Grant amount: £9,700
Working with Lodrik Welfare Fund in Pokhara, Nepal and Nangchen Old People’s Home in Kathmandu, we provide annual grants to ensure elderly Tibetans under their care can live comfortably without worrying about their future.
Lodrik Welfare Fund was set up in the 1970s to look after ex-freedom fighters and their families. The former guerillas are now elderly and unable to work; many never married so don’t have families to help them in their old age. Most live in Jampaling and Paljorling settlements near Pokhara, but some live in Kathmandu and India.
The Nangchen Old People’s Home provides rooms and support to elderly
Tibetans from the Nangchen region in east Tibet. Many escaped from Tibet after 1959 to settle in Nepal.
Our stipends help provide security and comfort for these elders. As well as being able to buy extra food and pay for their own medicines, they have peace of mind in knowing they can cover some of their own expenses and don’t have to ask someone for money every time they need something.
On top of the stipends, we also send Lodrik Welfare funds to pay for emergency medical treatment – something people can often not afford. This year small grants to help with medical costs were given to 83 people, including Mr Gompo.
Mr Gompo
At 85 years old, Mr Gompo’s eyesight has been deteriorating. Because of this he had suffered a number of falls. The cost of eye surgery was £165. Such an amount is very hard to come by for an elderly Tibetan with no family. Our emergency grant paid for Mr Gompo’s surgery and he is now enjoying good eyesight and no more falls!
