Grandma Tashi

TCEF’s sponsorship program benefits truly needy Tibetan elders in many Tibetan settlements in exile. Today’s story is about a grandmother who lives all the way in Choglamsar, Ladakh.

Tashi escaped from Tibet along with her parents when she was only a small child. Somehow, her parents did not make the journey to Dharamsala where all the other Tibetan refugees fled. Instead, they chose to remain in Ladakh as they were nomads and had somehow managed to bring a few of their animals with them.

So she grew up as a Tibetan nomad living in the remote border areas of Ladakh. This life meant that she received no education because there were simply no schools in the area where she lived.

In time, her parents passed away leaving her the difficult life of being a refugee nomad. Later, she got married and moved to the Tibetan refugee settlement at Choglamsar in Ladakh. Her husband passed away many years ago. She has children, but due to their circumstances, the sons moved and became part of their wive’s households and can no longer help Tashi much.

The biggest problem for Tashi right now is her health. She has arthritis, frequent headaches and poor digestion. Her sponsorship through TCEF helps grandma Tashi with funds for her daily needs and to meet her medical expenses.

Our hope in sharing these stories of the Tibetan elders is that during this Holiday Season, some of you will join in this effort to help them. It costs only $35 a month, or little over a dollar a day to help a Tibetan elder in need. For more information on this program, please visit: https://www.tibetchild.org/become-a-sponsor/sponsor-an-elder/