Children of Shambala

In August 2005 Jan Terje Voilaas returned to Norway after bicycling around the world – 43.000 kilometers through 35 countries. He went straight back to work as a financial director, but found it difficult to settle back into normal Norwegian life. He resigned, wrote a book and headed out into the world again, this time to end up in northern Yunnan Province. Shortly after he founded Children of Shambala (CoS), a small non-political, non-religious NGO that is now registered as an independent foundation.

Work done to day

Since 2006, CoS has planned, financed and implemented around 115 small scale development projects in remote parts of China’s western regions, most of them in Qinghai Province.

Using approximate figures, achieved so far:

• 5,000 people and approximately 25,000 livestock have been supplied with clean water

• 18,000 present and 18,000 future primary school students have been supplied with reading books, study materials and sports equipment

• 4,000 primary school students have received warm winter clothes and shoes

• 4,000 boarding school students have received 3-in-one hygienic food boxes and other hygiene equipment

• 3,500 first grade students have been equipped with school starter packages

• 1,000 primary school students have received important additional teaching in English and Chinese

• 70 young minority teachers have been helped to find their first paid job experience

• 30 students have been helped financially through high school and university

• Several hundred poor families have been supplied with solar cookers, solar power generating sets, threshing machines and milk churns

In addition, they have:

• Established a substantial contact network of individuals, institutions and government bodies particularly in China but also in Norway. Around 400 Norwegian families are now supporting CoS in different ways.

• Gained substantial relevant experience through living and working for more than five years in China’s western regions

CoS Fellowship Program

The Shambala Fellowship Program is for people interested in working in Asia on behalf of COS and OWW. It’s an innovative program looking to supplant the program fees typical of these kinds of programs. Instead, COS seeks applicants who demonstrate an enthusiasm for fundraising on behalf of the children in the OWW program. All Fellows accepted into the program will have all expenses paid by COS and receive a monthly stipend.
The Shambala Fellowship Program has the following two goals:

1) Recruit and train outstanding candidates as Shambala Fellows to work with humanitarian organizations in a developing country in Asia.

2) Help as many orphans out of poverty as possible. We work with local communities to help children, who have lost one or both of their parents, and their foster families out of poverty through education.

Orphanage Without Walls (OWW)

OWW is a longterm project targeting, supporting and helping the poorest and most vulnerable orphans to grow up in a stable family situation in their local community while pursuing their highest possible level of education and/or vocational training. The ultimate goal for each individual orphan is for her/him to get her/his first paid job.

OWW combines local foster homes with direct financial and human support involving the orphan, the foster family, schools and the local NGO affiliate.

OWW is a cost effective and target-oriented project helping orphans and foster families out of poverty through education. OWW has so far proven to be surprisingly efficient. OWW represents an immense contact network and a strong platform for a variety of supplementary projects producing direct results while also strengthening OWW.

By late 2011 OWW involved almost 600 orphans and 2500 foster family members.

Form more information, visit http://childrenofshambala.org/home/