A personal mission to raise vital funds to help the elderly Tibetan refugees.
(Tsering Passang, former Chairman and a current adviser to the Council of Tibetan Community in Britain, is the Director of Tibet Foundation.)
Tibetan Buddhists shave their heads when they enter their monasteries or nunneries to ordain. In some other cultures, people shave heads too – for instance, to mourn when close family members die. In my own case, an initiative to help charities replace income lost due to the coronavirus pandemic – The 2.6 Challenge – has led me to fundraise for Tibet Foundation by shaving my head for the first time ever!
As you know, COVID-19, which originated from Wuhan (China), has caused extreme disruption worldwide and has resulted in many thousands of people losing their lives. They include a small number of fellow Tibetans, including my good friend, Jamchoe-la, a respected member of the Tibetan community in the UK and a generous supporter of many good causes.
Our scientists and medical experts tell us that the virus, which primarily affects the elderly, is likely to remain with us for some time. Against this background, we remember our Tibetan refugee elders in India and Nepal. Already hugely vulnerable through old age and for economic and social reasons, they now find themselves increasingly imperilled by this killer disease. They need our practical support now more than ever before.
Tibet Foundation’s “Give Elders Dignity” campaign is providing essential aid for this section of the exile community, with a particular focus on care standards and safety in the old people’s homes we support. I am shaving my head for The 2.6 Challenge to raise funds for these elders and show solidarity with all who have lost loved ones in the COVID-19 pandemic.
If the small act of shaving my head for The 2.6 Challenge inspires you and others, I urge you consider sponsoring me, or making a donation to Tibet Foundation, through Virgin Money Giving This is also a genuine practice of compassion ahead of the Saka Dawa festival when we all engage in doing good deeds. 100% of your donation will go directly to the “Give Elders Dignity” appeal. An advantage of donating through Virgin Money Giving within the next 7 days is that we can receive additional funds from the central 2.6 Challenge pot administered by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).
So, will you please consider making a donation today to make a real difference and help the vulnerable elderly Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal?
I’d like to thank all those who have already made a donation to the “Give Elders Dignity” appeal. Your support means a lot to me personally because, like you, I care about our elders who need our help during the twilight years of their lives.
Please donate today and share this message with your friends and network.
Please click here to make your donation: Virging Money Giving
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Delivering political speech outside the Chinese Embassy, London to mark the 10th March anniversary event (Tibetan National Uprising Day), 2012 -
Celebrations of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 75th Birthday in the Park, 2010 -
Fundraising event after The Dalai Lama’s public talk at the Royal Albert Hall London with amazing friends of Tibet- Maybe and Joanna Lumley, 2012 -
With Chinese dissidents, Uyghurs activist and Tibet supporters during our joint dignified protest against the Chinese propaganda at the London Book Fair, The Olympia, London, 2012 -
Receiving “Outstanding Community Leadership” award from Sikyong, Dr Lobsang Sangay, President of the Central Tibetan Administration in London, 2019. I was proud to lead the Tibetan Community in Britain as Chairman. With my team, we made amazing contributions both here in the UK as well as for the Tibetan refugee community in India. -
Advocacy work with the EU Representative in London, 2012. I was delighted to organise and lead a small Tibetan delegation who were born in Tibet to advocate on the rights of Tibetans. -
Advocacy work with my former local MP, Teresa Pearce -
At the launch of The Society for Threatened People’s Special Report with Human Rights Campaigner, Bianca Jagger and British MPs outside the parliament. I was delighted to coordinate the report launch in London at the request of Tibetan Youth Association in Europe and Wangpo Tethong ahead of the “Europe Stands with Tibet” Solidarity Rally in Vienna, 2012 -
With my amazing team – fellow Council members of the Tibetan Community in Britain during the launch of “Tibetans Helping Tibetans” initiative in a London Hotel, 2015. With my team, we made amazing contributions both here in the UK as well as for the Tibetan refugee community in India. -
With teachers from Prudhoe Community High School in Northumberland and Tibetan MP Youdon Aukatsang from India. In January 2015, Tibet Foundation organised the “First UK Cultural Tour by Tibetan refugee children” from India. The British school has been in touch with the Tibetan Community ever since. Thanks to the amazing teachers – Yvonne and Jacqui for their support. The school had been raising Tibetan flags every year ahead of the Tibetan Losar in show of solidarity with the Tibetan people. -
With my fellow classmates from Lekshedh Tsal Primary School in Jampaling Tibetan Refugee Settlement, Nepal, 1989
Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities 