Tong-Len
A Charitable TrustWe help displaced communities in North India achieve a secure and sustainable future by addressing the root causes of their poverty and ill-health through a range of education and health-based projects
Taking on humanity, one step at a time...
Tong-Len is a small charity working with displaced Indian communities in the area around Dharamsala. Most families live in a state of desperation within slum camps.
Tong-Len aims to help these homeless communities gain access to basic human rights. The main focus is to break the cycle of deprivation through education. To this end, Tong-Len has established its own school and provides hostel accommodation for those children in most need.
Our Projects
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Every penny we receive makes a difference and we cannot thank you enough for thinking about us and making a financial contribution.
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About Us
Tong-Len Charitable Trust (Charity Number 16284) was set up in December 2004 to support desperately poor communities in the Dharamsala area of Himachal Pradesh. Its prime focus has been in supporting the educational needs of the children from these communities. It has established its own school and provides hostel accommodation. It also engages in health work. The founder and Director of Tong-Len Charitable Trust, Therchin Gyaltsen (Jamyang), had a vision to help destitute Indian children, seen begging in the streets and scavenging in the rubbish dumps, gain access to education.
Tong-Len UK is a separate and an independent organisation from Tong-Len Charitable Trust and is registered as a charity in Scotland (SC036383). Its sole purpose is to raise funds for the work of Tong-Len Charitable Trust in India. It was established in March 2005.
Agir Ensemble pour Tong-Len is a separate and independent organisation from Tong-Len Charitable Trust and Tong-Len UK and is a registered association in France (W061010272). Its sole purpose is to raise funds for the work of Tong-Len Charitable Trust in India. It was registered in 2018.
In some projects, especially health, Tong-Len works in partnership with the Dalai Lama Trust.
Jamyang, a refugee Tibetan monk, was moved by the plight of the young Indian children he saw begging in the street and scavenging in the rubbish bins. He discovered they were living in terrible conditions in a slum camp with no access to clean water, sanitation or education.
Jamyang shared his concerns and his vision to help these children go to school with a few other Tibetan refugees and Western volunteers who helped him establish the charity in India.
The name Tong-Len comes from the Tibetan words meaning ‘give’ and ‘take’, the idea being that through compassion one shares in the suffering and pain of others whilst simultaneously giving out love and kindness.
Our News
Congratulations Dr Pinky!
Tong-Len proudly announces that one of our students from the slum has graduated with the double degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. Here is her story. "From Handouts to Healing Hands: My Path to Becoming a Doctor" I’m Dr. Pinky, and my journey from...
Tong-Len brings light to the slum
For the first time people in the slum have access to electricity.
The Tong-Len Health Bus in action
See the video here The new Tong-Len health bus significantly has improved the health conditions of slum dwellers in remote and rural areas where there is very limited access to health services. It is serving as a mini hospital providing essential medical care directly...
The new health bus
Thanks to a very generous donation, we have a new health bus. This mini-hospital on wheels has a registration and pre-scanning area, a doctor’s room, a medical lab, a washroom, a small kitchen, and a pharmacy. The bus will greatly enhance Tong-Len's ability to reach...
Tong-Len scholarships awarded
A new venture, thanks to a generous legacy from a supporter, has been the establishment of a scholarship fund. This is an initiative to provide financial assistance to deserving students from slum and underprivileged backgrounds to enable them to pursue a higher level...
Tong-Len’s Health Project News
The Tong-Len health project is a co-operation project of the Dalai Lama Trust serving the slum communities in the Kangra valley. It provides a range of health facilities, including hospital follow-up and antenatal care. Over the last 6 months approximately 5000 people...
Update on the Vocational Training Centre
The vocational training centre has two programs currently on offer, with a total of 40 students. The tailoring program has 15 students, and the new electrician program has 25 students. Their course is entitled house wiring and home appliances repairing and is...
A thousand attend the annual Thanks Day on the 19th November
This year was the biggest Thanks Day ever, with about 1,000 people attending including families from the slum, sponsors and supporters from around the world, and many local, national and international guests. The chief guest was the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Shri...
Update on the Tong-Len School – up to 330 children attend daily
The Tong-Len school is now fully functioning again after the long break due to Covid. Almost 330 children now attend regularly. The Tong-Len school now provides education from Kindergarten up to grade 10. There are approximately equal numbers of hostel children and...
Housing Project
Tong-Len is working with The Dharamshala Municipal Corporation (DMC) to provide housing in a new housing development near the old Charan Khad slum as part of the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) under the Government of India Ministry of...
Update on the new vocational training course in tailoring
We are so pleased to be able to share with you photos of our tailoring course within our brand new Vocational Training Centre. We currently have 10 trainees who are learning a host of skills that we hope will lead them to paid work, freeing them from a life of...
The Tong-Len Vocational Training Centre
The Tong-Len Vocational Training Centre has now trained 30 students on its Construction Electrician Course. The curriculum and facilities have been inspected and approved by NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation of India). Our first batch of trainees are...
Flood Update
Work has started on building new shelters for the residents of the Chetru slum who lost their homes and meagre belongings to the flood waters. The local authority has allowed new shelters to be built on a piece of land close to Sarah village, not far from the Tong-Len...
Chetru floods
You may have seen in the news that there has been terrible weather in the Dharamsala area leading to flash flooding and landslides. The Chetru slum has been very badly affected, with many families’ homes and possessions swept away by flood waters. These marginalised...
International Women’s Day 2021 – 8th March
Yesterday, 8th March, was International Women’s Day 2021 and the theme for this year is #ChooseToChallenge. Women and girls are more likely to live in poverty, and the negative effects of Covid-19 have impacted women disproportionately. We must all #choosetochallenge...
November 19th 2020
19th of November is a very special day for Tong-Len as it has been celebrated as Thanks Day by the children of Tong-Len to show gratitude to all the individuals and organizations who have been supporting us for the work we are doing. This day always has been a...
First Tong-Len Vocational Training Programme is underway
Despite the many challenges of the Covid 19 pandemic, the new vocational training centre opened its doors to the first 15 students in October 14th. These students from families living below the poverty line are enrolled in a 6 months electrician training program where...
Tong-Len nursing students graduate
Congratulations to Nisha, Poonam and Sarika on the completion of their nursing studies. The 3 girls have now graduated and will shortly begin their professional careers. Sarika has decided that her first position should be with Tong-Len, so will be working within the...
Hostel children celebrate World Peace Day on Sept 21st
On September 21st the hostel children celebrated World Peace Day. They learned about building peaceful societies and the importance of living a non-violent life, accepting of others. These teachings are crucial parts of the Tong-Len School curriculum which strives to...
Tong-Len continues its food distribution programme in the slums
In recent weeks, the pandemic has been gaining momentum in India. In response to this alarming trend, Tong Len has rolled out its ration distribution program to over 150 people in order to encourage families to stay isolated and to endeavour to contain the spread of...
Tong-Len graduates assist slum community members find work
Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the poorest communities, and access to work is often an insurmountable challenge. However, in recent weeks, the ‘Tong-Len Social Enterprise’ project, led by two of our alumni, has found work for 16 people. Much of this work is...
COVID19 Update 23 April 2020
From the 20th March to 23rd April Tong-Len has been distributing food to the slum people. For the first few days it was only possible to help those families in most urgent need – they received cooked food from our nursery tent. Thanks to donations into our emergency...
COVID-19 Emergency
Because of the Covid 19 pandemic, all schools and hostels in Himachal Pradesh have been ordered to close. There are confirmed cases in Dharamsala. We have successfully appealed to the government to keep our hostels open because of the vulnerability of our hostel...
The New School Building funded by Pencil Tree is inaugurated on Thanks Day 2019
We are very excited to report our new 4 storey school building is completed and in use. We are very grateful to The Pencil Tree charity for partnering with us in our school and hostel projects. The Pencil Tree charity started when a few Australian friends visited...
A day of thanks and celebration – Tong-Len 2019 Thanks Day
The Tong-Len annual Thanks Day was held once again on 19th November, marking 15 years of Tong-Len. It was a wonderful day of celebration and entertainment attended by the children from the Tong-Len hostel and school along with their families from the nearby slum and...
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Tong-Len Charitable Trust
Tong-Len Charitable Trust (Charity Number 16284), V.P.O. Mohal Jatehar Mouza Sarah, Tehsil Dharamshala 176215,District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India, Phone No ( +91 ) 9816314891
Director: Therchin Gyaltsen
Tong-Len UK
Tong-Len UK (Charity Number SC036383), 5 South Charlotte St, Edinburgh, EH2 4AN, UK
Director: Anna Owen
Agir Ensemble pour Tong-Len
Agir Ensemble pour Tong-Len (Association Number W061010272), 1715 route de Biot, 06560 Valbonne, France