WISHING YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR
www.lhasocialwork.org
As the festive season and the New Year draws nearer, we at Lha would like to wish you and all your loved ones a merry Christmas and hope that the day brings you joy and happiness. We would also like to wish you a very happy New Year and hope that goodwill and fortune shines on you.
Lha is thankful to you for your esteemed support and friendship through all these years. The motivation and encouragement provided by you has inspired us to achieve our goals and serve the community we work for. As you are aware that our activities are only possible with your support and generosity, we would be grateful if you could keep in touch with us and continue to help us carry on the welfare work we have been doing for the last decade.
We would also like to take this opportunity to tell you about Lha’s progress in 2008 as it bears testimony of our dedication towards serving the McLeod Ganj and Dharamsala community. Be it the increase in the number of students, the number of volunteers joining hands with us, or the increase in the number of teachers, 2008 has surpassed all the figures laid down in the previous year. In 2008:
· A total number of 590 volunteers joined hands with Lha and contributed in their own ways. An increase of 62% as compared to the total number of 365 volunteers in 2007
· Lha organized seven times culture exchange programs with U.S based universities such like Tulane, Centenary and Loyola students groups and other related NGOs.
· Lha had an enrollment of 297 students for the computer skills course, in comparison to 274 students in 2007
· Lha had 175 foreign students who learned various classes including languages, reiki, yoga, Arts and cooking
· Lha distributed 1,700 pieces of clothing to the poor and the needy, in comparison to 1,653 pieces of clothing distributed in 2007
· Through the generous donation from the Omprakash Foundation, Lha was able to distribute 30,000 books to Tibetan and local Indian schools, libraries and cultural centers
· Lha has also organized and conducted various workshops which were highly beneficial for both the participants as well as the community as a whole. Workshop topics included:
· Photography Skills
· Joomla Website Management
· Debate
· Health and Hygiene
· Massage Therapy
Lha’s facts and figures of 2008 speak for the hard work and efforts by Lha and its volunteers towards the welfare of the people. In midst of the tumultuous events and political turmoil faced by Tibetans inside Tibet this past year, Lha has still maintained its objective of serving the exile community and is motivated to go greater lengths in the upcoming year to build more sustainable futures for the local community.
The year 2008 has indeed been a year of hard work and positive results for Lha, but the good work has only begun. In 2009, Lha will be able to accommodate more students and offer a wider selection of courses and workshops at the new building which we are still in the process for fundraising for. Other initiatives for 2009 include a vocational training center aimed at empowering low-income and unemployed local Tibetans and long term and intensive computer and language courses.
Lha is thankful to all its donors, volunteers, teachers, students, supporters, friends and most importantly, to the people of McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala for believing in Lha and helping this organization carry on with all the social work activities for the benefit of the community.
This summer, Lha also acquired a large new service center. We are now searching for grants and donors for our programs and renovate the new building space and pay off the mortgage, so that we can transform the building into a high quality language, computer and job skills institute with a new computer lab, community library, and culinary classroom. Once the mortgage has been paid off, Lha will become financially fully self-sustainable.
Any donations to Lha, no matter how large or small, will help Lha to meet its deficit so that it can continue to operate and to provide its free, invaluable services to Tibetan refugees and the local Dharamsala community.
In order to ensure that our free and essential social services are able to continue and increase into the future, you can make a financial contribution by mailing a check (any nationality) made payable to “Lha Charitable Trust” to
Lha Charitable Trust
Temple Road, Mcleod Ganj
Dharamsala - 176219
District Kangra (H.P.), India
If you have any comments on our work or the website, please feel free to reply to us at office@lhasocialwork.org.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart and look forward to your visit again!
Yours truly,
Ngawang Rabgyal (Director)
Lha office
Temple Road, Mcleod Ganj
Dharamsala - 176219
District Kangra (H.P.), India
Office Tel: (91) 1892-220992
Email: office@lhasocialwork.org
http://www.lhasocialwork.org/
Lha Charitable Trust 2007 - 2008 all rights reserved
