Through its grass-roots organsiation in Yushu, Jinpa is able to identify, plan and execute projects in close partnership with the local community.

Cutting out the middleman ensures that all the money given to Jinpa gets to the projects that so desparately need it with none being lost to bribes, facilitation payments and intermediate staff.

More importantly, the close relationship that Jinpa's local staff are able to build with the recepient community mean that the projects get designed and implemented just to meet the local people's needs - not what anyone else thinks they should need.

Jinpa's current Projects include

Bridges

The Tibetan Plateau is crisscrossed by many of the principal rivers of Asia . During the months when snow is melting on high ground or when the rains come, these rivers become swollen and rampant. The widely scattered Tibetan nomadic population needs to negotiate at least one river during seasonal migrations or journeys to road heads for supplies or sale of goods.

Most of the bridges in West Nangchen were built in the 1960s. All are of a cable support and wood surface design. Cable ends are wrapped around rocks and then buried to secure them. Most of these old swaying bridges are now on their last legs, are dangerous and need replacing. In other areas there have never been bridges. The rivers need to be crossed to end the isolation of these people. A bridge is needed for movement of animals and to reach the roads which give access to everything-transport, healthcare, education markets.

Mothers carrying infants and with small children have a particularly difficult time as they are the chief herders and have to move with their yaks over dangerous mountain passes and make detours of up to several days to find safe areas to cross rivers. Many people have never been out of their remote valleys, particularl women, and have never met a Han Chinese.

The populations of nomads have increased making travel and transport a problem for more and more people. Jinpa is concentrating on the most needy areas at present. In 1998 Jinpa built a replacement bridge across the Mekong at Domba; in 1999 and 2000 suspension bridges were built with the assistance of the Government at Karyung and Wahona. In 2002 Jinpa built non-suspension, concrete bridge at Pamtoi and a high suspension bridge at Reghla . In 2003 Bridges are being built at Pegnon and Soja. Of all the Jinpa Projects, bridges have the most widespread benefit as they open up the world to the nomadic population, giving them access to markets, healthcare and communication with the wider community.

Community Projects

Tibetan society is built around strong family and clan bonds. Many social needs were traditionally met by family and friends. Today the widespread poverty in Tibet means that increasingly this important safety net is not available - just when it is needed most .

Jinpa's community projects help existing communities to help their own weakest and neediest members. From the elderly to the disabled, our community work is providing the means for a society to help itself.

Cultural Projects

Tibetans are rightfully renown for the richness and variety of their culture. Tibetan culture draws both from its mountain isolation and on influences from the surrounding Chinese, Indian, and Nepalese civilisations.

The Twentieth Century has brought unparalleled changes to the Tibetan people , endangering their unique civilisation. Today as roads and railways begin to find their way into the mountains this unique culture is under greater threat than ever.

Jinpa is working to sustain living Tibetan culture in Yushu TAP . More than merely preserving a relic, Jinpa aims to preserve the Tibetan and the Yushu identity.

Education

The lack of access to education is one of the biggest threats to the rural Tibetan livelihoods. Across the Tibetan population, there is a chronic shortage of school-leavers and almost total absence of graduates. Consequently knowledge that is taken for granted in the West - safe use of electricity, vetinary skills and even basic first aid - are totally lacking.

Primary children lack schooling, both in Tibetan - their mother tongue - and Mandarin - the lingua franca essential for any secondary study. The result is Tibetans cannot compete with better trained immigrants to their homelands, and those Tibetans that are forced from their lands are unable to find alternative employment.

Healthcare

Lack of healthcare and healthcare knowledge is the most visible need of the Tibetan people. In a region with a unique range of health problems - from altitude sickness to snow blindness - a lack of materials, equipment and knowledge mean most Tibetans have no access to modern medical techniques. In rural areas, lack of knowledge simply causes people to die unnecessarily, both through treatments not being provided, or the wrong treatments being given.

Furthermore the national absence of state-funded healthcare mean those who do have access to more than the most basic treatment face great difficulties in paying. Patients frequently stay in the grounds of a hospital in a tent because the can't afford to pay the inpatient fees.

The scale of the healthcare needs is frightening, but there are things that can be done. Jinpa is working with the county governments to provide a 6 month basic midwifery and healthcare training to previously uneducated nomadic girls. Though this leaves many problems un-addressed, it is a cheap and quick way to bring affordable medical knowledge into otherwise un-reachable communities.

Water Projects

In spite of the abundance of rivers in Tibet , most semi-nomadic villages lack clean water supplies. Much time is spent collecting muddy, non-potable water from rivers. This can involve travelling up to 5 kilometres along precarious tracks. Not only can this take several hours each day, but the weight of water carried can harm the children and women who typically undertake this chore. Girls must forgo school even if a village is lucky enough to have one.

Jinpa has been building gravity fed water supplies to villages and communities across Yushu. These projects can simply revolutionise the life of the village.

A Charitable Trust registered in Scotland (No. SC028685) and in China (No. 71051532-4)

email: give@jinpa.org

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