Tulane Environmental Health for Tibetans

Join our Tulane student and faculty group in making a difference for Tibetan refugees here in India!

Our team of six students and four faculty members from Tulane School of Social Work and the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine are now in the Himalayas of northern India for an immersive international learning experience. While here in Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama and the largest community of exiled Tibetans, we are partnering with the Louisiana Himalaya Association (LHA) on service projects for the community. We are working with and learning directly from local Tibetans who have so much to offer from their ancient wisdom traditions. We are all incredibly impressed watching how much they are accomplishing, so joyfully and with so little resources.
 
Since being here we have discovered a serious health hazard directly affecting over 200 refugees daily and indirectly affecting many more. The Tibetan organization hosting our group runs a community center that has encountered water damage and is now experiencing grave mold issues. Our project is to raise the funds to repair the damage and remediate the mold. 
 
Project Focus
 
Repairs and mold remediation of a community center that has an average daily usage of over 200 local people and 30 international volunteers
 
Our host organization in India is Lha Charitable Trust (www.lhasocialwork.org) which is a fully Tibetan run and operated social service NGO. It is run by 14 full time Tibetan staff members and provides a wide array of programs throughout this community. Besides their offices, the damaged community center houses classrooms for language and computer training courses which are attended by over 150 students daily. They also produce a monthly news magazine on Tibetan issues, manage a water filtration program that supplies clean water to over 10,000 people, manage a soup kitchen that provides 50 free lunches daily, manage five websites,  oversee medical, dental and eye care programs, and coordinate over 300 volunteers from 30 different countries annually.

Environmental Health Hazards
All of this amazing work is being done in one of the oldest buildings in Dharamsala, built in 1969, and desperately needs to undergo an extensive roof repair and mold removal process. As our group toured the facility, besides the mold in the air that was obvious to our lungs, we could see large areas of mold on the ceilings and walls, obvious water damage and pieces of the ceiling cracking and falling down. The condition of the building creates an unsafe and unhealthy learning and working environment.
 
Importance of Mold Removal
Our group has consulted with Dr. Felicia Rabito, a professor of epidemiology at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine who specializes in children’s health and the environment, specifically exposure to environmental allergens, psychosocial stress, and adverse health outcomes in low-income populations. There is clear evidence that exposure to dampness and/or mold is associated with adverse respiratory effects. 
 
Please Help if you can!
 
100% of every donation will be used for this project, there are no managerial costs. We deeply appreciate your support and assure you that your donation will make a substantial difference. All donations are tax deductible, Louisiana Himalaya Association (LHA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, please contact Jesse at [email redacted] if you would like a tax-deductible receipt. Every dollar goes a long way in India !
 
Thanks from our Tulane Team!

TSSW Students
Brigette Escandon
Jesse Hartley 
Jasmine Holt
Rachel Lacey
Josh Manguno
Sierra Powell

TSSW Faculty
Dr. Ron Marks
Dr. Carolyn Weaver
Jocelyn Pinkerton, LMSW

TSPHTM Faculty
Dr. Cathy Taylor