Our Story
In November of 2019, Tenzin Osel Hita made a wish out loud.
Osel was motivated by a deep-seated interest to find a way for people of all backgrounds and all religions and all socio-economic circumstances to come together over a meaningful project that could be offered to the Dalai Lama as a token of gratitude for the never-ending inspiration the Dalai Lama provides the world through his living example.
The Dalai Lama is a well-known champion of environmental issues. He always calls upon people to act with a warm heart and sense of universal responsibility to make continuous efforts to reverse and remedy the degradation of our environment.
Tree planting has always been one of Osel’s passions and dreams. For as long as he has been giving public talks, he has echoed the wisdom of the Dalai Lama wherever he goes. Even at the close of the Being Your True Nature retreat in California during the summer of 2019, Osel gave the participants the commitment of planting a tree before a year had passed.
It was just a matter of connecting the dots for the Global Tree Initiative (GTI) to be created.
Vision statement
Together we can create a conscious, wise, warm-hearted world of peace, where people respect and live in harmony with animals and the environment.
Mission Statement
Plant your Tree – Grow our Forest – Save their Future!
In January 2020, Osel formally launched the GTI through a WhatsApp chat group. People from around the world joined. Various committees were established to handle different tasks. Motivated people came forward to accept leadership positions. A Facebook page was created. The goal was set to collect 100,000 tree plantings to offer to the Dalai Lama on July 6, 2020, to celebrate his 85th birthday.
Shortly after the launch of the initiative, the Novel Coronavirus brought the world to a standstill. Nonetheless, the members of the GTI remain undaunted.
