Dickey Orphanage Fund Program

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We send the donation to the orphanage in your names!

Progam Background:Tibet is regarded as a celestial land because of its unique cultural and geographical features. People from all over the world are drawn to this land of mystery. Modern Tibet is developing and changing rapidly. Tourism has become a major industry for the people of Tibet and is helping them to achieve a much better quality of life. Nevertheless, there are still people who are living far under the average level and they need help to improve their standard of living. Travel Tibet Guide(Access Tibet Tour & Service Co. Ltd) is committed to helping those in need in Tibet. Beginning in 2008, our company will allocate a percentage of its income as a donation to the Dickey Orphanage, a self-run orphanage in a suburb of Lhasa.

About Dickey Orphanage

In Lhasa, Tibet, there is a very wonderful "sweet home" to over 80 children, most of whom are orphans: It is called the 'Dickey Orphanage'. The founder of the orphanage is a highly motivated, middle-aged Tibetan woman named Tamdrin Dadhon. The children just call her 'Mama'. In Tibetan, the word 'Dickey' means 'fine and happiness' which is what Mama Tamdrin wanted for the children. Tamdrin could see the misery of orphan children and she decided that she would do something about helping these children. In September of 2002, she sold her family jewels and a 'teahouse' business and with proceeds of 300,000 yuan, and a great deal of courage, she started the Dickey Orphanage in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.

Children at the orphanage range in age from 2 months old to 14 years old. The children are at the orphanage because their parents died or were unable to look after them. Some of them were found abandoned on the roadside. Our little baby, Tenzin, was found abandoned at 2 months of age near the Sera Monastery in Lhasa. He is the youngest and the most recent child to come to the orphanage.

Because Dickey is a private initiative, there are no government grants available for Mama Tamdrin. Other than receiving some financial support from local businessmen and international donations, the only way to sustain the orphanage is the income from their teahouse, however, this income is not constant or stable. Even when they have no income, Mama Tamdrin, with great courage, struggles to keep the children safe and warm.

In 2006, Tamdrin Dadhon felt that it was necessary to improve the living conditions for the children because the rooms she was renting were very small and often two children would have to share a small single bed. Also, more orphans were arriving and there was no space left to accommodate them. To fulfill her dream of building a proper home for the children, she struggled and achieved a loan from the bank to build a new orphanage on 2000m of land. To minimize costs, all orphanage staff helped with the construction and in 2007, the new building was completed. They all moved into their new home which has a capacity of 200 children. The children were very happy. For the first time, all of the children would have their own bed and this was a very important thing for them.

Now, with the help of many kind-hearted people, the children of the Dickey Orphanage are living a much better life. There are, however, a great many problems which have to be solved. There is little money for furniture, heating systems, teachers salaries, books, and learning materials. They are in great need of assistance from merciful people and that is why Access Tibet Tour has become involved. We hope to greatly assist the orphanage with funds for all of these basic needs and to help make the orphanage a truly wonderful place for these truly wonderful children.

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