Elisabeth and Lesley visit an orphanage

11 Jan Elisabeth and Lesley visit an orphanage

In October 2008, Telluride local Elisabeth Gick and daughter Leslie were spending one last afternoon in the town of Ganzi in upper Kham, eastern Tibet, enjoying the sunshine after many snowy, cold days, when they spotted a sign over a door that read “Tibetan Hospital.” A young man spotted the two women and asked in fluent English if he could help.

Then magic unfolded.

The young man, whose name is Lobsang, explained that the abbot of Ganzi nunnery was in charge of the hospital as well as an orphanage for girls. He took Elisabeth and Lesley to meet the man, who was 75 and dressed from head to toe in leather, not red robes.

Eighty-two girls, ages four to 14, also lived in this beautiful traditional Tibetan residence with five bedrooms downstairs, five classrooms upstairs, a library and a greenhouse under construction.

The girls come from surrounding villages and nomad families. Some are true orphans, some were abandoned because of poverty or severe illness in their family, some were given to the orphanage by their families "to have a better education."

What they need right now is a shower room – two shower rooms, one for the girls and one for the adults.

“Lobsang prepared a proposal for me, asking for the equivalent of $2,000 most of which would pay for solar hot water heaters. Later on, we could help with the library and with traditional outfits for the girls. It is so doable."

Those interested in helping the girls’ orphanage pictured above can send checks to:

Telluride Institute/Tibet Fund
c/oTelluride Institute
P.O. Box 1770 Telluride, CO. 81435