Running from Tenda Gyamar: A Volunteer’s Story of Life With the Refugee Children of Tibet

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 VTC and then a mountain village, Rajpur, undertaking voluntary work and raising sponsorship to support the children s 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.
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Lesley Freeman left paid work, sold her home and belongings, left family and friends and travelled 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. She lives in the UK.