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Louisiana Himalaya Association (LHA) was first founded in 1997 with the basic objective being to improve the quality of life for Tibetan refugees and people from the Himalayan regions, leading to assisting establishment of Lha in India.
Neil Guidry, an American Social Work Professor at the Tulane University in Louisiana, USA started the organisation. Neil visited many different parts of the world, including Nepal and India where he developed friendships with many young Tibetans including Jampa Tsering. Understanding grew through the exchange and sharing of experience and knowledge, and in 1999 the association, LHA in India was established.
Lha in India aims to improve the wellbeing of Tibetan refugees through social services and education benefits. Lha is a Tibetan word for our innate nature of fundamental goodness. It describes the awakened state of mind, the Primordial Pristine Awareness.
In 2005 Lha was registered as a non-profit Social Work Organization based in Dharamsala under the District Magistrate of Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, Government of India (Regd. No. 240, Regd. Year. 2005, Book No. 1) as a Charitable Trust.
LHA in USA and Lha in India share the same aims and objectives and enjoy a great bond. Lha in the US acts as a parent organisation to Lha in India. Importantly, the respective associations have different board members, administration and staff and therefore the programs and servives evolve independently, always in response to real needs of the community utilising the meaningful skills within each organisation. Importantly, the organisations are always able to support each other.
Lha’s financial statements are audited annually by an Indian government approved accountant.
Lha’s primary goal is to provide meaningful social services, such as providing education, computer skills courses, vocational training, health and environmental education and service, providing volunteer coordination, cultural exchanges and distribution of free books, medicine and clothing.
Lha’s other aims are to facilitate an easy transition for the Tibetan refugee community to India, and to provide long-term rehabilitation resources to Tibetans in exile. Lha is managed by a group of Tibetan refugees who draw their expertise from their first hand knowledge of what it means to be in exile. The organization is fuelled by volunteers and generous donors from around the world. Lha seeks to generate an atmosphere of harmony and cooperation within the surrounding community by tending to the needs of the impoverished. The services of Lha are open to Tibetan refugees as well as the local Indian population and people from the Himalayan regions.
From small beginnings, a growing number of meaningful services continue to be offered at Lha. When Lha started in 1999, social services were offered from a small service shelter room on Bhagsu Road. In 2003, Lha moved to the current resource centre, a first floor building owned by the Tibetan Handcraft Society. Since the move, Lha began to offer 13 different classes daily which included Tibetan, English, and French language, English conversation, computer skills, vocational training, yoga and photography. From 2007 ninety classes have been offered daily, with the addition of Spanish and Chinese language classes.
Lha offers a wide array of meaningful free volunteer opportunities for both skilled and unskilled individuals and groups, for both long and short terms. Most professional skills are being utilized directly within Lha, while some are redirected to other agencies in the local community. Volunteers are greatly needed in these areas: language teachers, computer teachers, computer and technology professionals, office assistants, web designers, advertisement and project professionals, fund raising professionals, medical professionals, librarians, yoga instructors, journalists, massage therapists and instructors. Those who are trained in other particular skills are also free to apply. Lha will find meaningful avenues to use your talents and skills for the benefit of others.
Lha also offers courses and services to tourists such as meditation, yoga, Tibetan language, cooking, traditional art classes, cultural exchange and massage treatments/courses. The cultural exchange program includes a range of options including Homestay, Accomodation and Travel Assistance. Lha also offers a cultural immersion program for individuals and groups. Lha operates two community libraries in McLeod Ganj and the Tibetan settlement of Tso Pema. We also have a partnership with Dharamsala’s monthly community newspaper, “Contact,” which provides information about Tibetan issues, such as news on the current situation in Tibet, H.H. The Dalai Lama’s teaching dates and events, and services and volunteer opportunities available in the Dharamsala region. All the programs directly benefit the community.
Lha also works in conjunction with various other organizations in the local area to assist exiled Tibetans and local. The aim is to continually establish community connections to increase the quality of life for the majority of the population. Lha's Outreach Program extends aid to the wider Indian community in the form of self-sustaining clean water projects and distribution of books, clothing and medicine.
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