108 Schools & Libraries

Waterpumps

Treeplanting

Eartquake in 2007

Riksel Lindh-Foundation

Preventive

HIV/ AIDS Project

Snowcatastrophe 1996

Preventive Project against HIV/ AIDS

2006-2009: HIV/Aids information project in Medrogungkar/ Drikung, Damshung, Amdo.

Distribution of information brochures, seminars for medical staff, information days (with entertainment) for villagers. Approx 50,000 people and school children reached.

In the hope of preventing the spread of HIV/ AIDS in Tibet, the School Society decided to increase the spreading of information on the subject. Already in 2006, the project started in collaboration with Katsel's School Committee. The first target group was the students at schools around Tibet and additional target groups became participants in festive gatherings such as horse races and summer/harvest festivals. At major festivities, such as the Harvest Festival in August, information material and condoms were distributed for free.

In the spring of 2007, a representative of STSK met with government officials in Lhasa to obtain permission to continue running the campaign. In June 2007, 84 course participants (teachers and pupils from different schools, representatives from women's organisations, doctors and nurses) met to be trained in HIV/AIDS issues. The course was led by two doctors and two nurses with knowledge and experience.

Participants passed on the information in their home villages and schools by giving lectures. On International Aids Day, the theatre group entered its largest audience to date, about 10,000 people. Lhasa-TV made a major report on the HIV/Aids campaign, and it was then shown throughout Tibet, nepal and northern India.

The role that women took in the information spreading was important! The project showed that it was often women who took up these important discussions. Women went From being withdrawn and shy about discussions about sex, women now often took the initiative to talk about and discuss the risks of sex in terms of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Tibetans were taught what methods they have to combat the spread of infection and how to avoid infection in everyday life. Common prejudices about HIV/Aids were highlighted. Knowledge also spread to the young people and orphans who previously lacked understanding of these diseases.

Thanks to Katsel's School Committee and the hard work of the supervisors on the HIV/Aids project in 2007, some of the goals set by the association were achieved. As the initiative was recognised above expectations (TV feature), many thousands more people than the original target group learned about the HIV/AIDS issue. This pre-emptive campaign was a historic event in civil society. In the long term, the work provided good knowledge of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases that the population reached by the project should be able to protect themselves against the spread of infection.

The "timing" of the project was also good considering that, since the opening of the railway from China, there have been much larger groups than before of tourists and people migrating to Tibet. This led, among other things, to the fact that prostitution became more common in the area. This increased the possible spread of infection in the country. Thanks to the association's project, only positive developments were seen around the issue of HIV/ AIDS.

Treeplanting

It first started at the Katsel School in 1996. The site chosen when the school was to be built is beautifully located in a valley and is surrounded by high barren mountains. A river runs through the valley and, through an expanded irrigation system, provides water to katsel residents' fields and crops. There were also previously beautiful trees and shrubs. For many decades and especially during the cultural revolution, most vegetation was consumed without planning for the future.

The school's land covers as much as 10 hectares of land. At the school's construction, the land was bare, after the cattle had it as pasture for many years. The soil then began to fill with vegetation. The school planted more than 8,000 tree plants. Pine, One, Pil and Apple trees are planted and the children were responsible for the small tree plants. With responsibility for future ecology, children learn to take care of nature and its resources.

Since then, the School Association has continued to plant trees in all of Tibet and now also in the rest of the Himalayas. In recent years, the association has had some cooperation with Green Cross Sweden in this matter.

Snow Catastrophe 1996

1996-1997 : Snow disaster relief in Kham area.

Purchase of 4 000 yaks and 2 300 sheep, distributed to approx. 2 000 households.

The winter of 1995-96 hit Tibet extremely hard. Blizzards were recurring and temperatures fell as low as -45 degrees. In total, about 200 000 nomads were threatened with starvation and about 2/3 of the nomads' vital herd of cattle had perished. The Swedish Tibetan School and Culture Association had sought money from the disaster unit at SIDA, in order to help 1 200 families of those who lost all their livestock. The application concerned Sichuan Province (Kham), an area where very little help had been received.

SIDA granted SEK 2.8 million for direct assistance to the nomads and the assignment concerned the purchase of livestock for the worst affected. A total of about SEK 50 000 had also come in as gifts both from the members in Sweden and from sponsors in the USA.

A total of 4 000 yaks and 2 300 sheep were purchased, distributed to about 2 000 households.

Earthquake Relief in Amdo 2008