Spreading Peace Globally
Dharamsala, India
In September of this year, 10 massage therapists traveled to Dharamsala, India with a committment to teaching massage therapy to Tibetan refugees at Lha Charitable Trust. The trip was deemed a success with goals achieved and lives changed forever. You can catch up on the trip through blog posts recorded during the trip on the BCMT blog.
In the weeks following the trip we received the following letter from the Director of Lha Charitable Trust, Ngwang Rabgyal and one of Lha's founders and Board members, Neil Guidry. We feel that this letter speaks volumes about the importance of education, in this case, massage therapy education, in changing people's lives for the better.
Hello from Dharamsala,
We at Lha Charitable Trust wanted to once again thank the volunteer instructors from BCMT. Your instructors were both professional and personal. The Tibetan Refugees that received your training and our staff all express their appreciation. We all hope that our new relationship with BCMT will continue long into the future. The Tibetan People and BCMT share the mission of world peace through non-violence.
It should be mentioned that the time your volunteers spent here will have far reaching benefits. Most Tibetan Refugees arrive in India destitute, fleeing oppression. Most come from nomadic herding communities; the skills they come with are no longer helpful in gaining employ. Through massage training, many are able to find work to support them and also provide financial assistance to their families still inside Tibet who are often in dire circumstances.
Many of the Tibetan Refugees that come through our programs eventually end up in western countries. Our original mission of providing them with Language and Computer skills is certainly very helpful and necessary, yet not enough. The addition of this Massage program is offering the much needed skills and confidence necessary to begin their new lives.
We are looking forward to our next group of BCMT volunteer instructors. Hopefully, with the guidance and support of BCMT, we will be able to develop our Massage Training Program and further reach out to more of those in need.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ngawang Rabgyal
Lha General Manager
PS For more info about Lha Charitable Trust please see www.lhasocialwork.org
