His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC) is a no- Profitable charitable organization, registered in India, working for the social and economic welfare of the Tibetan people in exile. Running in tandem with the Department of Home, Central Tibetan Administration, and the CTRC has been integrally involved in the rehabilitation of Tibetan refugees from the very beginning of the Tibetan exile experience. The CTRC/ Department of Home is responsible for the establishment and administration of the Tibetan exile settlement and the welfare of the Tibetan exile population.
Due to the subsequent growth in the number of destitute Tibetans in exile and immediately after the advice of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the matter in 1994, a committee was formed by the Kashag secretariat to survey all Tibetan settlements in India, Nepal and Bhutan to thoroughly examine the living condition of Tibetan families.
With a view to achieving a holistic development, the committee formed with representatives from three main Departments dealing with the welfare, health and education of the people, i.e. Department of Home, Department of Education and Department of Health.
The CTRC/ Department of Home, CTA has since been implementing poverty alleviation initiatives in Tibetan settlements across India, Nepal and Bhutan.
Poverty Alleviation Initiative: For the social and economic welfare of Tibetan people in exile, 02 staff are employed to field survey all the Tibetan settlements in India, Nepal and Bhutan. The compiled report of destitute families found during the survey is submitted to the Central Poverty Steering and Alleviation Committee (CPSAC). After thoroughly examining the report, this committee further puts up this report to Kashag for approval.
The destitute families approved by CPSAC were categorized in three as under:
- Old age (65+ years of age) destitution with ill health who are cared under the Department of Home initiatives
- Families with large number of children who are cared under the Department of Education initiatives
- Youth disabled by diseases who are cared under the Department of Health initiatives
Adopt a granny and granddad program: This is an outreach program where we help our granny and granddad to find a sponsor who supports them by giving monthly stipend. This program has been very successful in reaching out to several thousand destitute elders or ones whose family are not capable of taking care of their elder folks on account of dire circumstances.
Poverty Alleviation Scheme: The destitute elderlies who are not covered under the adopt a granny and granddad program are given interim relief from this project. Emergency relief has been provided to the families who suffer from unnatural calamities. A total of 1367 elderlies are covered in adopt a granny and granddad program and Poverty Alleviation Scheme. Apart from the above figure, there are 106 ex-army stipend holders (who retired prematurely with meagre benefits).
Increased monthly stipend for single destitute elderlies as from 2020 are:
Elder Care Homes: The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) with the sympathetic help and support of sponsors has raised Care Homes for Elders popularly known as Old People’s Home (OPH) in India & Nepal. One of the primary responsibilities of Central Tibetan Relief Committee CTRC, Department of Home, is to take care of genuinely poor and destitute elders who have no one to take care of them. In carrying out this responsibility, at present, we have over 14 old People’s home built in various Tibetan settlements in India and one in Nepal. Presently we are accommodating nearly 522 elders. It is our top priority to create a homely environment and a place as much comfortable as a real home for our elders. Residents are provided with one room shared by two inmates with daily nutritional food, clothing and medical facilities.