Sponsorship Success Stories

Educational Sponsorship is a vital part of the help the Tibet Relief Fund can provide for Tibetans in exile. Through the generosity of our supporters, there are currently over 1,300 children, students and monks receiving sponsorship for their studies. Such a commitment makes a real difference in their lives, as the remarkable story of Dolkar shows us: 
         Dolkar’s Story
 
“I was born in 1982 in the Amdo province in Tibet, near to the Chinese border. I was often cared for by my grandparents, as my parents worked in the fields. I attended a Chinese school, with only five other Tibetan children. We had to study in Chinese and often were beaten with a bamboo cane. In Amdo, it’s normal to get married at age fourteen and many of my friends did. My father wanted me to go to India to be educated, so that I could learn about Tibetan culture and stand on my own feet.
 
So one Losar (the Tibetan New Year), my brother, Atho and I began the risky journey by road into Nepal, helped by our father. I was about ten years old. The terrain is hazardous, with regular landslides and severe weather in winter. At the border with Nepal there is a high bridge to cross to safety. The Chinese soldiers were walking with their guns just waiting to shoot. I pretended to be a washer-woman’s daughter (with a big bag of dirty clothes and washing powder) and acted mute when questioned by soldiers. They confiscated my food and money but let me pass into Nepal. Atho also succeeded, by pretending he was on his way to school with a small bag on his back.
 
After some days I met my Dad and he looked like a miner, he was so covered in mud. Dad and his friend had been caught by the Chinese, and when they were crossing a bridge they had decided to jump into the river to escape, as it was better to die in the river than in a Chinese jail. So they jumped, swam to the edge of the river and hid in some graves that had been recently dug, pulling the soil on top of them. They could see the soldiers running around with their guns looking for them. And they stayed there until they could no longer tolerate the ants eating their faces. And that is how we escaped from Tibet. The next day my father took us to the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) in Dharamsala and then he went back to Tibet.
 
It was hard at first to be at TCV – I didn’t speak any Tibetan (only Chinese and Amdo), Atho fell sick with Tuberculosis and I always cried at night under my blanket. After a while I started to enjoy school, making new friends and I learned that home mates are like family. I was lucky enough to be sponsored by two English “parents” soon after I arrived. I was frightened at first of their yellow hair and blue eyes. It was my first time of seeing western people. They came to visit me every year and I grew to love and care for them. They sent me money, clothes, tapes and sweets that I could share with my friends. Their sponsorship meant my school was able to continue helping children like me.
 
I moved to TCV Bylakuppe (in South India) to finish my year 11 and 12. I studied hard and focused on the subject of commerce, gaining a scholarship to do a Business degree in University. I took a gap year before starting my degree.  My English parents had always said that they wanted to take me to England to increase my awareness of the world and the western culture. It is very difficult for Tibetans to get a visa for England and the first time I applied I was turned down. But luckily they worked hard and asked a friend to help in Delhi and I got the visa. I was very lucky.
 
I had a great time for six months in England with my sponsors (in 2003). I did some work-experience in my English dad’s company in Nottingham, visited Scotland and helped out at the Tibet Relief Fund’s offices in London.
 
When I returned to India I felt much more confidant and my English had improved. I started my degree in Business and Marketing at the Symbiosis College, Pune University in September 2004 and I’m working hard at my studies.
 
My English parents have been so kind in taking care of me and now I feel very confident about my future. They have opened my mind and my eyes. I am very grateful to them for they have given me the light that I can shine on the world. I have always wanted to go back to Tibet to meet my parents, relatives and childhood friends and see the places of my childhood. I hope that that Tibet gets freedom as soon as possible so that students like me, who haven’t seen their parents or home for a very long time, can go back in peace.

You can help transform the life of a young Tibetan and give them a brighter future.

Cick here to find out about joining Tibet Relief Fund's Sponsorship Programme.