03/19/09 - Wen Jiabao, China's prime minister, said at a recent news conference that China is open to further talks with the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader. As reported by The New York Times, in response, Tibet's India-based government in exile announced its willingness to meet with China's government to discuss Tibet.

China took over Tibet in 1951. In 1959 China suppressed a Tibetan uprising against its rule. In March 2008 Tibetans in the capital, Lhasa, rioted against Chinese control. This March is a particularly sensitive time for Tibetans, because it marks one year after those protests, which resulted in fewer freedoms for Tibetans. China's relationship with the Dalai Lama has been contentious for decades. The Tibetan government in exile, which he heads, recently reiterated that he does not support Tibet's secession from China; instead, it said, the Dalai Lama seeks more autonomy for the area of China now known as the Tibet Autonomous Region.

SOS Children's Villages Care for Tibetan Orphans in Lhasa and India

Children playing outside the SOS Children's Village Lhasa in Tibet

Although China has invested in developing infrastructure in the Tibet Autonomous Region, many Tibetans remain poor. SOS Children's Villages, the world's largest charity devoted to providing loving homes to orphaned and abandoned children, has been operating a children's village in Lhasa since 2000.

Before SOS Children's Villages started its work there, the region's many orphans rarely had a chance of finding a proper home. SOS also cares for Tibetan children whose families have fled to northern India from Tibet, and some children whose parents sent them alone over the mountains into India. Of SOS's thirty-seven villages in India, eight serve Tibetan children. The Dalai Lama is especially supportive of these villages and had this to say about SOS:

"SOS Children's Villages has a special place in the hearts of hundreds of Tibetan children. Thanks to the kindness and support of SOS Children's Villages, hundreds of Tibetan orphans and children in need have been given a home, loving care, and a good education in various villages, schools, and youth houses. The help we have received from SOS Children's Villages has enabled us to raise our children in keeping with the traditional values of Tibetan culture and to prepare them for a life in which they will be able to find their place in modern society and make their own contribution to this world. SOS Children's Villages is an outstanding humanitarian movement, not only for Tibetans, but for all peoples. It is a work of love that knows no borders, no racial or ideological differences, only human beings."

Keeping Siblings Together

Sisters at the SOS Children's Villages Lhasa in Tibet

One of SOS's core values is to keep biological siblings together whenever possible. Dawa's parents escaped to India after China's takeover of Tibet. They found work building mountain roads, then gave birth to Dawa. They died when he was eleven, leaving him to fend for his two young sisters. "I cried a lot then, and felt helpless," says Dawa. "In the camp where we were living, they said they would try to get a place for me at the SOS Children's Village in Dharamsala. My two sisters had been taken to live with different relatives; our separation was bitter. How happy we were when places were found for all three of us in the same family at the SOS Village!" Over time, Dawa and his sisters "finally started to feel a sense of belonging and protection that a family brings." Dawa went on to study medicine and promote health education within India’s Tibetan exile community.

SOS provides stable homes, education, and medical care for thousands of Tibetan children. If you would like to help a child like Dawa secure a warm home and a bright future, consider sponsoring a child.