Disabled Project in Tibet New services bringing hope

New services bringing hope

article from Peace Times 19 – March 2003

Tashi Lumpo Monastery in Tibet providing a base for rehabilitation and vocational training facilities that offer better chances for people with disabilities

Organising a trip to Tibet can be a daunting and complicated task, even for experienced travellers: ticket, visa, guide, translator… Numerous preparations, preoccupations and unanswered questions about the weather, equipment, altitude sickness and of course the necessary travel documents and permits. It was only when my aeroplane landed at Lhasa Airport last October that I was able to utter a sigh of relief, relax and delight in the sight of the brilliant blue sky and the snow capped mountains. I had finally made it.

With only two weeks to make the most of this golden opportunity on the roof of the world I headed from the airport directly to Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet. Four hours of swerving mountain roads to enjoy the spectacular scenery and watch the dramatic changes in the landscape.

The abundance of ripe corn in mid-harvest I saw at the beginning of my journey near Lhasa slowly dwindled as we approached the much drier and rockier terrain of the Shigatse area. Despite the breathtaking beauty of the view, the sight of entire families scratching away at stony rubble in a desperate and backbreaking attempt to cultivate at least some crops to get them through the long winter made tears of sadness come to my eyes. The problems of organising the trip quickly dissolved from my mind as I saw the frustrating task that some people face everyday of their life to provide themselves and their families with enough food to live.

As I stepped out of the car outside the hotel in Shigatse I was welcomed by representatives from Tashi Lumpo Monastery (one of the largest monasteries in Tibet) who presented me with ceremonial scarves and offered me fruit and drink. An official welcome because I was not in Tibet just as a simple tourist but I was in Tibet as a representative of Lama Gangchen and his Foundation.

In recent years Lama Gangchen Kiurok Tsochun – Help in Action, the humanitarian aid association of the Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation (LGWPF), has completed many important works in Tibet. The Foundation has dedicated itself to providing some of the poorest and most needy people in Tibet with primary healthcare, educational and sanitary infrastructures with the aim of raising the standard of living for people who, in an environment where everything from the altitude to severe climatic conditions go against them, have a difficult and arduous enough life. But this year, 2002, saw the start of yet another important project for the Foundation. The first of its kind in this region of Tibet, the project, a collaboration between LGWPF-Help in Action, Don Gnocchi Foundation and the Association for Solidarity Amongst Populations AISPO, unites the diverse knowledge and skills of three important organisations in order to create rehabilitation and vocational training facilities for people with disabilities. Work on this project, which was granted part funding by the Italian Lombardy Regional Council, had already been underway for three months when I arrived in Tibet. As a volunteer of LGWPF I was in Shigatse to help, if possible, and view the progress of this new project.

Until you have visited the villages in this area of Tibet it is impossible to imagine the poverty and desperate living conditions of the people. The houses, generally made from mud bricks, have no supply of electricity or running water, no bathrooms or even windows; people and animals live together in the same spaces, sleeping in rooms blackened by soot from the smoky stoves. Yak dung is often plastered on the walls of the house and left to dry as it will become an important source of fuel in the winter. Little furniture, no wardrobes and old sacks are the only blankets available to protect the inhabitants against the bitter cold of the winter months.
The only forms of livelihood for these villagers are those of subsistence farming on the dry and rocky terrain or caring for livestock. There are no shops, no roads, no drains, no telephones, no hospitals… A harsh reality for most people.
Now try to imagine how it would be if you had a disability. The very nature of the living conditions in these villages excludes many people with disabilities from having independent and valuable roles within their families and the wider community. This project was created to offer solutions to some of the problems faced by people with disabilities, and has the aims of providing rehabilitation facilities and vocational training.

The first visit I made was to the Clinic of Tashi Lumpo Monastery. Built in the 16th Century and the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, the golden roofs of this Monastery dominate the skyline of the city of Shigatse. The Monastery is home to approximately 800 monks and other than observing spiritual and cultural traditions it provides a sanctuary for the poorest people of the region in need of medical care. The monk-doctors staffing the Clinic, situated in the grounds of the Monastery, visit an average of 150 patients a day for a token fee. It is here in this Monastery that the poorest of the local community find relief from their physical and mental suffering. However, these dedicated doctors, trained principally in traditional medical systems, often find themselves impotent when confronted with cases of handicap.

It was in this Clinic that I could see the first signs of the project at work. The two therapists, Renzo Pezzini and Laura Negri, sent by Don Gnocchi Foundation (one of the most important Italian organisations working in aid of people with disabilities) have been present in Tashi Lumpo Clinic since August. The Clinic has provided the project with office, consultation and workshop spaces and with the full support of the management of Tashi Lumpo Monastery, a number of monk-doctors have been given the possibility to learn the art of physiotherapy according to the western medical system.
The consultation room has already been transformed into a physiotherapy gym, under the guidance of the Italian experts, with treatment beds, mirrors, supportive cushions and other simple but important pieces of materials and aids.

Laura, in the past months, has gone to great efforts to prepare teaching materials and has patiently covered some basic theory of physiotherapy and, through the use of practical demonstrations, has already enabled the doctors to begin treating their first patients under her supervision. The four patients currently receiving treatment, chosen from the results of an initial screening made by Dr. Fabio Cimorelli during his 2 week stay in August, are all young people who previously would have had no hope of improving their conditions. Now, even after this relatively short time, the first benefits can already be seen, an encouraging sign for the therapists, doctors and patients alike. In the future, it is planned that this facility will be made available to as many people as possible from the local area.

Nearby, in the small workshop, Renzo has been hard at work searching for suitable materials and methods to make crutches to replace the often ingenious but badly made ones that are commonly in use and that can aggravate physical problems. A person’s mobility and posture can immediately be improved through the use of a well designed aid. Several pairs of crutches have already been made and distributed to people in need.

On another site, to the left hand side of the main entrance of the Monastery, another more ambitious part of the project is underway. A valuable piece of land (804 square metres) belonging to the monastery, considered a cultural heritage site by the china tourist board, has been offered to house a new construction dedicated to the project. Since work on the foundations was started on the 5th of October, more than 50 people have been working around the clock to finish the construction in the shortest possible time. With temperatures dropping daily, the completion of these building works is of major importance and the priority of the project, before the severe weather conditions completely halt the work.

The building, destined to be the nerve-centre of the vocational training facility, is comprised of three segments. The first segment, made in the traditional Tibetan style, consists of five rooms to be used as dormitories and kitchen; the second segment, made from cement blocks, consists of workshop space, a storeroom and an office; the third and last segment consists of two bedrooms with attached bathrooms and two rooms to be used as kitchen and living areas for visiting doctors and therapists. Toilet facilities, complete with running water, have also been provided for the dormitory and workshop areas and will be a luxury for those fortunate enough to attend the centre.
When completed, the rooms of the centre will open up onto a terrace and small garden, and a wall will enclose and protect the whole construction. Opposite the building is situated the monastery orchard and the plans include gates which will allow access to this haven of peace and tranquillity. The centre will be accessible from the main entrance of the monastery by car. Renzo, in particular, has been following these building works with interest as one of his particular areas of expertise is in reducing and avoiding as much as possible architectural barriers, that in themselves can disable even further a person with a handicap. Following his advice, door frames have been widened, windows lowered and ramps and hand railing have been planned. The building however has been made respecting traditional building techniques and forms, and facilities – sensitive to those available to these people in their everyday life – are planned as the aim of the project is to teach people how to live independently within their own environments. When completed, this building will host and train people with disabilities in basic life skills and a range of traditional handicrafts, some of which are in danger of disappearing. It is hoped that in the future sales of these handicrafts from the workshop – to the many tourists who visit Tashi Lumpo Monastery – will provide an income that will allow the project to become self-sustaining.

To get some idea of these handicrafts and to judge the level of skill, physical dexterity and equipment needed, so we could begin buying materials and preparing for the next stage of the project, it was necessary to investigate some of the nearby workshops. Within walking distance of the Monastery, we found everything we were looking for and thanks to the good name of Tashi Lumpo Monastery, doors opened and we were allowed to move freely among the many workshops. It was fascinating to watch the craftsmen hard at work making beautiful clay statues of Buddhist divinities, to see the concentration and skill of the artists painting intricate designs on canvas, and the women bent for hours over sewing machines to produce amazingly colourful quilted door covers…

As I watched the building taking shape, saw the doctors treating patients, visited nearby villages and listened to local people, I began to understand just how important a project of this kind will be for the local community. Doctor Tsepun, a mine of information with his many years of experience in Tashi Lumpo Clinic and a well known character in the local community, explained with great clarity the problems and difficulties that he felt people with disabilities faced. In fact, his particular concern is for those people living in the villages that he describes as being deprived of any form of care and assistance. People deprived hope. The training centre he says will address some of the problems faced not only by people with disabilities themselves but also those of their families.

Teaching people basic self care and living skills will allow people not only to have a higher degree of independence but will also enable them to take on chores in the home, alleviating other family members from what can be time consuming burdens. This, he continues, in the villages, will be considered just as important as having a skill or trade and on the same note reminds that the help has to be extended beyond the physical boundaries of the new centre. People chosen to attend the centre will need handicraft equipment, such as their individually adapted loom or sewing machine, and materials so they can continue their chosen work back at home.

I was also very fortunate during my visit to attend meetings with Venerable Punla, the Head of Tashi Lumpo Monastery. In these meetings Punla praised the efforts of the Italian therapists for their work and thanked Lama Gangchen and the project organisation for helping to develop the activities of the Clinic. He pledged the full support of the Monastery to the project and has actively demonstrated this support by arranging all the essential background preparations. Appointed at the beginning of the project the administrative secretary, Kachen Wangchuk-la (a Tashi Lumpo monk and close collaborator and friend since many years of Help in Action), has organised and carried out the complicated job of attaining planning and building permission for the construction, making the necessary documents from the local authorities for the running of the project, keeping accounts and so on. Already famous in Tibet for the medical support they give to the poor of the area, the monks of Tashi Lumpo, motivated by a profound sense of compassion, are dedicated to expanding their activities so as to help as many people as possible, and are devoted to the prospect of meeting the needs of some of the most forgotten people of their land.

I visited Tibet as a volunteer. I am not a doctor and not a therapist. I am not able to put names to the diseases or handicaps that I have seen. I am not capable to judge if a therapy has been successful or if a condition can be improved or not. I am, like so many others, just an able bodied person living in a world that has been created for me to live in and so I have remained ignorant to the problems that people with disabilities might meet in their daily life. Problems that, unfortunately, are only too real. I did however, during my visit to Tibet see the faces of children light up with smiles and expressions of eagerness when about to start painful and sometimes uncomfortable therapy. Smiles that communicate to me, without the need for words or translation, the happiness and hope those children now feel for a better future.

Projects, such as this one, have many different functions. They are not only about building and enabling people with disabilities to live independent and dignified lives but they also serve to open the eyes and hearts of people like you and me to the plights that many other people have to suffer in silence. Please, help us to support this project and change the life of someone in need…

Sharon Dawson

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