Wisconsin Tibetan Families’ Scholarship Project

“In 1960, the year after we arrived in exile in India in April 1959, we were able to speedily set up our first school in Mussoorie……………….. The main reason why we especially devoted more attention to setting up schools was because it was extremely obvious that one cause of the miserable situation in which the Tibetan race found itself in was attributable to our major failure of being up to the standard in the field of modern knowledge. This resulted in our inability to set out strategies as people at par with the rest of the world; it exposed us as too backward to be able to meet the challenges of modern times.”  His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama.

Focus on education is of utmost importance especially for Tibetan people in exile.  Primary education from kindergarten to High School is basically provided free under the norms of the Government of India and other non-profit educational institutions like Tibetan Children’s Village, Tibetan Homes Foundation and other schools under the Central Tibetan Administration.  Despite facing financial difficulties, some families manage to send their children to colleges and universities for higher education.  A gridlock is formed with the youths’ academic pursuits once completing their post-secondary education as they are not no longer able to afford to go any further.  It is unacceptable when young promising, intelligent Tibetan students are unable to pursue their higher studies due to financial burden.   To achieve both internal and external progress appropriate for the changing modern times, our students need to be at par with the rest of their peers in this world.  Youth of today could become the future leaders of tomorrow’s world.    Every child needs a chance to succeed in life.   It is thus the moral and ethical responsibility of every Tibetan living within and outside India to help those less fortunate children in India, Nepal, Bhutan and recent arrivals from Tibet.

Since there is ever increasing number of students wanting to pursue higher education but without adequate financial resources, the Wisconsin Tibetan community in Madison has set up a program called “Wisconsin Tibetan Families’ Scholarship Project” to provide the much   needed assistance.  The purpose of this project is to fulfill the wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to raise the higher education rate amongst our youth so that they can become self reliant and thus become productive members of our community.  They, in turn, become a source of inspiration to the younger generation that knowledge is power and worth pursuing.   On our part, we are happy to give back to the community that has done so much for us in the past.  The project started in 2015 with ten Tibetan families contributing $240/- per year or $20/- per month or 66 cents per day! Through the Department of Education, Dharamsala, we were able to help with two students with their tuition, lodging, boarding, stationary, pocket money etc.  We now (In 2017) have twenty families participating to sponsor 6 students. We are very proud to mention that three of the students are pursuing studies in the STEMM field (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine).  We are very optimistic about having more community members step forward to join us in making a difference in the lives of these youth and increase the number of beneficiaries in the years to come. 

For those wishing to joining us, the monthly contribution is $20/- per month ($240/- per year).  Donations are also welcome. You can be assured that every dollar is accounted for with the account managed by the Wisconsin Tibetan Association. Funds are periodically sent to Department of Education, Dharmsala through the Office of Tibet, Washington DC.  For further information, please contact Lobsang Tenzing @ 608-829-1037, email:    klhamo115@hotmail.com.