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Information about Sponsorships for Tibetan Children, Teenagers and young Adults

„The schools in India, which all our children attend,
are sponsored by Westerners. They really give us tremedous support.
This is why I would like to express here my most heartfelt gratitude.“

A mother from Tibet.

Each and every Tibetan child carries our hopes for a culture which would otherwise appear to be doomed. Sponsoring a Tibetan child or teenager is not only a very effective but also a very personal way of helping a young person. On the one hand your donation serves to preserve the future of the refuge where the child lives and grows up (see below). On the other hand the personal contact to your sponsor child will provide a solid and reliable basis on the difficult road to adulthood and help him or her deal with the problems of living in exile.

We find sponsorships for Tibetan children, teenagers and young adults who have escaped from Tibet or who have been born in exile. Further we organise sponsorships for Tibetan children and teenagers who come from the Dolpo region – one of the last regions in Northern Nepal whose culture remains for the most part intact.

Tibetan young adults and teenagers deserve special support. Many sponsors want to sponsor sweet little kids and finding sponsors for older age-groups is sometimes very difficult – especially for boys and young men. But it is these young people who face that important phase in their life where they need great courage, self-confidence and a sense of responsibility in order to master the transition to financial independence. This is a very difficult stage for those in exile and there is a real risk that they will be unable to cope. This is not because they perform badly at school or do not have the right level of motivation for apprenticeships, further education or career development. The problem is different and it is to be found in their own past: it is always being conscious of their refugee-status and as such living, as it were, between two worlds. They are looking for their own culture, their own roots and above all for something or someone to hold onto!

Michael Landwehr, our expert for sponsorships, lived for over two years in the Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamsala working as a science teacher. It was here that he gained such key insight into the everyday life and psychological needs of Tibetan children, teenagers and young adults. He himself fosters three children and looks after many more personally. Based on his experience he is able to bring sponsors and sponsor children together with great sensitivity for both parties. Michael is the one person who can provide all the answers to potential sponsor‘s questions.

If you would like to become a sponsor for a Tibetan child, teenager or young adult, you will find further information in the following PDF-download:

> information about sponsorships and donations
> SEPA Direct Debit Mandate for Sponsorship Application
> SEPA Direct Debit Mandate for Charity Patron Application

In addition to becoming a sponsor, our German speaking sponsors from Austria, Northern Italy, Switzerland, France and Germany also have the opportunity to visit their sponsor children in the Tibetan Children‘s Villages. With our project ,Sponsors and Sponsor Children: Getting to know each other!‘ Shelter108 organises sponsorship trips.