At TCEF, we continue to ask these questions: With the changing times, what are some real needs of Tibetan education in exile? Where can we make a difference for them? This winter, I’ve had multiple conversations with our partners in India asking these very same questions. 

The Tibetan population in the subcontinent is steadily decreasing due to interesting socio-economic trends and factors. Thanks to the efforts of HH The Dalai Lama and the early Tibetan leadership in exile, we have a good school infrastructure. In fact, at this time we may have more schools than we need! But, every year, hundreds of Tibetan students graduate from the Tibetan schools in exile. A high percentage of these students cherish hopes for a college education. We believe this is an excellent trend that can help them land good jobs in the Tibetan communities or even in the larger Indian job market. We think that helping needy and deserving Tibetan students access college education is worthwhile. We hope to complement and collaborate with the Tibetan Government in Exile and other organizations working for Tibetan education in exile. 

We will expand our College Sponsorship program beyond our current partners – Kyitsel-ling and Sambhota. We plan to advertise the help available on phayul.com and other Tibetan media outlets and invite applications from all deserving Tibetan candidates. In this first year, we hope to help ten college students. 

Each sponsorship is going to be Rupees 90,000 annually. That is roughly $1,200 or $100 per month. A hundred percent of all contributions will go directly to help the students. Most undergraduate programs are for three years, so we will request sponsors commit to that duration.