"Tibet Foundation’s funds are unusually well-directed and intelligently spent”, Goodwill Ambassador
Channel: Tibet Foundation
Date: 02/12/2019

"Tibet Foundation’s funds are unusually well-directed and intelligently spent”, the charity’s first Goodwill Ambassador remarked at the annual public event.

Mr John Billington, a long-time friend of Tibet and the Tibetan people was recently appointed as Tibet Foundation’s first “Goodwill Ambassador.” His appointment was unanimously approved by the charity’s Board of Trustees.

After formally accepting this honorary role, John Billington addressed the charity’s annual event – Tibet Foundation Day – and stated, “Tibet is unique. The Tibet Foundation is also unique. It is of course charitable, not political. But I am particularly impressed about the work it does, particularly inside Tibet and in Mongolia, in the support of the culture of Tibet.”

The charity’s annual event was held on 23rd November 2019 at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London with the support of Dr. Nathan Hill, Tibetan Studies at SOAS.

The charity’s first Goodwill Ambassador also said, “What impresses me, too, is the fact that it is, uniquely, largely run by Tibetans. And, Tibetans who listen carefully to what our Tibetan brothers and sisters inside occupied Tibet want. That is its great selling point, its great strength, and I have long been an admirer of the work that Phuntsog Wangyal and the Tibet Foundation have done.

“And its funds are unusually well directed and intelligently spent because they do research on the ground, from the ground up and not us in the West telling them what we think they need. 

A year ago in August 2018, John accompanied Phuntsog Wangyal, Chairman and founding trustee of Tibet Foundation, to Tibetan areas in China where the charity was running aid projects. He had direct interactions with so many beneficiaries and saw the projects first hand.

Whilst urging for practical support, the Tibet Foundation’s first Goodwill Ambassador concluded his address by stating, “All of us here are united in our concern for Tibet. All of us here are goodwill ambassadors. All of us have got a duty to do what we can to speak the truth about Tibet.

“And at the same time all of us, I think, should continue to fund the Foundation’s projects to the best of our ability, help with ongoing things and with the projects which are planned, including the work for the elderly next year.”

This year marks the 34th anniversary of Tibet Foundation successfully helping the Tibetan people in India, Nepal and Tibet. The charity was founded in 1985 and His Holiness the Dalai Lama is it’s Patron. Mr Kelsang Gyaltsen, former Envoy of the Dalai Lama addressed the charity’s sold-out event as it’s guest speaker. He spoke on the “Sino-Tibet Relations: The Quest for Finding Common Ground”.

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