Tibetan Children's Village
Following the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1950 and His Holiness the Dalai Lama's flight to India in 1959, it was quickly apparent that one of the most critical needs of Tibetan refugees was finding a means to care for the many children who had been orphaned or separated from their families during the arduous escape from their homeland. His Holiness promptly recognized that the future of Tibet and its people depended upon the younger generation. With this in mind and out of concern for the miserable conditions under which so many children were suffering, His Holiness proposed that a centre for destitute children be established in Dharamsala, India.
On 17 May 1960, fifty-one children arrived from the road construction camps in Jammu, ill and malnourished. Mrs. Tsering Dolma Takla, the elder sister of His Holiness, volunteered to look after them. Initially these children were assigned to members of the Dalai Lama's entourage, but before long the Government of India offered its assistance, renting Conium House to accommodate all the children together. At that time, the centre was under the name "Nursery for Tibetan Refugee Children."
From its humble beginning forty six years ago, Tibetan Children's Village has today become a thriving, integrated educational community for destitute Tibetan children in exile, as well as for hundreds of those escaping from Tibet in recent years. It has established branches in India extending from Ladakh in the North to Bylakuppe in the South, with over 16,178 children under its care. 
Tibetan Children's Village bears an enormous responsibility for the destiny of Tibetan children. Today, young people from TCVserve the Tibetan community in different capacities and, at the same time, there are a few children who have not fared so well. In this respect, extensive efforts are being made to further improve the lives of these Tibetan children.
The mission of Tibetan Children's Village (TCV www.tcv.org.in) - an integrated charitable organization - is to ensure that all Tibetan children under its care achieve a firm cultural identity and become self-reliant and contributing members of the community and the world at large by providing:
- parental care and love to children in need.
- the best of both modern and Tibetan education.
- a competent and dedicated staff.
- a child-centered learning environment conducive to independent growth.
- learning opportunities to preserve, promote and renew the rich Tibetan cultural heritage.
- provide suitable and effective life and career guidance for social and citizenship skills.
"From the day we became refugees, our basic objective was to rise to the very place from where we have fallen down." - H.H. the Dalai Lama