Lha depends on the goodwill of volunteers and monetary and material donations for it to provide essential rehabilitation resources to the exiled Tibetan community. Lha is a non-profit organization solely dependent on monetary contributions from philanthropic corporations and generous individuals. In India, even a little goes a long way, and a lot goes very far!

Account Name: Lha Charitable Trust
Account Number: 2517000101008335
Swift Code: PUNBINBBPAR
Bank Name: The Punjab National Bank
Branch: Mcleod Ganj, Dharamsala, H.P

Payable to: Lha Charitable Trust
Lha Office Temple Road, Mcleod Ganj, Dharamsala, 176219
Distt Kangra, Himachal Pradesh

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Testimonials & Feedback


Here are just a few of the testimonials from volunteers, the local community, and those who have participated in the cultural exchange program.

We use this feedback to help us improve our service delivery to students and monitor the welfare of our volunteers. We are committed to making sure the experience is beneficial and educational for both parties. If you have any questions about the testimonials given, or would like to share your own experience of Lha, click here to join Lha's Blog community.
I thought the program was awesome: I loved the mutual learning partner program, the food at the Ahimsa house was really really good, the Ahimsa house was really nice and comfortable and clean.-Kristina
Mutual learning partners were awesome. I am in love with Sonam. She is amazing and great and eager to learn and i could go on and on and on. The food was great the entire time. The Ahimsa house did a fabulous job with all the meals.-Winnie
The food was always delicious, the rooms were great and overall it was a wonderful experience to stay at the Ahimsa House.-Clare
I would say that the Mutual Learning Partner experience was one of the greatest learning opportunities that I have ever been a part of. It was amazing to both teach and learn at the same time. I believe this is what Prof.Samdhong Rinpoche was trying to say regarding teaching.-Hunter
Dorje was a great learning partner and I feel that both of us learned a great deal from the other. Overall I enjoyed the way that the learning partner program was set up. I would like to stay in touch with this program in hopes to do more for it in the future. – Joe White, USA
My assigned partner was very eager to learn and hopes to join her brother in America one day. With that goal in mind, I’m sure she would appreciate more students in the future helping her improve her English – Kelly, USA
Every day Taski, my learning partner, would bring a list of words and phrases to ask me about and she was usually able to recall what they meant days later. Overall it was a great experience that I hope was mutually beneficial. – Margarat Sands, USA
My partner has definitely benefited from this experience. He was very open about his life and story and he was very interested in learning about English words including other languages as well. I highly recommend him as a good learning partner. -Andrew N, USA
Sonam’s English is very good. If she was to live in America she would be fine. Sonam should still have a learning partner to help with the more advanced words. She also needs help with writing – English grammar and past tense usage. Speaking English for her is going well but she needs to exercise her writing skills more. – Audrey Lynne, USA
Pema Kyi was a great learning partner. She was friendly and open and really helped me gain a better understanding of Tibetan culture. – Marie USA
I cannot praise Dam Choe, my learning partner, more. He is an extraordinary human being with boundless will to learn, understand and aid from other people. Despite his limited knowledge of the English language, Dam Choe was willing to explore deep topics such as global politics, war, Buddhist philosophy, race, chemistry and human relationships. He was sincerely focused on the learning partnership, and we spent every hour in conversation and instruction, staying away from the touristy attractions in lieu of the real experience.
I have never before met someone like Dam Choe. There is no one more suited for and in need of programs such as this.-by Lewis Baker, USA
  • Financial Report
  • Annual Reports
  • General Report
  • Review of Achievements
Lha is a non-profit, non-governmental, grassroots social work organization located in Dharamsala, India. Lha was founded in 1997 and in 2005 was registered as a non-profit and charitable trust in Himachal Pradesh. Every year we submit our income statements to the Indian Income-Tax Department and undergo an audit. The following are our financial statements from 2005 to 2011 fiscal years, which have already been reviewed. Following the financial statements are graphical representations of some of the key aspects we would like to highlight.

Lha's commitment is to help the Tibetan people survive and prosper in their new home of Dharamsala and to preserve their profoundly unique culture. The means to which we have been able to accomplish these goals has changed over the years. In 2005, as a young organization, Lha had few assets. Lha has steadily grown since then, and now occupies two buildings, which house our classes, soup kitchen, social services and volunteer and exchange student group accommodations. In 2005 Lha had seven full time employees, which has since expanded to nine. The notable increase in wage expenses between 2009 and 2011 reflects the decision to provide a livable wage to the Tibetan employees.

Lha took on the responsibility to pay rent for the operations building during the 2009 financial year, after the purchasing of the new Ahimsa House building, and becoming more financially stable. Since 2005 we have slowly been accumulating assets for the language classes, computer courses and social services which function out of the building, such as computers for our offices and classes, and books and teaching resources for the community libraries.

In 2007 Lha began the process of acquiring a four story building, the Ahimsa House, to house a community soup kitchen and volunteer accommodation. In May 2011 Lha used the remaining funds from the corpus receipt and capital fund to make the final payment on the Ahimsa House. This will be reflected in the financial statement for the 2012 financial year. We began working on the community soup kitchen project in 2010 and officially opened it in 2011. Since 2007 Lha has also purchased many furnishings and appliances for the volunteer accommodations. The donations from Exchange students and volunteers staying in Lha’s accommodations have also created a new source of income for Lha. In the future, Lha hopes that the donations raised from visitors in these accommodations, in conjunction with cultural exchanges and visitors services, will create a stable and sustainable financial foundation for the organization.

The Annual Report, written by Lha’s Director, Ngawang Rabgyal, sets out the aims of the organization, the year’s developments and the latest financial position. It also illustrates the diversity of the social programs provided, and the numbers of students who have benefited from these services. These achievements could not have been reached without the generosity of the volunteers and the dedication of the students and Lha’s employees.

Lha’s primary goal is to provide meaningful social services, such as free education, computer skills courses, vocational training, health and environmental education and service, volunteer coordination, cultural exchanges, free books, medicine and clothing distribution. The services of Lha are open to Tibetan refugees as well as the local Indian population and people from the Himalayan regions.