“Yama came with her parents and three sisters on a 6 week pilgrimage to the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa from the province of Kham. “Yama helped carry our 10 month old daughter much of the way”. Her father said. “We noticed very early that she was born with the true spirit of wanting to help others”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Botok and Tsangpa were classified as wealthy by the Communist authorities in 1962 because they owned almost 1,000 sheep and goats. Threatened with imprisonment, they fled across the border into the Indian state of Ladakh with their three daughters and her other husband. They told me that it is not uncommon for Tibetan women to take more than one husband”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Chamdu very hesitantly asked me if I had taken a photo of the Dalai Lama that she could have. She is the eldest of four children living in a yak hair tent with her family in this very remote and rugged area of the Changtang (Tibetan Plateau). Since there are no trees or bushes at this 16,500 ft altitude the only fuel they have is goat dung to get them through the long and bitter cold winter”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Tsering and Deckey are good friends whose nomadic families reside in the Yanpachen Valley. I was told that in areas such as this, wildlife was plentiful and virtually unafraid of humans due to the sacred treatment of all life by Tibetan Buddhists. Today wildlife is hard to find and many exotic species have been hunted practically to extinction”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Lelung Rinpoche is the reincarnation of a long line of high Tibetan lamas. Last year he was asked by the Dalai Lama to go to Tibet and rescue the written works of his previous incarnation the last Lelung Rinpoche. Although the monastery had been completely destroyed he was able to locate the writings and get them safely out of Tibet”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Lobsang and 66 fellow monks were imprisoned in 1959. When released 21 years later, he was one of only three survivors. While in prison his best friend, a rinpoche, died in his arms. Tensin was later discovered to be the reincarnation of that friend. Lobsang said there are so many characteristics of his old friend in the young boy”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Namyang and Tsutin are farmers from Amdo province who had just arrived in Lhasa after completing a two-month pilgrimage to the Jokhang, the most sacred temple in Tibet. Tibetans from all over the country aspire to make this pilgrimage at least once during their lifetime”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Ngawang's lifelong desire was to become a nun but could not because of the restrictions set in Tibet. When she learned of the religious freedom and educational possibilities that were available in India she made the difficult decision to leave her family and home. She said “It is terrible, but I could not be a true Tibetan if I stayed in my own country”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Norzum vividly remembers fleeing Tibet with his family as a boy. Walking at night and hiding during the day, it took over 20 days to cross the border into Ladakh. During the bitter cold journey, at altitudes above 16,000 feet, his younger brother died. He says that the area in which he is now forced to live is much harsher than his boyhood home”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Palden was arrested at his monastery in 1959 and spent 24 years in prison, where he was tortured frequently – actually loosing 20 teeth in one beating. He managed to flee Tibet in 1987 and came to Dharamsala. He told me “I no longer have anger for my captors. However, I feel it is my responsibility to let the outside world know what is happening in Tibet”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Jigme and Sonam are sisters whose nomadic family had just come down from the Himalayan highlands to their 16,500 ft. winter camp on the Tibetan Plateau. When I gave Jigme a Polaroid of herself she looked at it, squealed and ran into her tent. I assumed that this was one of the only times she had seen herself since her family did not own a mirror”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Pemba had come to the little village of Trak Tok with her mother and sister to see the highly elaborate and beautiful shum dance festival on this sunny but bitterly cold December day. She caught my eye in the crowd because of her look of fascination and total concentration on the dancers. She seemed to be transfixed during the entire ceremony in spite of the constant cold wind”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Pusang and Dundup are father and son. I arrived at their 17,000 ft. nomad camp early in December on a very cold windy day. They had just finished offering prayers prior to sacrificing two yaks for their winters food supply. Everything was so primal. It seemed like an imaginary scene from two hundred years ago on the North American plains”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Samdo & Kunga. Kunga was braiding her mother’s hair as I walked into their camp. It was mid morning and they were just about to cross the river to retrieve their goats for the morning milking. They motioned for me to join them as they waded across the ice-cold river. We each grabbed a goat by the horns and led/floated them back across to their camp. The rest of the herd followed”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Samdu was stricken with a crippling malady known as “big bone disease” when she was five. Even though she does her best to help care for this rapeseed field she has to be carried everywhere by her friends. This arthritis like disease, which only afflicts the children, is virtually unknown outside her little village”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Tamdin was imprisoned and tortured for taking part in a demonstration in Lhasa protesting the occupation of Tibet in 1987. Recently she escaped across the Himalayas, walking for 35 days to seek refuge and an audience with her spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Still wearing her beat up tennis shoes, I took this photo three days after she had arrived in India”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Sisi and Norsum had just stayed up most of the night trying to save a premature baby goat. Unfortunately the goat died and they still had the early morning responsibility for the care and irrigation of this rapeseed field. Even with the extremely short season at an altitude of 12,500 ft their families are able to farm highland barley, beans, corn and rice”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)

“Yeshi was practicing her Tibetan script on a painted board in this small village school. I was amazed by the quality of her work. It was like some of the finest calligraphy I had seen. Her teacher was a Tibetan who had been educated in a Chinese run university. My interpreter told me that even though the Tibetan language was being taught the content of all their books on history and Tibetan culture were written from a Chinese perspective”. (Photo and caption by Phil Borges)