Lotus Direkthilfe e.V. has eight members who have been working for the trust on an honorary basis since 1994. That year Tenga Rinpoche made the proposal to found a trust like this to support the steady growing community of the Benchen Phuntsok Dargyeling monastery in Kathmandu. Since then Lotus Direkthilfe e.V. is collecting donationes and arranging sponsorships.
The monastery is an educational institution and solely living from donations to feed, host and educate its residents. Most of the monks coming from poor homes, a lot of them from tibetan refugees camps all across Nepal. There are about 300 residents by now, some of them staying in the Clear Light Retreat Center, some in the Nangten Thösam Ling Shedra but still most of them living in the gompa.
Our contact to the monastery has grown over many years and is close and lively by now. At least one member of the trust visits the Benchen monastery once every year (all expenses are paid privately) to keep up a fruitful exchange of ideas and needs. Also these regular visits 
ensure the appropriate use of the donations. Reports on these annual travels are part of Lotus Direkthilfe tax declaration which we have to undergo every three years.