About
What is ShemUSA?
The mission of Shem Women’s Group USA is to make connections and build community around issues of social justice. We work in powerful partnership with Tibetan women to envision and implement long term solutions to persistent social challenges.
ShemUSA has always been unique in our vision as an organization. From the beginning, we shaped our mission and purpose in solidarity with Tibetan women—practicing a level of collaboration and partnership rarely found in transnational development work.
ShemUSA was formed to strengthen Women’s leadership through transnational partnership. In recent years, many international organizations have been formed to alleviate poverty and improve standards of living in Tibetan areas of China, some of which focus specifically on women and children’s health. However, almost none of the current development initiatives in Tibetan areas of China are led and directed by Tibetan women. Given the critical role that Tibetan women play in all areas of life, Tibetan women’s leadership is crucial in shaping the future of Tibetan communities.
To accomplish our mission, Shem USA has partnered with Shem Women’s Group in Qinghai, which works to empower Tibetan women and their communities through grassroots development. Shem Women’s Group in Qinghai has been remarkably successful in their mission to empower young Tibetan women. With the support of this women’s group, scores of young educated Tibetan women have designed, managed, and successfully implemented more than 60 small scale development projects, bringing running water, solar electricity, infrastructure, and income generation to their impoverished communities across the Tibetan plateau. Before Shem’s existence, projects designed and managed by Tibetan women were unheard of in these areas.
Inspired by the remarkable success of Shem Women’s Group in Qinghai, the vision of ShemUSA is to expand Tibetan women’s leadership in transnational partnership. “Shem” means compassion in Tibetan. This concept is at the heart of our work.
In 2009, ShemUSA’s co-directors, Chilan Ta and Michelle Kleisath began expanding our collaborative network—participating in strategy sessions and meetings with People of Color-led, indigenous, Tibetan, and Asian American groups whose experience offers invaluable insight into effective transnational partnership. This network has grown our capacity to think through innovative approaches to the challenges of global social and economic inequity, and guided us in shaping our vision and direction as an organization.
