Lha Community Soup Kitchen project
Lha is currently seeking funds to support the food supply of its Community Soup Kitchen initiative for a duration of one year and to support the development and implementation of the project in a self-sustaining way.

Since 1959, hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have been forced to leave their homeland in pursuit of the freedoms and opportunities denied under Chinese occupation. Every year, new refugees arrive in India after an arduous journey, carrying only an armful of personal belongings. 
A large number of Tibetan refugees cannot afford nutritious food due to their financial condition. As a result, many of them suffer from diseases such as type 2 diabetes, gastritis, liver cirrhosis, heart disease, and hypertension. 

The Lha Community Soup Kitchen aims to alleviate cases of malnutrition and poverty in Dharamsala by offering nutritious, low-cost (25 cents) or free meals and clean drinking water to 50-60 Tibetan refugees daily. This is the first and only community soup kitchen in the Tibetan community with access to clean drinking water.  So far 327 refugees have benefited from this project since its inception four years ago.
In June 2013, 47 users of the Community Soup Kitchen were surveyed and it was found that  46 out of the 47 respondents were unemployed and only 6 (13%) received any kind of financial support from friends or family.  

In a survey conducted in December 2014 by Lha volunteers on the effectiveness of the Lha Community Soup Kitchen, nearly all of the users (96%) responded that the Soup Kitchen meals are beneficial to them, and 87% said they come to the Soup Kitchen because of financial problems. 
Without the services of the Soup Kitchen, these people would be unable to afford nutritious food and would be forced to drink local tap water, adding to the health problems which many of them already face (51% of those surveyed identified as having existing health problems, often caused by poor quality food and water).

How you can help?

Lha Community Soup Kitchen has been running on the small donations and funds provided by numerous individuals and organisations over the past four years. We don’t have any supporters or sponsors coming up for the next year but the problem of malnutrition in the Tibetan refugee community continues. Therefore, your contribution of even a small amount would be very helpful for us to tackle and eliminate this problem. 
Lha Charitable Trust aims to raise $14,400 USD to cover the expenses of a year’s food supply for the Community Soup Kitchen.  Lha covers the maintenance cost, utilities and staff wages. Therefore, 100% of your donation will go directly to help provide nutritious food for the Tibetan refugees. You can also sponsor a day or a month’s meal.  The food supply for the Soup Kitchen cost 1200 USD per month; any amount of contribution is appreciated.  Your small act of kindness makes a huge difference in someone else’s life on the other end of the world.   

We will receive all of your donations through our sister organization Louisiana Himalaya Association (LHA). LHA is a 501-(C) – (3) non-profit organization based in New Orleans, Louisiana.http://lhainfo.org/donate.html

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About Us 

Lha Charitable trust is an award-winning, grassroots, 12AA & 80G non-profit organization and one of the largest Tibetan social work institutes. Founded in 1997 and registered with the Indian government  as a charitable trust in 2005, Lha is one of the first organizations established with a primary focus on Tibetan social work. Lha is managed by Tibetan refugees who draw their expertise from the experience of living in exile, and is supported by volunteers and generous donors from around the world. Seeking to generate an atmosphere of harmony and cooperation, Lha’s services are open to Tibetan refugees as well as to the local Indian population and people from the surrounding Himalayan region. 

Lha plays a crucial role in facilitating the transition of Tibetan refugees from their homeland to the Indian community by providing long-term rehabilitation and education resources. Each year, programs and projects are adjusted to meet the conditions and needs of the region. Yet the commitment remains constant: to help the Tibetan people survive and prosper in their new home and to preserve their profoundly unique culture. In addition, Lha offers volunteers and students the opportunity to engage in meaningful community service and social work.
 Lha is unique in the range and quality of services it offers. These include Tibetan, English, French, Chinese and German classes, individual tutoring, Soup Kitchen, Clean Water Projects, the monthly Contact magazine, Cultural Exchange programs, Computer classes, a wide array of volunteer opportunities, Health and HIV/AIDS awareness

education, Environmental awareness initiatives, free distribution of clothes and medicine, vocational training, the Lha Tibet Fair Trade (LTFT), a public library and many other programs and activities. On a daily basis, Lha serves over 200 people, hosts between 15 to 25 volunteers and provides up to 25 different services including on average 50 to 60 meals per day for people who need it.
 

Achievements

 In 2014 Lha was awarded second place in the category of “Best Practices of Social Media Usage” in the South Asia-wide 3rd eNGO Challenge Award.
In 2015 Lha was awarded first place in the category of “Best use of Website and Internet tools” in the South Asia-wide 4th eNGO Challenge Award. The Award recognizes the best non-government organizational practices of using information and communication technologies.  The presentation ceremony was held at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on November 5. From thousands of NGOs around South Asia, 307 NGOs from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were nominated
For more information please go through our website:
www.lhasocialwork.org
 
Stories of the people who use Lha Community Soup Kitchen.

 My name is Jampa – born in Tibet and came into exile in 2005 I am currently studying English and computers also medical treatment. 
Age: 31
Lha Soup Kitchen has been very helpful to me as I have long term health problems and have received three operations to date. I have been facing severe financial problems. As I have no family in India, Lha has been like a family to me with their help. I am very happy and grateful to Lha and hope I will continue to receive support from the organization. I would also like to thank them on behalf of many other members of the community in need whom Lha has helped.

My Name is Tenzin – born in Tibet, came into exile in 1993. No job, no family in India.
Age: 41
I am taking a number of classes here and Lha Soup Kitchen meets my needs as it serves very good food, weekly fruits and salad with the lunch at the right time. Making lunches is expensive and so Lha Soup Kitchen saves me money and is extremely helpful to me. We used to pay only 15Rs per meal, but it has since been made free for me and my other friends. This has helped me a lot and I would like to thank Lha for this. 

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