Leaving her job in London, selling her home, leaving family & friends, Lesley travelled
to India to be a volunteer teacher in a vocational training centre in
Northern India. She learnt of the struggles Tibetan children endure,
escaping torture, violence and oppression by the Chinese authorities in
their homeland, Tibet. They witnessed the torture and murder of parents,
brothers and uncles. They are educated in Tibetan schools in India,
many are orphans and destitute, For 2 years Lesley lived with the
Tibetan community in the Vocational
Training Centre VTC and then a mountain village, Rajpur, undertaking
voluntary work and raising sponsorship to support the childrens
education. In this book Lesley describes her own ups and downs of living
with both Indian and Tibetan cultures and recounts the poignant stories
of the children, describing in their own words the suffering they
escaped and what their hopes are for the future.
Running from Tenda Gyamar: A Volunteer's Story of Life with the Refugee Children of Tibet, Lesley Freeman, Mantra Books, Paperback, 218 pp, $22.95
Lesley has a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling, which gave her the expertise to build
relationships with the Tibetan children and community in India. The
foreword by HH The Dalai Lama is a testament to the faith he has in what
she has written.
This is a personal story of Lesley's life in India, working as a
volunteer teacher for Tibetan refugee children & living as a member
of the Tibetan community. A meeting with HH The Dalai Lama prompted
Lesley to write this book.
Lesley left paid work, sold her home and belongings, left family and
friends and traveled to India alone to live and work with the Tibetan
community. She lived on 3 a week in a home provided for her by the
Director of the Vocational
Training Centre where she worked.
Lesley has met the Dalai Lama many times and has also worked with both his sister and sister-in-law.
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