [Student’s name] [Student’s reference] Lhodak Gadan Donnye Ling Monastery Dekyi-Ling Tibetan Colony PO Kulhan 248001 Sahastrada Road Dehradun (U.P.), INDIA	Snow Lion Foundation [Student’s name] [Student’s reference] c/o Executive Secretary Snow Lion Foundation Post Box 1313 Kathmandu NEPAL
Sermey Thoesam [Student’s name] [Student’s reference] Sermey Thoesam School Bylakuppe 571 104 Mysore District Karnataka State INDIA	Tibetan SOS Children’s Village Bylakuppe [Student’s name] [Student’s reference] c/o Head of Sponsorship Department Tibetan SOS Children’s Village P.O. Bylakuppe Mysore Karnataka – 571 104 INDIA
Tashi Lhunpo Monastery [Student’s name] [Student’s reference] Tashi Lhunpo Monastery Post Bylakuppe – 571104 Mysore District Karnataka State INDIA	Tibetan Women’s Centre [Student’s name] [Student’s reference] c/o Tibetan Women’s Centre 225 Rajpur Road PO Rajpur – 248 009 District Dehra Dun (U.A.) INDIA

Trek Aid sponsorships
Many students can receive replies at post office box numbers or other addresses. Sponsors wishing to correspond frequently need to ask their sponsored student for an address, in letters sent via the TRF office. Students that have access to email may correspond using that. As students will probably move to a number of different schools through their education, they will know the best address for contact. Due to the unreliable nature of the postal service in Nepal, sending gift parcels is not recommended (they often fail to reach their destination). It is much better to send gift money for a family through us.

If you have any queries please contact the Sponsorship and Administrative Co-ordinator, Ms Kate Smith at the TRF office:
telephone: 020 7272 1414; email: kate@tibetrelieffund.co.uk