Charlotte with Lha Staff
Where to begin.If I had to describe India in three words it would be chaotic, colourful and alive. It is anywhere else x1000 –more stressful, but also far more special.
My time at Lha made the experience unparalleled. I volunteered to write for Contact magazine, trying my hand at it while still at home in the UK and arriving in the middle of May.
Being in the office from 9-5 most days I got to know the whole team and I can say hand on heart that Tibetans are the warmest, most welcoming people you will ever meet.
The office was an ideal balance of work and play. The volunteer coordinator, Rabsel being tricked into eating a nicotine chewing gum comes to mind – a joke that was countered by the claim that it had made him so sick he had been taken to hospital.
Lunches at Lha soup kitchen, learning how to make Tibetan tea, being fed strange local snacks and helping at the charity clothes giveaway are all memories that will stay with me for life.
It was so heartwarming to see people leave with a much needed new wardrobe. One elderly Tibetan couple were particularly pleased with a set of hats they found; I didn’t have the heart to tell the little old lady she had hers on backwards.
Work wise, I am used to being a very small fish in a gigantic ocean so it was amazing to feel like an integral member of the team, doing important and meaningful work.
Reporting on Sikyong’s oath-taking ceremony in the presence of His Holiness was a definite highlight, and working for Contact gave me the opportunity to interview some incredible people, including Dr Sangay himself.
Local monk and author, Ven Bagdro also inspired instant admiration and respect. You wonder how someone can be tortured by the Chinese for so long, and in so many ways and still have a permanent smile on their face.
Whole generations of Tibetans have been born in exile, and it has been decades since many others fled their country. But meeting any one of them you can see why the Tibet cause burns as bright as ever.
They are truly passionate, and are truly inspiring. And that is why I will continue to help them reclaim their home in any way I can.
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