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One hundred years ago, on May 8, 1912, George Woodcock was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  He was soon taken back to England by his parents to a rather austere life – and who would have thought that 100 years later we would be honouring the memory of a man who became one of Canada’s most celebrated men of letters and the founder of not one but three charities which have helped thousands of people at home and abroad!

Alan Twigg, author and publisher of BC Book World, recently wrote Tibetans in Exile about the Woodcocks, their extraordinary lives and the impact they had on so many people through their charitable work.

We at TRAS are well aware of the story of how one couple from Vancouver quietly made such a difference, but for the sake of newer TRAS members, allow us to introduce you to George Woodcock and his wife, Inge.

George became Canada’s most prolific and remarkable man of letters. He returned from England in 1949 to build a cabin in Sooke, British Columbia, with his German-born wife Ingeborg.  They struggled in those early days, but eventually George went on to write and edit over 150 books.  He taught English literature at UBC, and some of his students are still members of the charities he founded.

In 1961, George went to India to do research for a book. And that’s when the coincidences – or karma  – began.  Inge had always been fascinated by Tibet, and seeing the word on a door at All India Radio in Delhi, she knocked and went in.  The meeting with the Tibetan couple working there (broadcasting world news into an occupied Tibet) led to the Woodcocks going to the hill station of Mussoorie, where a Tibetan noblewoman, Mrs. Rinchen Taring, and her husband Jigme  had started an orphanage and school.  The Woodcocks  were moved by the plight of the children in ragged clothes and no shoes, sleeping five to a mattress with one thin blanket in the Himalayan winter  and surviving on thin soup and momos, steamed wheat dumplings.  Lessons were held outside on the ground, because there was no building large enough to hold the hundreds of children recently arrived from Tibet. The incidence of sickness and death was high. When George and Inge expressed their dismay and wondered how to help, a young Tibetan girl, Khando, told them that they “must absolutely come and see Uncle!” Khando was the Dalai Lama’s niece.

A long journey to Dharamsala led to the meeting which changed the Woodcocks’ lives forever, and through them, the lives of countless Tibetan refugees. They discovered a similar scene of dire need at the nursery run by the Dalai Lama’s sister. Their 20 minute meeting with the young Dalai Lama stretched to two hours, ranging over Buddhism, the future of Tibet, the plight of the refugees and the plans that had been growing in the Woodcocks’ minds to found some kind of organisation in Canada for aiding the Tibetans.

The result, on their return to Vancouver, was the founding of the Tibetan Refugee Aid Society, the humanitarian aid society that is still going strong under its current name, Trans-Himalayan Aid Society, with more than 300 projects completed in the Himalayas and southern India.

In fact, they did not wait to return home but wrote ahead to colleagues at the University of British Columbia to start collecting funds. John Conway, a founding member, remembers George’s facility at getting help: the first President was Dr. Norman MacKenzie, President of UBC; the UBC treasurer became the TRAS treasurer, and many professors sat on the board.  Their friends in the artistic community were put to work too, designing Christmas cards and donating paintings.  George and Inge led by example – no-one worked harder than they did. Once cajoled (or bullied!) into helping, their friends had no choice but to follow suit.  Dorothea Leach, now a Patron of TRAS, recalls that only a broken limb would be a good enough excuse to miss the weekly stints at garage sales and flea markets which were the early fundraisers for TRAS.

In the first year TRAS raised $11,436.61 from those weekly flea markets, book and outgrown children’s clothing sales (and the sale of 14,000 of the Christmas cards!) for the Tibetan children. In the years that followed, TRAS helped to fund the growth of the Tibetan Homes Foundation in Mussoorie and the Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamsala, building homes, classrooms, vocational training workshops, and housing for the elderly who had no ancestral village to return to. A sponsorship scheme was also started to cover the day-to-day costs of looking after the children.

Gradually TRAS helped with the establishment of small settlements in north India and the larger ones in the south. branching out to help Indian villagers and tribal people in the same regions. George was always ready to write about and work for the next urgent need, and he was instrumental in having the Canadian Government bring in the first planeload of Tibetans to settle in Canada in 1972.  This was followed by his vigorous support for the Vietnamese Boat People, with TRAS raising funds to resettle several families in BC.

The Woodcocks were an inspirational couple who affected millions of lives with their charities (their second charity is Canada-India Village Aid, the third being a fund for writers in need) and yet they avoided all publicity for their good works. Barry Leach wrote that, in founding TRAS, “this gentle, kindly man made three valuable contributions.  He provided a vehicle for many Canadians to express their concern for the plight of the Tibetan people in generous and tangible forms.  He contributed to the international effort to relieve and rehabilitate thousands of refugees.  In doing so, he shared in the preservation of an ancient culture that has already demonstrated its relevance and value to the modern world.  Through the person of the Dalai Lama, it has encouraged non-violence in politics, compassion for all sentient beings and concern for the environment.  Utopian as they may seem, these attitudes offer the only long-term hope for the resolution of the problems that beset mankind today. Furthermore, these themes echo the tenets of intellectual anarchism that underlay all of George’s thought and writing and explain the intuitive understanding that existed between him and the Dalai Lama from their very first meeting”.

George’s writing continues to influence Canadians today. A new friend of TRAS, Ryan Andrew Murphy, writes “George Woodcock’s thoughtful writings on politics and history have informed and profoundly shaped my thinking. His sensitivity and insights always make opening one of his books a rewarding and enriching experience. His enormous, seminal contributions to Canadian culture are indisputable, but much more broadly, I believe our country and our world are profoundly in his debt. He unassumingly assumed the role of public intellectual, and in so doing helped initiate the formation of a conscientiously intellectual public.”

The Woodcocks opted out of active TRAS work after George had a heart attack in the early 1970s, but he and Inge remained at the forefront of fundraising efforts for some years. TRAS has maintained their ideals and continued the work for 50 years and those of us who knew George continue to be inspired by his example.

George died in 1995, shortly after being given the Freedom of the City of Vancouver. Inge remained a Patron of TRAS, vitally interested in every aspect of our work, until she died in 2003.

The Tibetan community in BC remembers the Woodcocks with fondness. T.C. Tethong of Victoria, BC, wrote, at Inge’s passing, “Tibetans owe much to these two kind souls from Canada for their initiative and dedication in starting TRAS, the first Canadian aid organization for Tibetan refugees. These two Canadians and their friends helped the Tibetans in our hour of need and always remained our close friends.”

If you would like to learn more about the Woodcocks and the charities they founded, TRAS has Alan’s book for sale.  Call 604-224-5133 or email info@tras.ca.

(With thanks for excerpts from Alan Twigg, (Tibetans in Exile)  T.C. Tethong, and the late Barry Leach (TRAS newsletters) and conversations with Dorothea Leach, John Conway and Ryan Andrew Murphy)

Celebrate the centenary of George Woodcock’s birth at the annual award ceremony for the winner of the George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award for a BC writer.

Speeches and readings in honour of George. TRAS will have a table and display there.

Date: Thursday, June 28, 2012

Time: 6:30pm

Location: Vancouver Public Library, Alice MacKay Room

More info:  BC Bookworld (http://www.bcbookworld.com/) and George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award  (http://www.georgewoodcock.com/index.html)

 

December 2010:  TRAS is thrilled to have helped create the very first library in the north-western district of Humla in Nepal. Partnering with the Vancouver-based Nepal Library Foundation and the Rato Bangala School in Kathmandu, which has its own publishing house, TRAS has arranged for the delivery of hundreds of books to Humla’s tiny capital of Simikot. The library has been set up in the school where the TRAS-supported project is educating the first group of under-privileged children. Two teachers have been given a briefing on how to manage the library, and interest in this exciting new venture is growing amongst the citizens and other schools. Although the books are already in use, an official opening will be celebrated in the spring, when the bitter Humla winter is over. Enthusiasm for the library has led to the promise of more books from an Asia-based NGO. Like ripples on a pond, our first small stone is having a growing effect!

TRAS has worked with SHARE, a local NGO in Manali, north India, for 18 years. SHARE’s goal is to bring better health, educational and income generation opportunities to the impoverished villages in the hills above Manali.   The TRAS successful latrine building project completed over 1,000 toilets. The Family Health Project saw all children immunized and 750 families joining a health plan which includes monthly visits and education. An environmental protection program was started in several schools. Each of these projects has had long-term benefits: by the end of 2011, every household will have a latrine, although funding of new latrines stopped several years ago. Mothers now routinely take their babies into Manali for vaccinations. The health plan has spread to hundreds more households than expected. Water sources are cleaner. The child mortality rate has decreased dramatically. 

In 2010, TRAS and SHARE partnered on a new project to bring a vocational training program to the village youth, giving them their first chance to prepare for jobs in the growing tourist industry based in Manali. Classes are held in computer skills, English, general knowledge, and hospitality. 

December, 2010: The first six-month report shows unexpected results: the students have quickly and adeptly picked up computer skills, and some have asked for an extension of the program to include accounting and typing in Hindi. Two students have branched out into higher education in math and science with the goal of attending university. English skills, however, are not as strong. The good news is that the English course will be extended, and SHARE is offering a refresher course in English language for local teachers.  So far, 13 enthusiastic participants have enrolled, which bodes well for the future. TRAS is delighted with the early results of this three-year project.

Late flash — we heard today (Sept 24) about disastrous flooding and landslides in the area where the Voice of Children project is. 150 dead, many homes destroyed, 20 villages around Almora alone totally ruined. Crops and topsoil have been completely washed away. The villagers are desperate. TRAS is sending emergency funds to our two partner NGOs, Aman and Vimarsh, who are doing valiant work getting relief supplies to the villagers. Contact the TRAS office at 1-604-224-5133 or info@tras.ca if you would like to make a donation to help with this work, or donate online.

Appeal from Aman, our partner NGO in Almora:

An appeal to support relief work for victims of flood and landslides in Uttarakhand

Dear friends,

As you all are aware, being a Himalayan state Uttarakhand has always been prone to natural disasters, such as earthquack, landslide, food, cloud burst etc. The state has witnessed an unprecedented rain fall since last two months. The state has been at the receiving end for the past two months and a half, but the incessant rain between 16-19 Sep has wreaked havoc. More than 150 persons have lost their lives in various incidents since the onset of the monsoon.

The heavy rainfall continued for four days, from 16 September to 19 September, has resulted in all the rivers and rivulet getting over flooded causing serious and widespread destruction of lives and property in the state. There were several incidents of landslides and cloud bursts in whole state compounding the problems and sufferings of people, particularly the Kumaun division (Alomra, Bageswar ,Pithoragarh and Nainital districts) witnessed the worst ever loss of lives and property because of landslide, flood caused by cloud bursts at different places. Since all the roads got blocked due to the landslides, causing whole mountain region isolated and unapproachable which hampered the relief work. As per primary reports more than 80 persons lost their lives in various incidents of cloudburst, house collapse and floods as incessant rains continued to lash Uttarakhand. A large number of people living in Saryu, Pindar and Revati valleys have migrated to safer places on account of the continuing rains.

Almora faced the worst cases of deaths and devastation, nearly 20 villages have been totally devastated. The havoc wreaked by the current floods and torrential rains have claimed 36 lives in the district. Heavy rains have triggered the worst floods that Uttarakhand has seen in recent times. Authorities fear the toll may go up as relief workers are busy removing debris and trying to reach out to people trapped in far-off villages. In Almora nearly 20 villages have been totally devastated.

According to officials, 80 bodies have been recovered in the state. Of these, 36 were from Almora district alone, maximum impact was in Balta village, where half of the village disappeared. When our team reached the village 13 bodies were recovered by that time from this small village itself. There was a landslide and the village was completely wiped out almost all the peoples died.

After Almora, Nainital is worst affected. Nineteen deaths have been from Nainital, followed by eight in Haldwani, five in Chamoli and three in Uttarkashi.

The Nainital-Bhawali road was damaged in a massive landslide that was triggered by the uprooting of a large number of trees. The Machor-Jhakh road in Ranikhet and the road connecting Bhatraunj Khan and Betalghat were also closed for vehicular movement

Bageshwar district was among the worst-affected areas in the region with even communication facilities getting damaged. The Saung-Munar road and the Shama road have been damaged as boulders continue to fall on them. The other routes shut down for vehicle movement are Chami-Kwairali, Dafot, Garud, Pindari, Kanda and Takula roads where debris has accumulated following massive landslides. Large tracts of agricultural land with standing crops have been devastated.

More than 15 villages in the Saryu valley continue to face a severe food grain crisis. There is a shortage of wheat, jaggery, salt, sugar, cooking gas and kerosene.

As per official reports more than one million people and 3500 villages have been effected by floods, landslide. So far 160 deaths have been confirmed with more than 150 seriously wounded. Around 10,000 houses and buildings got damaged. The state is going to face the serious drinking water and food grain crises as crops in 22000 HA land got destroyed and 1200 drinking water schemes (out of 1522 schemes) have been damaged. The road transport is also badly effected which has placed many areas in isolation.

Immediately after hearing the news of massive destruction our teams consisting of Ms Nilima Bhatt, Mr. Shashi Shekhar, Ms Pushpa Joshi, Mr Mankoti, Mr Govind Singh Mehra, Mr Ramesh Tewari . Ms Kavita Badola, Mr. Jagat, Mr Bhuwan and other volunteers visited the worst effected areas in Almora district to took the stock of the situation. The team also contacted several government officials and social workers for arranging relief work.

The primary report of our team is as follows:

Balta-Bathi, Jakheta,Bhalula.Pilkha.Gadholi.Jogiyana, Jyoli, Falsema, Pakhuda, Chhaana, Lodhiya, Devali, Ujgal lat (All in Hawalbag block) , Asgoli, Jamau, Salakhola, Haldua, Rabali ,Chanoli,Basera, Bhet, Bachhet, Kumalt, Gywau and Naula (all in Dwarahat block), Dharigau, Khawar, Dyoli(all in Lamgada block), Khania, Paikhli, Jaina, Naugaon, Daholi, Kanauli, Manbajuna, Bhaurgaon, Simoli, Chaukuni, Mauna, Riyoni (all in Bhikiasain block), Melgaon, Danola, Bathiyar, Bhaisadi (all in Dhauladevi block) villages have suffered heavy loss. The entire crop has vanished and most of the houses are damaged, some of them unfit for living. The agricultural land washed away with landslide and flood, rendering most of them uncultivable for months. In Chaukhiya block landslide and flood in Ramganga & Kuthlar rivers destroyed several acres of agriculture land. The entire paddy crop along with river banks washed away.

Almora also suffered most loss of lives during this period….

Since most of the areas have been cut off from roads and there is mode of communication either, the exact assessment of the loss could only be made after when situation of communication improve.

The Hawalbagh block is one of the most badly affected block. So far 29 people have lost their lives. All roads are having become useless. Many houses have become unfit for living. In Gadholi village more than 50 % houses were destroyed totally. Around 20% houses have suffered heavy damage. 120 people have become homeless, and now have taken shelter in primary school.

The same situation is in other villages also. People have taken shelter in panchayati bhawans or school buildings. People are facing an acute crisis of food & drinking water. Sanitation and hygiene is another problem. Lack of electricity, ration & medical support has worsened their plights. Most of the people are still in trauma.

There is an urgent need to provide relief to the affected people. We are trying to mobilize relief materials such as medicines, foodgrain, kerosene oil, drinking water, temporary shelters, light etc for these villages. This can not be done alone. AMAN appeals to all its friends for providing relief materials.

AMAN,
Ishwari Bhawan,
West Pokharkhali,
Ranidhara Road, Almora

Raghu Tewari