Location Chandigarh, India
Type Health
Amount £1,600 annually
Background
When Tsering Dolkar first arrived in Chandigarh, she noticed the lack of care and resources for hundreds of Tibetans arriving for treatment at some of India’s most renowned hospitals.
Tibetan patients often travel great distances to get specialist treatment at hospitals in Chandigarh, some even travelling all the way from Tibet.
But when they arrive, many do not have the knowledge they need of how to navigate the complicated Indian hospital system. They have trouble making appointments and getting to see the doctors they need. Many have little or no knowledge of Hindi or English and struggle to communicate their problems. Understanding diagnoses and treatment can be even more baffling.
On top of this, accommodation in Chandigarh can be expensive and most people cannot afford hotels or hostels to stay at during their treatments – which can sometimes last for months. People will often risk their health but traveling to Chandigarh for the shortest time possible before making the long journey home when they are not recovered enough. Over the years, several people have died doing just this because they could not afford to stay near the hospital.
In 1995, a highly compassionate and motivated young Tibetan lady, Tsering Dolkar, decided to do something about this. She rented rooms and started welcoming Tibetan patients in to her home. She made medical appointments for them and went with them to see the doctors. She translated what the doctors told them and explained in a way the patients could understand. She helped them get their medicines and took care of them at her home whilst they recovered.
Tsering Dolkar found her services were so popular with Tibetans that she needed extra helped and so, a couple of years later, she was joined by her sister, Lhakpa Dolma.
Together they continue to work voluntarily seven days a week, selflessly taking care of anyone who comes their way. Today, Tsering Dolkar is known as the ‘Tibetan Mother Theresa’.
Project
We have been proud to support their ‘Help on Hand’ project since 2007. We send an annual grant which helps to pay for food and accommodation, emergency medicines and all the other services Help on Hand provides.