10 Jan: His Holiness the Dalai Lama blessed and inaugurated the Tibetan Children's Village (TCV) Hostel in Mungod Tibetan settlement in South India. The construction of this hostel was made possible with the generous assistance from the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol, Italy.

Dr. Luis Durnwalder, the President of Bolzano, South Tyrol, Mrs. Jetsun Pema, Mr. Tsewang Yeshi, President of TCV along with the local Tibetan Settlement Representatives were also present at the inaugural ceremony.

Mr. Tsewang Yeshi, President of the TCV, in his welcome address thanked Dr. Luis Durnwalder for the financial support for the construction of TCV Hostel and also for similar project at TCV School Chauntra with a Health Centre earlier.

"This project is an initiative of Jetsun Pema-the mother and guiding force of TCV work to have a this hostel with a vision and understanding that the problem of tackling poverty and illiteracy is best done at the base with the direct involvement of the population concern rather than to go for any best solution that uproot them in any form", Mr. Tsewang Yeshi said.

Later, His Holiness also visited the Representative's Office and Cooperative Society of Mundgod. In the afternoon, His Holiness visited Mundgod Central School for Tibetans and spoke on the teachings of the Buddha to the students and staff.

Report Courtesy: http://www.tibet.net