Funding Required

Building Rent

Lha currently bases its operations out of a building rented from the Tibetan Handicraft Cooperative Society based in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala. The Cooperative owns the building, and we must pay them $9,000.00 USD a year in order to use the entire second floor of the building to house our offices and classrooms. The funds that the Cooperative makes from the rent of this building support the employment of over 100 refugees in the fair-trade handicrafts profession. The profits from the operations of the Cooperative also help to support welfare projects for the local Tibetan refugee population. Lha is currently in desperate need of long-term sponsorship for the rent of the current rental space, so that the organization’s efforts and funds can be directed toward developing the new building which has been purchased for the expansion of our programs and services. The future plans to base some of our operations in a building of which we have ownership will relieve the financial stress of our yearly rent, and will greatly improve the sustainability of Lha Charitable Trust.

Baking Vocational Training Program

Background:

Baking (as well as cooking in general) is an area of significant interest to Tibetans. As with our successful massage therapy training program, we are certain there will be many young Tibetans willing make the commitment to completing this program.

Although one vocational training program in cookery is available in Dharamsala through Hotel Tibet, the program has a very limited number of spots and high fees, resulting in many ambitious young people being denied the opportunity to enroll. In addition this three month training program is insufficient in duration to produce cooks able to work independently in any hotel or restaurant.

Aims and Objectives:

Provide opportunities for Tibetan young people to participate in a career training program. Those completing the program will have the skills to obtain long-term, fulfilling employment.

Duration:

On the basis of suggestions given by a professional baker, an average trainee can be trained as a qualified baker in six months. Therefore, we plan to offer a six-month course of training to a group of ten interested individuals. By offering this program twice annually, we expect to produce twenty qualified bakers a year.

Target Area:

We plan to keep the enrollment of this program exclusive to unemployed Tibetan young people. We strongly believe that this vocational program can, in time, significantly decrease the prevalence of aimless and impoverished young people in our community by ensuring that its trainees will obtain good job opportunities here or wherever they settle. In this way the problem of unemployment will be partially relieved in our society.

Capital and Initial Year budget for the Baking Vocational Project:

Most of the expenditure for the project will be used towards the initial purchase of the equipment necessary to run this new program. According to the knowledge of a professional baker, the bakery will need twelve major pieces of equipment, and on the basis this detailed information we have developed the following budget for this project:

Total Capital and Initial Year Operating Expense: $20,952.00 USD

New Building Renovation

Lha is currently beginning to operate in a new, larger building which will provide the additional space needed to expand our services to the community.  At present, the new building is divided into domestic apartments.  We plan, in the near future, to transform some of these apartments into vocational skills training rooms, while maintaining others as housing spaces for our international volunteers.  The total cost of the renovation is $23,700.00 USD This includes the estimated $10,000 cost of the renovation of the entire first floor.  The first floor is to house a community kitchen, which will provide cheap, clean, nutritious food to those in need.

Lha Community Kitchen

Included in the renovation plans for the new Lha building are plans for a community kitchen on the first floor. Refugees who arrive in Dharamsala, from an often long and grueling journey from Tibet, come carrying little or no possessions, and have no means to support themselves. The recent arrivals, as well as some long-term residents in the community, face problems meeting their basic needs, including nutrition.  Many people in the community often go hungry due to the lack of resources to cook or the lack of financial support for buying nutritious food. In Dharamsala the facilitation of these basic needs are not being met. Lha continues to receive inquiries regarding food assistance programs because we are known as a social service agency; therefore we plan to use our newly-acquired space to respond to this demand. The Lha Community Kitchen will provide nutritious vegetarian meals, at a very low cost to those in need. The program will provide for the basic alimentation of the Tibetan refugee community, Lha students, Lha volunteers, as well as the local Indian population, and other Himalayan peoples in Dharamsala. The initial expense for construction, furniture, and basic supplies, such as kitchen equipment, will cost $14,242.00 USD

Regular Expenditures

Beyond the current rent, Lha’s operating expenses are $22,308.00 USD for the year 2009-2010, listed below which is strictly for operation expense of office administration and classroom expenditures.  As a non-profit social work institute without a permanent donor, Lha continuously faces difficulties covering these regular expenditures, which are critical to the continuation for the operation of the organization.

Need of a Projector

Lha is in need of a projector for use in presentations and for special events such as photography workshops and other information technology training programs.  The cost of the projector is $1,350.00 USD and the cost of the accompanying monitor screen is $145.00 USD.

Overview of Expenses