2005 Fundraising Letter |
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Dearest
Arasmas Supporters, This
is our fifth Annual Arasmas Letter. As
in the past, some of you will be learning of Arasmas now, but most of you
are now long-time supporters. We
will try to be brief ~ an introduction, an update, and a summary of goals
for 2006. Background Arasmas
is a small California 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization that grants
scholarship funds to Tibetan Refugees pursuing higher education in India.
Arasmas students are all refugees; most of them left Tibet alone,
on foot, sometime in their teens or early twenties.
Without family or government-funded support available to them,
Arasmas funds make it possible for them to pursue their educational and
professional goals. After six
years of operation, it is my great joy to report that five students have
been able to attend the university or vocational schools of their choice
because of the generosity of the recipients of this annual letter.
The
first Arasmas student, Youtsa Tamdin Kyab, sparked this entire endeavor
when I met him in Dharamsala, India in 1999. Tamdin, a Tibetan refugee-teenager at the time, had been in
India after escaping from Tibet on foot four years earlier. He was fluent in Chinese, Tibetan and Hindi and wanted
nothing more than to study International Human Rights.
Moved by his story, I gave him what few books and resources I had
and shared his story via email with a few select members of my family and
friends upon returning home. That
was six years ago. With the
help of contributions that trickled in over the next three years, Tamdin
completed two years of rigorous English language and pre-law training at
the British High Council in Delhi in 2002.
I visited him in late 2001 right before he left India for Belgium
where he currently lives ~ a life he would never have known without the
help of our donor base. Since
then, Arasmas has supported at least one new student each year.
All Arasmas students have to endure a rigorous application process
and even then, they are up against dozens of other qualified applicants
(since Tamdin’s success story was published in the local Dharamsala
paper in early 2002, the interest has been overwhelming).
We can assure you that Arasmas students are a highly qualified and
worthy select few. Current
Activities Currently,
Arasmas supports three students: Tenzin
Norchung (Tibetan Medical Studies at the Tibetan Medicine and
Astrological College in Dharamsala (TMAC)), Lhakpa
Dhondup (Culinary Academy), and Nyima
Chundak (Computer Literacy Training).
Some of you may recognize these names, Norchung is a longtime
student and the latter two were noted as qualified applicants in last
year’s letter. Thanks to
your help, all three continue to receive their basic needs for study and
living expenses and are enthusiastically enjoying their educational
pursuits. Tenzin
Norchung remains particularly notable Arasmas success story.
When he came to us three years ago, he had been living alone in
Dharamsala (in his teens and early twenties) for a decade.
Despite numerous obstacles, he had done well in school and already
been accepted to the highly regarded TMAC.
He continues to literally stun us with monthly letters and emails,
glowing transcripts and report cards, and two published articles in the
TMAC Medical Journal. It was just this week that we sent him his second
installation of funds in the amount of $500 (he was granted one other
installment, $800 in August of 2003, and has been extremely frugal and
diligent, funding all of his living and educational expenses with that
money since then). Here
at home, Arasmas has taken another great step this year: finding the
exceptionally helpful and inspiring Tim Holtzman, our first employee!
Tim worked tirelessly mid-year to completely organize all of the
paperwork behind the project (applications, bank statements,
correspondence, incorporation and 501(c)(3) filing documents, receipts,
etc.). He was asked to make
sure Arasmas could be understood and carried on if anything ever happened
to its current caretakers; he did a wonderful job and we look forward to
his continued support in 2006. Goals
for 2006 We
have two primary goals for this coming year: 1) support at least one, but
up to three more qualified students, and 2) get arasmas.org up and running
with online testimonials, downloadable applications, etc. Research suggests that each student will need somewhere
between $500 and $1000. As
for the website, we could get one built for $500, but a $2000 budget would
be ideal. Contributions If
you are inspired to make a contribution towards these goals, please make
checks payable to Arasmas and mail them to the Fillmore Street address
noted on these materials; you will be provided with a receipt for tax
deduction purposes within thirty days (all donations are 100% tax
deductible; please date the check with the date you want on the receipt).
Any contribution size is welcome; it has been the combination of
many donations, some as small as $20, that have come in over the years to
make this all possible. Whether
you contribute or not, it is inspiring to witness the progress of these
students; please don’t hesitate to ask if you would like to see copies
of any of their correspondence, photographs, articles, etc.
As
I try to remind each of you every year, none of this would have been
possible without your support, in whatever form it comes. Thank you. May
your dreams too, become your reality in 2006. Blessings
& light, Cecily
Mak (nee Freyermuth) |
Arasmas |