Disabled Project in Tibet Closing Ceremony

The 30th of November 2003 will be remembered as a special day in the history of Tashi Lumpo Monastery, situated in Shigatse, Central Tibet. On this day, under the blinding winter sun, a ceremony took place to mark what had been termed the “official closure” of the rehabilitation and vocational training project for people with disabilities in Tibet. The project that was initiated in 2002, the first of its kind in this region of Tibet, brought together the Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation (LGWPF) with the Don Gnocchi Foundation and AISPO (Association for solidarity among populations) and received funding from the Italian Lombardy Regional Council. However the ceremony, that marked in particular the end of the participation of the Don Gnocchi Foundation, was in fact a celebration of the new responsibilities left to Tashi Lumpo Monastery and Clinic as well as to the Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation – Help in Action. As the representatives and staff of the Don Gnocchi Foundation planned their withdrawal and return to Italy from the Land of Snow, meetings were underway between Monastery management and volunteers from Help in Action to determine the best way forward for the project that has undoubtedly changed the lives of a number of people in Tibet.
In true Tibetan tradition the office of the new rehabilitation centre, constructed to house the handicraft workshops, doctors living quarters and dormitories, where the closing speeches were held was overflowing with Tibetan hospitality. Flasks of hot salty butter tea, dried cheese, fruit and other delicacies, usually only seen during the days celebrating Losar (the Tibetan new year), were abundant as monks bustled around the room making sure everyone had more than enough to drink and eat. Present at the ceremony were foreign representatives from Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation and Don Gnocchi Foundation, monastery management, doctors from the Tashi Lumpo Clinic as well as other local representatives and volunteers of Lama Gangchen’s Foundation.
Venerable Phunla, the head of Tashi Lumpo Monastery, regardless of many other pressing appointments returned specially to the Monastery from Lhasa to be present at the ceremony. He began his speech by thanking those present for the ceremony and went on to thank in particular Gangchen Rinpoche, founder of the LGWPF, for making he said: “the project possible at all”. Phunla then went on to address the two physiotherapists who have passed long periods of time in Tibet working for the project: “Renzo and Laura have had to overcome many difficulties including those of altitude, weather and culture. What they have managed to do here will be helpful in the future to those who work in the hospital”. He then went on to offer the full support of the monastery to the future of the project: “From our side we are doing our best not to waste the opportunity that we have been given. This project gives us the chance to benefit sentient beings and in particular to benefit those people with disabilities. As monks this is our dedication. You have given us a base to do this job, and now the Monastery must take upon itself the full responsibility”.
Project manager Massimo Ferrario, in Tibet for his second visit, was the next to speak. “I can now see the results of two years work – he began – the 8000 km separating Italy and Tibet are very long, but here we are trying to share our experiences”. He went on to offer words of encouragement to the Monastery: “ You have a lot of experience in Tibetan traditional medicine and we have some experience in treating disabled people, the best thing is to join these to get the best result for the people. The important thing is to share experiences and achieve something positive”.
Trying to bridge the huge gap that exists between attitudes and services for people with disabilities in the two countries he went on to explain: “In our country we usually see disabled people living a normal life. They have a good quality of life. In Tashi Lumpo Clinic I have seen people with different disabilities trying to benefit from physiotherapy. This is not just about physiotherapy, but a connecting point between traditional medicine and new ideas. By joining these two we can help to achieve a better quality of life for disabled people. This concept is important. We have very different cultures and realities that need to connect. We do not want to cancel your tradition but supplement it.” He closed his speech by saying: “ Every project has a start and an end. Now we are celebrating the end of this project but it is very important for Tashi Lumpo Monastery to find a way to continue”.
Sharon Dawson, representative of Lama Gangchen and his Foundation and a Help in Action volunteer took the chance to assure Venerable Phunla and the monastery that help and support, both practical and financial, would as usual be offered through Lama Gangchen’s Foundation. The Foundation since many years has valued and supported the charitable work of Tashi Lumpo Monastery and Clinic, that offer medical care and treatment to the poorest in the area for a symbolic cost, by making significant donations to the Monastery. Lama Gangchen was also responsible for the recent building of shower blocks and providing hot running water to the Monastery that desperately needed to improve the level of hygiene. Lama Gangchen has stressed since the beginning of the project the need for the Monastery, already famous for its social work, to expand the facilities provided from the Clinic to include help for disabled and elderly people who are often left alone and forgotten in extremely difficult conditions.
Venerable Phunla closed the ceremony by presenting the representatives from the Don Gnocchi Foundation and Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation with katags (white ceremonial scarves) and gifts.
A plaque carrying a special inscription in Tibetan, English and Italian to commemorate the project was placed at the entrance of the centre.