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Adopt-A-Gran: India – north

In 1959, the Himalayan country of Tibet was invaded and annexed by China.

Tibetan resistance was soon overcome and thousands of people fled the country rather than live under foreign rule. The majority joined the dalai Lama, the spiritual Head of the country, in seeking refuge in India.

There, they were settled in a number of camps and settlements in different parts of the country. Initially, they were provided with food and shelter by the Indian Government, but as the years passed, this support has been largely withdrawn.

The Tibetans have done their best to earn their own living, many of them by working on road construction, which, in India, is done by manual labour. They have also attempted to maintain their distinctive Tibetan culture by the manufacture of Tibetan handicrafts and other means.

As the years have passed, many of the people who came to India are now old and are no longer to do the hard physical labour of road work. There is little opportunity for them to earn money by other means so that an aging population is increasingly dependent on outside support. Those old people who have families are looked after by sons or daughters, but may have no children or other means of support.

Tibetan Homes Foundation was established in 1962, at the request of the Dalai Lama. Originally, it consisted of small homes for children who had lost their parents, but later, extra homes for the aged were added. The houses accommodate from four to six couples each and provide accommodation for a limited number of the old people.

In addition, the Tibetan Homes Foundation assists older people who are still living in their homes but whose ill-health or general poverty means that they cannot support themselves. The sponsorship money from the Adopt-A-Gran Program provides supplementary food and medical care for these people and contributes directly to making life easier for them.

For further information please contact Brenda Packer – Adopt-A-Gran coordinator at: adoptagran@helptheaged.ca

Images of India - north

Gran at a clinic		Volunteers Diane and Rudy Machel with his Holiness the Dalai Lama		Repairing shoes at St. Vincent poor home		Grans with Cows at St. Vincent poor home
Tibetan monk and Gran		Tibetan Grans Field trip				Elderly man selling fruit

 

Our partners in India - north

Tibetan Homes Foundation was founded at the request of the Dalai Lama. Originally, it consisted of small homes for orphaned children, but later, extra homes for the elderly were added. The homes accommodate from four to six couples. In addition the Tibetan Homes assists older adults who are still living in their own homes but whose ill-health means that they cannot support themselves.