How did the Sponsorship Scheme start?
The Rewalsar Community Project started as an offshoot of the Tibet Support Group York (TSGY) in 2013. Two members of the TSGY, (Dee & Rowena) initially met a Tibetan Lama in York in the summer of 2012.
The Project began in the summer of 2013, when the Lama asked TSGY if they could help support individuals in need in Rewalsar, a community in Himachal Pradesh, Northern India. He was very familiar with this community, having lived there himself for many years before coming to England. In the summer of 2014, Rowena and her family were fortunate enough to visit Rewalsar. This allowed TSGY to assess the needs of the community and further develop the project. They have returned at regular intervals since. The new Community Centre has been opened and is up and running with the support of the Tibet Relief Fund. In 2017, the Community Project was incorporated into the Dharmakaya Trust and now forms part of their charitable objects in that it seeks 'the relief of poverty and the promotion of community and personal development in Tibetan refugee settlements in India.' |