Right from the beginning, we have taken a parental responsibility for our children. Therefore, our support to the children does not end when a child leaves a village or school. Our purpose is to ensure that every child is able to stand on his/her own feet and contribute to the community when the times come. Given this purpose, we set up an Educational Reserve Fund in the early 70s to take care of the further education and training of our students when they leave school. Today, under this program, we have 931 students, who are attending different colleges and training institutes in India, doing a range of career courses and training – given their ability and aptitude.
His Holiness has mentioned time and time again that the children are the future seeds of Tibet and so holistic education is vital for them. So our top priority has always been that the holders of Tibet’s future destiny are equipped with a meaningful education in all fields of profession to contribute to the development of future Tibet.
As we reflect on the work of TCV, we are happy to see so many of our educated youths doing some outstanding work within our exile community in various services – ranging from doctors, engineers, teachers, civil service to health workers, farmers, artisans etc. And of course, many of them have become responsible parents, capable of bringing up their own children as Tibetans and good human beings. I am proud to say that many have returned to work in TCV projects. Out of the total strength of 1159 TCV co-workers, 60% of them are now ex-TCVians. To date, 15000 children have gone through the TCV villages and schools. Where ever we go, we meet Ex-TCVians. This gives us renewed strength and impetus to continue our work with ever increasing sense of dedication.
Success breeds its own problems. So is the case with TCV work. With ever increasing number of school and college graduates with various professional training returning to the community, there is now a problem of finding suitable jobs for them. The exile community infrastructure and services have not kept up with the increase of educated youth. Therefore, the time has come for them to look for jobs elsewhere. This entails having the competence to compete in the job market and having the psychological capacity to adjust in any social setting.
To ease this crushing search for jobs to lead a meaningful life, we have now initiated a placement cell within the TCV organization. For reasons of accessibility and easy communication, we have located the placement cell in the Tibetan Youth Hostel, Delhi. As we gain experience and exposure, we are hopeful that this cell will be able to assist the youths in finding placements within and without the exile community as time passes.