Raffle Prizes!

Shemusa is excited to announce our participation in Tibet Fest 2010
at the Seattle Center!
look for the Shem Table outside of the key arena on August 28th and 29th

Enter to win the beautiful raffle prizes pictured above!
100% of raffle proceeds  go toward Shem’s Visionary Leadership Program

Tibet Fest! August 28-29, 2010
Seattle Center House, Fisher Pavilion

UW Ethnic and Cultural Center Theatre
3940 Brooklyn Ave. NE
Seattle, Washington 98105

The urgent projects that Shem USA has funded to date address the immediate, even life-threatening problems that result from varying forms of social inequity. Such projects are crucial.

At the same time, we at Shem USA acknowledge that it is also key to invest  time, energy, and money  in addressing the root causes of social inequity.  If these roots are not addressed then often the results of  inequity—poor education, no health care, lack of housing, poor water quality, or limited electricity—will continue or even worsen.  The complex, difficult, and long term work of realizing social equity often becomes a lifetime commitment for those involved.

Understanding this, Shem USA has designed the Visionary Leadership program to support young Tibetan women who have demonstrated longstanding commitment to generating social equity in their communities.  The Visionary Leadership program will provide support for outstanding Tibetan women to pursue higher education in the field of their choice: giving them the flexibility and institutional support necessary to develop sustainable approaches that address varying forms of inequity.

We have already identified the 2010 Visionary Leader—Lhamotso, a founding director of Shem Tibet, who endeavors to pursue an MA in Education at Miriam College in the Phillipines.

Through her leadership, Lhamotso has opened the way for scores of young Tibetan women project managers to design and manage small scale projects that have transformed thousands of lives in impoverished areas across the Tibetan plateau. Over the past five years, as she has worked as director of Shem Tibet, Lhamotso has consistently put the needs of others before herself, turning down personal opportunities to work and study abroad in favor of building Shem Tibet into a thriving organization.

Directing Shem has demanded strategic thinking, long term planning, and dedication. A leader who places her community at the center of her work–Lhamotoso  has demonstrated an unflagging dedication to serving Tibetan communities all over the plateau. An investment in her education is a long term investment in the future of Tibet.

withyour help, we endeavor to raise $14,940 –the total cost of a two year MA degree at Miriam college—by September 2010. Donate today to build Visionary Tibetan women’s leadership for tomorrow!

Attend our program launch!
To learn more about Lhamotso, read A Farm in the Desert: Lhamotso’s story
published in the Tibetan Women’s anthology Heavy Earth, Golden Sky

Thanks to the hard work of Shem USA volunteers Maggie Norby-Adams and Danielle Freiberg, we were able to raise enough money through Dining For Women to fund three urgently needed projects in Tibet.  These include a Solar electricity generating Panel project for Cuozhou, Jiajia and Duijia Township, a solar water heater project in Yulin Area, and a Harvest Machine Project for Rixiuma Village.

These innovative projects, all designed and managed by young Tibetan women, will have a significant impact on Tibetan women’s  and overall well-being.  The environmentally sustainable solar projects will bring light into nomadic homes, increase health by reducing smoke, increase income, improve education, and lighten women’s workloads.

to see the full proposals, please click below:
Solar water heater project in Yulin Area
Harvest Machine Project for Rixiuma Village

The overall goal of this project is to preserve the cultural traditions of Fudi Village.
The immediate goal of this project is to buy 32 prayer wheels, repair the leaking roof of the village temple and widen the path around the prayer hall in Fudi Village.

Although the destruction of a sacred cultural space in a village has devastating effects on a community, these effects are often difficult to measure quantitatively. Because cultural preservation projects often do not fit into the established development schemes of many donor organizations, these crucial projects are often in desperate need of funding. Shem USA is in a unique position to provide support for this critical cultural project in Fudi village of eastern Tibet, which improves spiritual well being through cultural preservation.

to see the full proposal please click here

The women of Namtsoma village will receive solar cookers thanks to Shem USA donors!

Thanks to generous Shem USA donors, 230 Namtsoma villagers will begin using their 45 new solar electricity generating panels this fall, considerably reducing women’s workload and increasing family income.

to see the full project proposal, click here