The Tibetan culture embraces a message of peace through the understanding of the interconnectedness of all beings. This message is carried in the culture and the hearts of the Tibetan people. The Jamtse Sponsorship Project was founded to help support, educate and nourish Tibetan refugee children and their families living in Tibetan settlements outside of Tibet. It is our belief that the teaching of peace and love that H.H The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people bring to the world is sorely needed, and we know that the preservation of their culture and teachings will come through the support and education of the Tibetan children.
The Jamtse Sponsorship Project (JSP) came into being at an audience my wife Amy and I had with the Dalai Lama. His Holiness often says, “Kindness is my religion”, so we asked him about the Tibetan word for kindness. He told us that the word is Jamtse. In Tibetan, Jam means care and tse means love. For Tibetans, kindness is an action; one must not only love but must take care of those we love, that is kindness. We took the name Jamtse for our project to remind us that this is the essence of the practice of kindness.
When we asked him how we could be the most helpful to the Tibetan cause, he suggested that there was a great need for support for children in outlying, remote areas. He spoke of the importance of our personal involvement with the children.
The Jamtse Sponsorship Project works primarily with the Tibet Fund and the Tibetan Department of Education. Sponsorship through the JSP is long term and personal. We believe that it is very important that children know that there is someone behind them, someone to support them. To this end, JSP pledges support for each child for a period of 10 years. We are also very careful to be in touch with each child as often as possible. In 2008 and 2010, we traveled to India to visit Jamtse children and their families. It is our intention to continue these visits every other year.
If you would like to learn more about the Jamtse Sponsorship Project, please write to amymithoefer@earthlink.net, or biff@sover.net .
"Here is the impermanent and yet continuously flowing world. Let us stand together for future generations.” Thich Nhat Hanh
