POWERPhilanthrophy

Heartwarming stories on the virtues of giving

By Huzaifa Khorakiwala and Mudar Patherya

Friends,We have heard of ‘giving back’.

In philanthropic terms, it means to give backto people from whom we may have receivedhelp, generosity or kindness.

There is another term we now need toconsider. Giving forward. Because ‘givingforward’ goes one step ahead.It means to extend help, generosity andkindness to people who may not have doneanything for us or we may have never known.

This work – a collection of heartwarmingstories of giving – intends to inspire asimilar philosophy.

Don’t just read. Act.

Let us make the world a better place to be in.

Huzaifa Khorakiwala and Mudar Patherya

Editors

32

A man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell.The Lord spake: “I will show you hell” and entered a

room where people sat around a pot of stew.

Starving.

Each held a spoon with a handle longer than their own

arm that made it difficult to get the stew into their mouths.

“Now I will show you heaven,” the Lord spake. And off

they entered another room – the same pot of stew, a

group of people, the same long-handled spoons. But

here everyone was happy.

“Er, I don't understand,” said the man. “Miserable there

but happy here. How?”

The Lord smiled, “Simple, son. Here they learned to feed

each other.”

4

What the legendary wealthy Brooke Astor(died at 105 on 13 August 2007) enjoyed most

was giving money away. One day, her foundation

exhausted its resources. After having spent $195

million to support institutions, programmes and

public-benefit projects. Rather than complain,

Mrs. Astor did the opposite. She celebrated the

fact, and thereafter continued to contribute her

personal fortune.

5

76

THE SECRET GIVERAmerica’s most secretive philanthropist uses aplastic bag as a briefcase, drugstore reading glasses

and $15 plastic watch. Secretly transferred shares in the

company that he co-founded and ran to his offshore

foundation. Incorporated his charitable foundation in

Bermuda and attaching highly lawyered confidentiality

agreements and vows of secrecy to keep his funding a

secret. Concealed it from his business partner. Only

when the company was sold that his largesse – $1.6

billion – was revealed. Manages with one pair of shoes.

Prefers to eat the $10.95 chicken pot pie at Annie

Moore's tavern when in New York. “It has always been

hard for me to rationalize a 32,000-square-foot house or

someone driving me around in a six-door Cadillac. The

seats are the same in a cab. And you may live longer if

you walk,” he says. His name: Chuck Feeney.

His company: Duty Free Shoppers.

98

THE POWER OF TWO RUPEES

At the Brahma temple in Pushkar, there was aserpentine queue for darshan. As my friend and I lit a

cigarette, a grey-haired, spectacled and wrinkled old

beggar woman asked us for a rupee to buy lunch. We

refused. Meanwhile, a friend called to ask us to hurry for

darshan. We crushed the cigarette with our shoes, I took

my son in my arms and asked my wife to follow. I

overheard: “These young men will burn more than a

rupee for their bad habit, but will never give a rupee to

a hungry person.” During darshan, the beggar’s remarks

resounded.

On my return, I found the woman standing near a shop.

I asked her where she was able to buy lunch for a rupee.

She replied, “At an alms house where they have

stipulated this as a token amount for each meal.”

I gave my son two rupees to give her. Before accepting,

she took my son's hand in her own, embraced him, ran

her fingers through his hair, prayed for his prosperity

and wept.

An hour later, when returning to the hotel, we found the

woman under a tree. Feeding a little girl in a dirty, torn

dress. I asked, “Amma, who is that girl?” She replied,

“This poor girl is new here and yet to learn how to beg.

She couldn't arrange a rupee today. So, I brought her

lunch out of the money you gave for dinner. Don't worry,

God will arrange for my dinner.”

I tossed the half-burnt cigarette. And quit smoking. No

'statutory warning' could have taught me the lesson that

the beggar woman did.

Source: Abridged from an article by Ashis Kumar in

The Times of India, 24.08.08

1110

...set up a library in the memory of DewangMehta (former NASSCOM president) who wasforgotten by most when he died.

... was one of the drivers of Akshaya Patra, which

provides a mid-day meal to nearly a million Indian

children every day across 5,000 schools in five states.

... set up a 30,000 sq. ft convention centre in the

Mangalore school where his father worked on a loom

... set up a computer centre in his school.

Source: Hindu Business Line,

27th July 2007 (TV Mohandas Pai

is Executive Director, Infosys)

T.V. MOHANDAS PAI... MODESTYBEGINS AT

HOME

Chairman and Managing Director AM Naik revived and expanded his old school in Kharel and added a

hospital and other amenities largely financed by his personal

trusts that encashed some Rs 12 crore worth of L&T stock

options. He owns “Eight shirts, three suits and four ties. See

this tie? I wore it yesterday but no one will know, because I

will meet different people today.”

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1312

SAVIOUROutside Abdus Sattar Edhi’s office in Karachi,a metal crib has a sign: ‘Don’t kill your baby.’ And so does

every Edhi Foundation office in Pakistan. Crib and message.

So that a mother can leave an unwanted baby there without

divulging her identity. Of any caste or creed.

On the one hand, Edhi’s Karachi office receives 90 babies a

month, half of them alive. On the other, Edhi has given away

hundreds of brides at the foundation’s wedding facility

Edhi Foundation has over 600 ambulances in Pakistan.

The largest volunteer ambulance service in the world.

(Source: Guinness Book of World Records 1997).

Edhi aims to build a hospital across every 500 km in Pakistan.

Refuses donations from governments or formal religious

organisations. General Zia-ul-Haq and the Italian government

sent him generous donations, which he sent back.

In Karachi, Edhi Foundation runs eight hospitals (provides

free medical care), eye hospitals, diabetic centres, surgical

units, cancer hospital, mobile dispensaries and two blood

banks.

Saved some 20,000 abandoned babies. Trained some

40,000 nurses. Housed some 50,000 orphans.

Never taken a single day off work.

1514

HELPING PEOPLE FLY

Advances small sums of money - the average is just $3 –

to beggars

Turns borrowers towards petty trade

Inspires them to buy simple merchandise (sweets, cheap

toys, incense sticks, trinkets) that can be sold for a profit

Encourages income from the ‘selling division’ to exceed

income from the 'begging division'

Helps beggars re-discover pride and dignity

Members are not required to form any micro credit

group; and not obliged to attend weekly meetings

Treats members with the same respect and attention as

its regular members

Refrains from using the term ‘beggar’

Provides a guarantee to the shops that it will make

payments in case of defaults

Relies on the innate goodness of human beings

Money is never gifted to beggars, only loaned and must

be returned only from the proceeds of the ‘selling business’

Result: Struggling (Beggar) Members Programme has

touched 85,000 beggars; taken 800 out of begging.

Source: The Economic Times, 1.4.07

1716

“PRACTICALPATRIOTISM ISWHAT WE NEED”Ramesh Ramanathan was one of Citibank’syoungest ever Managing Directors in theUS, heading a $100 million businessacross Europe at 33.

An experience was telling. “We had just moved

home to a new town in Connecticut and there was

a flyer in the mailbox: ‘Cleaning the park this

Saturday, come in your junk clothes. Beer after.’

The mailbox would invariably be stuffed with

messages like this. Who had the time? But we had

just moved in and wanted to meet the neighbours.

So, for purely selfish reasons, we went. There was

a group leader who gave out instructions,

pitchforks and gunny bags. On Monday morning,

when I reached the station to take the commuter

train to Manhattan, I saw the group leader of our

park clean-up operation. A banker like me. His

volunteering for the local community was

something he had created time for and took

seriously. I thought about my life in India – I had

not lifted a finger to volunteer for anything. I didn't

think it was expected of me…

“A few months after the diary entry, one of our

close friends who lived in Chicago stopped

over on her way back from Delhi. She had

terrible news: both her parents had been

diagnosed with terminal cancer and given barely a

1918

few months to live. She was devastated. And yet,

she was constrained because her husband had

just started an MBA, and she needed her job for

the paycheck, insurance, bills. She left on Friday.

“Swati and I spent the weekend talking about their

situation. We told ourselves, ‘What are we waiting

for? There are never going to be any signposts

saying `Important moment coming up, be

prepared to turn'. We just have 'to make the leap:'

All the trappings – the benefits, the insurance, the

business-class trips, the paid-for movers – felt like

traps.

“And so, on Monday morning, we quit. My bank

refused to accept the resignation, flew in someone

from New York to dissuade me. ‘Whom are you

joining, and how much are they paying you?’ he

asked (standard banking practice, jumping ship

for fat bonuses) I laughed, ‘No, I'm not leaving for

another bank. I'm leaving for another life.’

I finally left that Friday. I left our office at the Strand.

It was late. A London cabbie pulled up and leaves

swirled in a quiet ballet. ‘Late day at work?’ he

asked. ‘Nope, I just quit,’ I smiled. I felt like a

thousand balloons had been tied to me.”

Today, Ramanathan runs a governance project in

Bangalore through his NGO Janaagraha.

Objective: enhanced say of citizens in the

budgeted municipal spending in their area. The

result: 22 per cent of the budget was decided on

the basis of citizens' demands. His

pronouncement: “If we can allocate time for

democracy starting at our doorstep, we can

make a difference.”

Source: Rewritten from an article that appeared in

Outlook, January 2008

2120

INSPIRED BYWIFE’S SUFFERING

After actor Nargis died from cancer in 1981,husband Sunil Dutt founded the Nargis Dutt Cancer

Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization committed

to improving medical care on the Indian subcontinent. This

Foundation supports the advanced training of physicians

in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, imports medical

equipment and assists those who cannot afford cancer

treatment. It supported India's first bone marrow transplant

at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai in 1984.

2322

AND L

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OR AL

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Artist Baldev Raj Panesarlives in a small room at the YMCA in

Kolkata’s Wellington area. Retired in

1987 as deputy director of Indian

Statistical Institute in Baranagar. Giftedland in Madhyamgram to anold age home. Given proceeds

from his painting sales to institutes

(mathematics, statistics and computer),

ISI and YMCA (to repair the basketball

ground). Transformed the daughter of a

vegetable seller from South 24 Parganas

into the celebrated collageartist Shakila.

2524

TAKING EDUCATION TO THE RAILWAYPLATFORM

Inderjit Khurana teaches 400 destitute children(age group 16-18) on 12 railway stations inOrissa (Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Mirgandi,Nirakarpur, Puri, Jajpur, Berhampore, Jagatpur,Kendrapara, Kotia, Khurdah, Bhushandapur andChandanpur).

She has also set up a pre-school and high school called

Ruchika in Bhubaneswar. Starts her day at 7 am when

chhatu, the supplementary meal, draws students.

Teaches till 11 am. Students are taught till Class III, after

which they attend government schools. Won the World

Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child 2007, instituted

by Swedish Organisation Children's World.

Source: Business Standard, 19.01.07

2726

CL EA R

V I SI O N

200 FT

100 FT

50 FT

30 FT

Sankara Nethralaya has providedquality healthcare for decades.Behind its success stands Dr SS Badrinath. He

founded Sankara Nethralaya in 1978 as a 16-

bed hospital with one operation theatre on the

campus of Vijaya Hospital, where he was a

consultant. Twenty nine years later, it has grown

to a super-speciality hospital for ophthalmic

care, with 92 consultants. Around 1,500 patients

walk in and over 125 surgeries are performed

everyday. It has ventured to Assam, Bangalore,

Jalna and Kolkata through affiliates. About 50%

of its consultations and 40% of its surgeries

are done free of cost.

15 FT

10 FT

5 FT

29

GIVING CAUSE A LEG The Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang SahayataSamiti (founded in 1975 by retired IAS officerD.R. Mehta) provides low-cost limbs and toolsto the physically challenged.

Besides providing the Jaipur foot and wheelchairs, the

Samiti caters to the needs of the handicapped by giving

them calipers and hearing aids also. The organisation

donated 20,000 limbs compared to 8,800 by an

international agency like the Red Cross. The Samiti’s

beneficiaries crossed a million mark.

28

3130

DIAMONDS ARE NOT FOR EVERRohini Nilekani started an NGO AksharaFoundation (provides pre-school education toslum children) and chaired a non-profitpublishing house (Pratham) for children’s books.When she earned Rs 100 crore from the Infosys American

Depository Receipt (ADR), she started a trust (Arghyam)

for water conservation. “I didn’t want to buy diamonds and

jets, so what would I have done with the money,” she

says. “It’s not that I don’t live well,” she says, waving her

hand across her luxurious drawing room. “But I believe in

limits,” she adds. She also believes that a huge economic

disparity between the rich and the poor is not healthy for

society. “Disparity can lead to discontentment. It’s very

important for the wealthy to give something back to

society,” Nilekani believes.

3332

RETIREMENT MONEY

GOES TO BUILD A SCHOOL

Jagadish Biswas.

Former deputy superintendent of police. Hailed

from Nadia’s Hanskhali (70 km from Calcutta). Saw

village children commute 3 km a day. Then drop

out of school. Bought a five-cottah plot with his

retirement money. Donated it to the district primary

school council. – Source: The Telegraph, 13.09.07

SERVICE BEFORE SELF The Tata MemorialCentre is not just India's best

cancer hospital. It is a global

centre of excellence where

70 per cent of patients get

free primary car.

V V S Laxman agreed to lead the Hyderabad franchise

in the Indian Premier League in 2008. He put the team

interest before his own and gave away the icon status

(which the franchise owners had demanded from the IPL

Governing Council) as he wanted Hyderabad to have a

larger budget for ‘buying’ players.

FOR FREE

HELPAGE INDIA’Stwo-storey old-age home

at Chetla was donated by

its member KSB Sanyal.

Worth a fortune. Given

away for free.

LARGE-HEARTED

3534

FROM PENNILESSTO MILLIONAIRE Althea Gibson, the first black player to win

the US Open, died a bitter woman in 2003. But not a

penniless one, thanks to the efforts of her life-long friend,

the Briton Angela Buxton, with whom she won a

Wimbledon doubles title in 1956. “Because she was so

penniless until the last few years of her life, because she

was so ill, she phoned me one day to say she was going

to do herself in,” said Buxton. In 1995, Buxton spent

$1,500 of her own money to feed Gibson and pay her

rent before making an appeal on her behalf in the

magazine Tennis Week, highlighting her hardship. “She

was a millionaire by the time I'd finished. Money came in

from all over the world in different currencies. We spent

days just opening up the envelopes from people who

remembered her.”

Source: The Telegraph 27.08.07

3736

Gave up wealth to serve is written in braille

GAVE UP WEALTH TO SERVEBaba Amte was born into a wealthy high-castefamily in Maharashtra. Educated to be a lawyer. Rebelled

against social discrimination. Ate with untouchables.

Gave up law and estate management to help society's

castoffs. Until death, along with his son, a physician,

Amte managed Anandwan, a 200-hectare complex. The

buildings – constructed by volunteers and residents –

house a 1,600-student college affiliated with Nagpur

University. A 300-student agricultural college. Schools for

the blind, deaf, dumb, physically handicapped and

leprosy-afflicted children. An orphanage. A home for

senior citizens and housing for 2,000 people. A general

hospital. Two community bio-gas plants. A bank. Post

office. Community centre. Gram Panchayat (local self-

government). Vocational centres (training in 16 crafts).

A 125 hectare farm. Of India's some four million leprosy

patients, well over 100,000 have been treated there.

3938

RAJINIKANTH ANDPHILANTHROPY

Converted his Raghavendra Marriage Hall to a charitable

trust to help the needy.

Shared his income from the film ‘Arunachalam’ with eight

other people from the film industry as profit shares .

Plans to construct a new hospital and a new school on a

piece of land near Chennai.

Distributed Rs 12 lakhs as relief to the family members of

the bereaved in the Coimbatore bomb blast

When his film Baba didn’t receive the expected returns,

he returned the money to distributors.

Rajinikanth donated 1 million rupees to the Sr Lankan

Tamil humanitarian aid during the protest and hunger

strike organized by the South Indian Film Artistes'

Association in support of Sr Lankan Tamils.

4140

SHAMELESSEXPLOITATION.COMMON GOOD.Paul Newman and AE Hotchner. Launched a business using homemade

salad dressing. Company was named

Newman's Own. All the proceeds of sales

after taxes were given to educational and

charitable organizations. Donated close to

$1 million in its first year. To date, has given

away approximately $150 million. Motto:

“Shameless exploitation in pursuit of the

common good”.

4342

IS MEANT TO BE GIVEN AWAY

Warren Buffett's commitment of $37 billionto the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation …

Made the largest single commitment in the U.S.

philanthropic history

Doubled the size of the largest private foundation

in the world

Doubled the annual giving of the world’s largest

foundation

Created a massive precedent for the transfer of

wealth from private individuals to philanthropy

Created a precedent for spending huge sums of

money in the year they are given

Decried the preservation of private fortunes

through generations

Reaffirmed his belief in the ability of the

philanthropic world to take risks better than

corporations, and returns better than government

Symbolically passed the baton from his generation

to the next

4544

DROP BY DROPThe Stavropol Children’s Fund, a NorthCaucasus Resource Centre client, has becomea household name among residents.

Its clear plastic collection containers, located all over town

including next to the Turkish burger joint’s cash register,

are a constant reminder that giving just a little can go a

long way. When a young local boy lost his leg in a horrific

train accident, the Children’s Fund and the local Red

Cross chapter scrambled to his rescue. The situation was

bleak – his family was poor and at the time state subsidies

covered only hospital and outpatient care, not prosthetic

limbs. But using their new fundraising expertise, the

Children’s Fund launched a targeted campaign and within

weeks had raised several thousand dollars towards a new

leg for the boy. What is unique is that the fundraising

efforts weren’t concentrated in the boy’s neighbourhood

and the money raised wasn’t from people who knew his

family. Rouble by rouble, complete strangers dropped

their scarce extra cash into collection boxes. Restaurant

owners donated their time, space and services to hold

charity dinners. Simply, everyone pitched in.

4746

A ‘THANK YOU’THAT ECHOED

In 1993, Greg Mortenson attempted to climb K2(world's second highest mountain) in the Karakoram

range of northern Pakistan. After more than 70 days, Greg

and three other climbers had their ascent interrupted by

the need to complete a 75-hour life-saving rescue of a fifth

climber. After getting lost during his descent, he became

weak and exhausted, and instead of arriving in Askole,

where his porters awaited, he came across Korphe, a

small village built on a shelf jutting out from a canyon. He

was greeted and taken in.

To repay the remote community, Mortenson promised to

build a school. Coincidentally, Mortenson was introduced

to Jean Hoerni – a Silicon Valley pioneer and dying from

leukemia – who donated the money to Mortenson. Both

co-founded the Central Asia Institute to build schools in

rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. The institute built over 78

schools in the remote areas of these countries.

The best-selling Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

and David Oliver Relin describes Mortenson's transition

from a mountain-climber to a humanitarian

4948

TUMHARI AAKHRIKHWAAISH KYA HAI?

Make-A-Wish Foundation® originated in theUnited States in 1980.It grew from the dreams of a young boy Christopher

Greicius, who had leukaemia and wanted to be a

highway patrolman. Chris’s mother, along with the larger

community, moved heaven and earth to make his dream

come true. Chris was sworn in as the first and only

honorary Arizona Highway Patrolman in the state's

history. Inspired by Chris and enriched by being part of

the experience, his mother and some others who helped

his dream come true realized that there must be other

children like Chris who could benefit from their wishes

being granted. Their inspiration was the beginning of the

Make-A-Wish Foundation®

5150

GOODSAMARITAN

Shabbir Soni lifts the dying from the streets in Mumbai. In a soft, staccato voice, he

asks for precise directions, thanks the caller, leaves

what he is doing and gets into his car. Soon he is

snaking through the Mumbai traffic and must reach

as soon as he can. He takes the person to the

nearest Asha Daan centre. Five times a week, often

thrice a day. For years, Soni used a fleet of

ambulances to assist him. Now he uses his car

equipped with water, blankets and an air freshener.

53

THE AMAZING DR. K. ANJI REDDY...... spends more than half his time onphilanthropic activities.... gives away the over Rs 2 crore per annum

he receives as salary from his job; has given

away almost all the remuneration he has

received.

... founded Dr Reddy’s Foundation in 1996;

its initiative called Livelihood Advancement

Business School has trained over 130,000

youngsters with skills suited for entry-level

jobs in sectors such as hospitality, ITES and

customer relations and has set a target of

transforming a million lives by 2010.

... was inspired by a sign in the bathroom of

Imperial Hotel in Tokyo: “This water is

perfectly potable.” The result was his holding

company invested $1 million in a pathogen-

free water company and revived it. Started by

providing 12-15 litres of pathogen-free water

for just Re 1 at the Krishna district of Andhra

Pradesh (WaterHealth is the technology

partner) and broad-based it to include

treatment of flouride, arsenic, pesticides and

chemicals in partnership with Tata Projects”.

... Reddy has committed to contribute 10 per

cent of a corpus of Rs 100 crore over 10

years to make L.V. Prasad Eye Institute self-

sustaining.

Source: Business Today, 23.03.08

52

5554

AN SMS COULD...... save a life. If there's an urgent requirementfor blood, just send a text message to 9122 25676775.

The phone numbers and names of donors of the blood

group required will be messaged back to you in less than

10 minutes. The SMS accesses a database of 45,000

donors across the country, listed on

www.indianblooddonors.com. The service is the

brainchild of railway superintendent Khushroo Pocha,

who set it up with the help of his wife Fermin.

Source: The Hindustan Times, 3.4.08

5756

AND WETHOUGHT LAPIERREWAS ONLYAN AUTHOR

“When I visited Udayan, 19-year-old Ashushouted, ‘Dada! Dada!’ and ran over waving a piece ofpaper. It was a diploma in mechanical engineering. I had

rescued this boy from a leper colony [in India] 12 years

ago. I had tears in my eyes. I thought: `If I'd done only this

in this world before appearing in front of the Lord, it would

be enough.'"

“Mother Teresa introduced me and my wife (also named

Dominique) to an Englishman (James Stevens, a wealthy

haberdasher) who [donated] all his financial resources to

opening a home in Barrackpore (West Bengal, India) to

rescue, cure, educate and train young leprosy patients.

He called his home ‘Udayan’ (Resurrection). When I met

him, he had run out of money to support this island of

hope amid the most abject poverty. I handed over to him

the royalties I had brought from France, and told him,

"James, you will never close your home, Udayan."

Result: Udayan rescued and educated 10,000 leprosy-

affected children with heavy physical and cerebral

handicaps; cured one million tuberculosis patients; dug

500 tube wells; educated 2000 village women; extended

micro-credits to 10,000 families; provided medical

supplies to 35 isolated islands of the Sunderbans.

Lapierre is better known as ‘Benefactor of the

Sunderbans’ to the local populace.

5958

Michael Milken

Earlier in this century,philanthropy often flowedfrom the wills of deadindustrialists. In recentdecades, it's as likely tohave come from a veryalive business leader,entertainer, artist orsports star.

Mother Teresa

6160

GREEN MILES At M&M, ESOPs denote employee 'social', not'stock' options. Through ESOPs, everyemployee in the Mahindra Group chooses asocial cause, and then dedicates a certainnumber of person hours to help the needy.

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- Chinese Proverb

If youIf youIf youIf you

inherit a fortune.

help somebody.

want happiness for an hour,

want happiness for a year,

want happiness for a lifetime,

take a nap.

go fishing.want happiness for a day,

6362

SAVING MOUNTEVEREST WITH A PIE Dawa Steven Sherpa. First climbed the 8,848-metre peak in 2007. Now runs the world's highest

bakery - the Base Camp Bakery - from a green tent at

the base camp of Mt Everest at a height of 5,330 m. A

trained baker dishes out cheese croissant, zucchini

bread, chocolate chip cookies, the day's special and

other delights. An apple pie at the Base Camp Bakery

costs Nepali Rs.350 (about $4.60), three times what it

costs in Kathmandu. For a good reason: every

NRs.100 a patron pays at the world's highest bakery

goes to remove 100 kg of garbage from the Mt

Everest, tied to the ‘Cash for Trash’ project started by

Dawa in memory of Sir Edmund Hillary. Dawa's Eco

Everest Expedition 2008 brought down around a tonne

of everest garbage, and in the first half of 2009 was

almost six tonnes (garbage and helicopter debris).

Now he plans to bring in art students to recycle the

refuse into sculptures. “I am going to go on doing this

till there is no more garbage left on

Mt Everest,” Dawa promises.

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6564

BACKWARDFORWARD

Vijay Suwase. Dalit. School drop-out. Helper atForbes Marshall, the Pune-based process efficiency

and energy conservation company. And may have

continued this way. Until one day he was summoned and

told that the company would help him set up a machine

shop with lathes, equipment and tooling. At no cost. With

the prospect of regular machining jobs from Forbes

Marshall as long as he wanted. Suwase's monthly salary

was around Rs 3,000. Today, he generates an

annual turnover of Rs 8.4 lakh. “We also helped

him with registrations and other statutory requirements,”

says Farhad Forbes, Director, Forbes Marshall, the man

behind this act of faith. Whose quick caste audit revealed

only 5% of Forbes Marshall employees were dalits in a

country where scheduled castes and tribes constituted

24.4% of the population. The result: during campus-

recruitment drives, a conscious effort is made to scout

for, hire and hand-hold dalits. “Some may not be as

good as the best, but they possess this innate zeal to

forge ahead, to progress, and achieve what others

perhaps can't,” he explains. “In fact, far from being a

disability for us, I tell my peers in the industry, it has only

improved our competitiveness. Supplier diversity

represents a potent corporate tool. It's far more effective

in mainstreaming dalits.”

Source: Rewritten from an article that

appeared in Outlook Business by

Naren Karunakaran, 2.05.09

6766

45.99

THANKS,GUV!

PENNY INTHE BOX

The lady who owns andmanages the bookshop‘The Last Few’ in Minehead

(West Somerset) usually asks a

customer whether she could

put the penny change from the

purchased book into the

children’s hospice collection

box. “Yes, of course,” is the

inevitable reply. All prices in her

shop ended in 99p, so every

sale she made presented the

opportunity for the customer to

donate a penny into the

children’s hospice box.

Source: Rob Hopcott,

philanthropy.hopcott.net. 10

December 2007

At least 300 children fromthe pavements of Sealdahhave Governor Gopalkrishna

Gandhi to thank every time

they sit for a meal. He has

been sending vegetables and

fruits from his kitchen garden

every morning so that these

kids have enough to eat four

times a day. These children

have been rescued from the

streets and now live in Loreto

Sealdah as its ‘Rainbow

Children’.

Source: The Times of India, 5.04.09

6968

ON THE RIGHT TRACK

Around one out of every 10 of India's 2.5-3 million long-haul

truckers is infected with HIV. Clearly, Sanjay Gandhi

Transport Nagar (SGTN) – Asia's largest transport hub – is

endangered (Source: World Bank). The sprawling township is

also the place where Apollo Tyres, one of India's largest tyre

manufacturers, first sowed the seeds of its corporate social

responsibility programme in 2000. Interestingly, 65 per cent

of Apollo's revenues come from the trucking community, 55-

57 per cent of which are from single owner-driven trucks.

Apollo Tyres provided its premises to the British Department

for International Development (DFID) for a pilot project. When

DFID moved on, it decided to rope in CARE India to create

awareness and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in SGTN.

Result: By 2004, Apollo Tyres had taken over the project at

SGTN. Between November 2003 and December 2007, the

centre detected over 2,000 cases of STD. The programme

received a US$72,000 (Rs 29 lakh) grant by the International

Finance Corporation (IFC) in 2005.

Source: Adapted from the Business World article

by Sumati Nagrath, 26.05.08

71

Operates on children under 12 free-of-charge;

has conducted 5,000 operations on children in a

16-year career covering 13,000 operations.

Has aligned the RTIICS (Kolkata), Narayana

Hrudayalaya (Bangalore), Hewlett-Packard, ISRO

and seven north-eastern states into a non-

profitable telemedicine network to diagnose,

advice, treat and follow-up remote location

patients; the network’s 39 telemedicine centres

have treated over 16,400 patients in India,

Malaysia, Mauritius and Pakistan entirely free in a

mere three years.

Provides concessions up to 70% on medical or

surgical packages based on the socio-economic

background of the patient.

Introduced a unique ‘Yeshashwini’ insurance

scheme for 1.5 million farmers in Karnataka

through which they are eligible to free surgery

across 72 hospitals in Karnataka in exchange for a

mere Rs 5 per month (to be replicated in

Mukundapur, Kolkata).

[Source: Kamaal Kolkata]

WOULD YOU BELIEVETHIS ABOUT DR. DEVI SHETTY?

70

7372

MATSUSHITA ANDPHILANTHROPY

Matsushita’s biggest philanthropy was the Japan Prize.Established in 1983, the award “is intended to honour

scientists, of whatever nationality, whose research has made

a substantial contribution to the attainment of a greater

degree of prosperity for mankind.” Aimed at applied

scientific research that is of direct benefit to humanity, the

prize carries a monetary value today of about $500,000.

The Japan Prize is pure Matsushita. It is grand in scope. And

it is named after Japan, not its benefactor. His philanthropies

accelerated as he aged. From 1963 to 1967, he gave away

$360,000. During the next five years, the funding increased

to $13.9 million. From ’73 to ’77 he donated over $21 million.

During the next ten years, the gifts grew to $78 million. In ’88

and ’89, his charities totalled $276 million.

This theme can be seen in virtually all the giving. He donated

money to incentivise socially relevant achievements, not to

save people from all hardships. Gifts to protect the weak

and vulnerable were noble. But money that would

encourage people to grow, even if that involved hardships,

was his preference.

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Source: Matsushita Leadership by John P. Kotter

7574

BLESSING INDISGUISE

Mother Teresa started her first home for lepers in

Calcutta and promptly the local municipal

councillor objected. Because the location was near his home,

he turned the Calcutta Municipal Corporation

against her venture.

Mother Teresa was nothing if not a fighter.

So instead of a fixed centre, she promoted the concept

of a mobile dispensary.

She told her adversary: ‘Bless you, councillor, you have

increased our efficiency a hundred times.’ The result

is that there are almost 500 mobile dispensaries now run

by the Missionaries of Charity and a colony for

lepers at Shantinagar on land provided by the

West Bengal Government.

7776

MOTHER INDIA

After Mother India became a super hit,producer Mehboob had an interesting problem. The need

to protect worker interests in unpredictable showbiz; the

need to make a legal payout without being taxed. His

assistant Ishwar emerged with some radical advice: “You

must retrench your entire staff. Now, to retrench legally

you must allocate fifteen days’ salary per month the

worker has been in your service. That is, if a worker has

been with you for ten years he must be given five month’s

salary plus one more month’s salary as Notice Pay and

another one month’s salary as Leave Pay.” So Mehboob

hosted a lavish dinner for the staff. Retrenched every

single member. Made an emotional speech. Had most in

tears. Then gave an additional month’s salary as bonus.

And promptly hired them back the following morning!

THE BIRTHOF STANFORD In 1876, former California Governor LelandStanford purchased 650 acres of Rancho SanFrancisquito for a country home and began thedevelopment of his famous Palo Alto StockFarm.

He and Jane had one son, who died of typhoid fever in

1884 when the family was travelling in Italy. Leland Jr.

was just 15. Legend has it that the grieving couple said

to one another after their son's death, “the children of

California shall be our children,” and they quickly set

about to find a lasting way to memorialize their beloved

son.

The Stanfords visited several great universities of the East

to gather ideas. From the outset they made some

untraditional choices: the university would be

coeducational, in a time when most were all-male; non-

denominational, when most were associated with a

religious organization; and avowedly practical, producing

“cultured and useful citizens” when most were concerned

only with the former. The 8,000-acre Stanford is unusual

among great universities in having seven schools on one

campus: Humanities and Sciences, Law, Medicine,

Business, Earth Sciences, Engineering and Education.

7978

80

FOR THE SAKEOF THE HOPELESS Robert Frederick Zenon ‘Bob’ Geldof is an Irishsinger, songwriter, author and political activist.In 1984, Geldof saw a news report about starving

children in Ethiopia. He and Midge Ure of Ultravox wrote

‘Do They Know It's Christmas?' in order to raise funds.

The song was recorded by various artists under the name

of Band Aid. Eventually the song raised over £8 million.

Geldof discovered that African nations were in dire peril

because of the high repayments on loans. For every

pound donated in aid, ten times as much would have

to be repaid. It became obvious that one song was not

enough. So on 13 July 1985, Geldof and Ure organized

Live Aid, a huge event staged simultaneously at the

Wembley Stadium in London and John F. Kennedy

Stadium in Philadelphia. One of the most monumental

stage shows in history (with Phil

Collins flying Concorde so that

he could play at Wembley and

Philadelphia on the same day).

Live Aid raised over £150

million for famine relief. Geldof

was knighted at age 34 for his

efforts.

81

83

PROPHET OF STREET CHILDREN

If Mother Teresa was the ‘Saint of the Gutters’ thenDr Samir Chaudhuri could well finish as the ‘Prophet of Street

Children.’ Just consider:

• He is said to have confessed to a colleague that "I get the

awful feeling that I haven’t put my life to sufficient use", then

went ahead to give up a successful practice of paediatrics for

full-time public service.

• He sourced health drink ingredients and re-engineered them

into packets at a fraction of the tinned cost.

• He made it mandatory for mothers to stay with their

malnourished children in the hospital across the tenure of their

treatment, catalyzing recovery. Absolutely pioneering.

• He replaced the traditional nurse’s dress with the simple

sari, enhancing woman-to-woman trust.

• He created a customized accounting system, sent periodic

reports and pictures to donors, invited focused contributions

(birth weight for instance), spun CINI Asha into a separate

NGO focusing exclusively on urban street children, recruited

innovatively (complement of illiterates and PhDs), inspired a

culture of organizational urgency, transferred himself out of

Kolkata to Europe to enhance a 24x7 reachability to donors

and then delegated so aggressively that CINI today runs

without his direct presence 11 months a year.

Result: From a target group of around 3,000 to almost half a

million, from a few committed members to a nationwide family

of 400 employees, from a few thousand rupees to an annual

budget of over $ 3,500,000.

The man’s motto: “It is possible for

ordinary people to do extraordinary

things if the motivation is right.”

85

How about no incometax at all on people

over 65? People wouldcontinue working,

remain healthier, notbe an economic and

social drain onsociety. Then the

elderly would alsohave more disposable

income to helpcharitable activities.

John TempletonMother Teresa

84

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8786

By the time I left for London, in earlyMarch 1979 to join the main Board of Unilever, all

the buildings were occupied and the number of

occupants had multiplied. Mother Teresa had a

simple technique for persuading me. She would

say, “Why not give us the other godown as the

place is being filled and I am praying for more

accommodation. I may even put a medallion with

the Virgin into the godown!’ Of course, we did not

need much persuasion because everyone could

see the wonderful work being done and, in any

case, the godowns were vacant.

I did worry about the future budget for Asha

Daan, more so when I left for London in March

1979. However, I felt we had to secure some

source of income in order to keep this institution

going. So when a block of shares in a privately

held company became available I decided to

have it bought for transfer into a trust for Asha

Daan. In my new job in London, I earned a much

better salary and had enough money to spare for

this investment. Creating a trust for Asha Daan

was one of my thanksgivings for my promotion to

the Unilever Board which was totally unexpected

and unprecedented at that time. We took legal

advice and decided to set up a trust. As is usual,

such procedures in India take some time.

Therefore, in the interim period, while the trust

was being set up, we arranged for the shares to

be nominally registered in my wife’s name, and to

have a committee of three of my former HLL

colleagues to follow up on the formation of the

trust – with them acting as trustees, and to ensure

that the income from the investment went to Asha

Daan.

On my next visit to India, I told Mother Teresa

what I had done to help Asha Daan on a

permanent basis. We were sitting together in the

chapel at Asha Daan. She said she could not

accept it because it was against her beliefs to

accept an assured source of income. ‘Like the

poor, we, as sisters, have to beg for our needs

and the needs of our homes. We have to pay to

God every day and depend on His mercy to

provide us through people. If we have any

assured income we will not beg and pray. It will

reduce our total dependence on God. So I cannot

accept the gift.”

Source: To Challenge & To Change by T. Thomas

8988

PROFESSIONALISMAND PHILANTHROPY

There are several schools for under-privilegedchildren. How is Parikrama different?

Our rapid English programme works very well. Children

who first come to us speaking just Kannada or Tamil,

Telugu or Urdu, learn to answer in English in just three

months. The superior educational processes in the

school facilitated a 98% attendance, less than 1% drop-

out rate, and 90% attendance in our Parent–Teacher

Meetings. When we worked with 12 Bangalore

Mahanagara Palike schools, our after-school tutorial

programme helped raise the pass percentage from 9% to

31%!

Interview with Shukla Bose who runs NGO Parikrama in

Bangalore

91

Q: What is your USP?

A: We believe Parikrma is the first NGO to be run as a

successful business model. We apply corporate best

practices in our day-to-day work, along with age-old

human values. Our goals, projections and objectives are

set out clearly. We measure our performance against

standards we have set for ourselves. We believe in

branding our company, and we believe in having

professionals to do that job. We raise funds and scout for

donors not just for education and community

development, but also for important areas like

documentation, public relations, image and the future of

the company.

Q: Some of your management best practices?

A: We have third party audit of all our systems. Our

programmes are all process-driven. We follow simple

values like punctuality, professionalism in all our dealings

– like attending to a missed telephone call within 24

hours for instance – and we give performance bonus to

our teachers. The teachers are highly motivated

professionals who draw salaries as good as most good

schools have to offer. We like this quote of Victor Hugo:

“With every school door you open, you close a prison

door.” Parikrma’s tag line is ‘Making hope work’, and it

takes just half-a-day to change the world, if everyone

pitches in to work.

Source: indianngos.com

90

9392

DONATE A BOOK,CHANGE A LIFE

When Andrew Carnegie was a young man,he neighboured Colonel James Anderson, a rich man,

who allowed any working boy to use his personal library

for free. Carnegie never forgot. So when he retired, he

gave his wealth to towns and cities to build more than

2,000 public libraries and $125 million to Carnegie

Corporation to aid colleges and schools. By 1911,

Carnegie had given away 90 percent of his fortune. His

guidelines for ‘Scientific Philanthropy’:

Don't spoil your heirs: Carnegie believed inherited

wealth spoiled the heirs. “I should as soon leave to my

son a curse as the almighty dollar.”

Give with warm hands: Carnegie wrote that “Men who

leave vast sums [in their wills] may fairly be thought men

who would not have left it at all had they been able to

take it with them.”

Help those willing to help themselves: “It were better

for mankind that the millions of the rich were thrown into

the sea than so spent as to encourage the slothful, the

drunken, the unworthy.”

9594

The cashier counts the currency notes carefully,makes an entry in the passbook and hands it over to the

waiting customer through a tiny window. But this is no

ordinary bank - as both the cashier and consumer are

actually street children.

The Bal Vikas Bank, or Children's Development Bank

(CDB), is a unique initiative by a Delhi-based NGO,

Butterflies, whose primary aim is to inculcate a sense of

saving money in street children, who otherwise end up

wasting whatever little they have on gambling or drugs.

The Children's Development Bank is run by and for

children and brings them on the path of education since

one can't be expected to maintain ledgers and

passbooks without being literate. Trained by volunteers of

the HSBC bank, the young officials of CDB, mostly in the

age group of 12-14 behave professionally. The members

are either rag pickers or work in tea shops and dhabas.

Since its inception, CDB has grown from 20 members to

1,700 in Delhi. Rakesh Kumar (12) and a runaway from

Bihar, is a manager of the bank's Nizamuddin branch.

Sharp at 6.30 in the evening, when the bank opens after

the children return from “work”, Kumar walks in. Dressed

in a chocolate brown pair of trousers, a white printed shirt

and hair neatly combed back, he enters his cubicle

painted bright yellow and pink.

Soon a number of young customers queue up in front of

the cashier's window with their earnings of the day,

anything between Rs.20 and Rs.50. Members get a 3.5

percent interest return on their savings; even they are

eligible to get loans following scrutiny. The membership

of CDB comes to an end when a child turns 18.

It is unanimously decided that kids selling pornographic

material or indulging in stealing, pick-pocketing and

substance abuse will not be given bank membership.

NO CHILD'S PLAY. A BANK RUN BYAND FOR STREETCHILDREN

9796

PLAYING THESENIOR’S ROLE

At his family’s Hindoostan Mills, VijayMerchant established a welfare centre.Twice a week, he was available to anyone between

eleven and one am. If Vijay found a blind person

competent to sell cloth door-to-door, he provided

discounted fabric worth Rs. 100, from the sale of which

the person could earn Rs. 19. He'd help the disabled

person sell items such as bananas, handkerchiefs,

sweets, joss sticks or paan with initial investment from the

trust. If the person did not have seed capital, the mill

advanced the cloth free.

On one occasion, the sheriff of Bombay asked Vijay to

shelter a girl of 18. Vijay first said, ‘No, I’ll give money but

not shelter’ but changed his mind. The girl began to help

at his Health Centre where she (Hindu) fell in love with a

Muslim. When Vijay wanted to arrange her marriage at his

factory, he was advised against it. ‘If I cannot do so, then

my whole philosophy of life has failed,’ he said and went

ahead regardless. Vijay signed as the girl’s father.

When Odhavji, one of his blind mill workers, proposed to

marry visually handicapped Mani, he arranged the

wedding. Organized the marriage feast. Distributed gifts.

Helped the couple set up home. Often dropped in for a

meal. Became godfather to their daughter.

‘My philosophy,’ said Vijay, ‘is learnt from cricket: the

better batsman takes care of the weaker one, if your side

is to win.’

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9998

As I startedgetting rich, I started thinking,'What the hell amI going to do withall this money?’Over a three yearperiod, I gaveaway half of whatI had.To behonest, my handsshook as I signedit away. I knew Iwas taking myselfout of the race to be the richestman in the world.

Ted Turner

101100

PHILANTHROPY.EVEN WHEN ITHURTS In 1930, the Aga Khan Trophy was offered

for the first Indian to fly solo from India toEngland or vice versa. J.R.D. competed,taking off from Karachi to London.When he landed at Aboukir Bay in Egypt, he found

Aspy Engineer, the other contender, flying from

London to Karachi, was stranded in the desert

airfield for want of a spark plug! J.R.D. sportingly

parted with his spare one and they continued their

journey in opposite directions. Aspy beat him by a

couple of hours. ‘I am glad he won,’ said J.R.D.,

‘because it helped him get into the Royal Indian Air

Force.’ Later, Aspy was to be the second Indian to

be the chief of the Indian Air Force.

103

CHARITY FROMCHILDHOOD

Said Nani Palkhivala: “My father, Ardeshir,taught me compassion and kindness for theless privileged. I was not more than two years old. I

was about to help myself to a bowl of almonds when my

father reminded me of the poor orphan who lived next

door. I was so moved by his words that I immediately

handed over the entire bowl to the boy. That incident has

made a deep impression on me since.” Nani gave

several crores to charity and it is unlikely that he kept an

account. His last cheque: Rs. 2 crore. ‘I want to give

away money in my lifetime. What is the use of

bequeathing it because you are unable to take it away?’

Source: A Touch of Greatness by R. M. Lala

102

105104

WALKING SAINTVinoba ‘walking saint’ Bhave was Gandhiji’sfavourite disciple. Vinoba’s landmark contribution: he

inspired the godliness that made wealthy landowners give

their land away to the disenfranchised. This land donation

mission (Bhoodan) began in 1950 in Andhra Pradesh.

There was widespread violence in Telengana. Vinoba

visited Pochampalli of 3,000 landless people and 40

Harijan families. He asked Harijans what would alleviate

their plight. Singular answer: ‘Land’. He asked: ‘How

much?’ Someone replied, ‘Eighty acres.’ That evening,

Vinoba addressed the wealthy of the village: ‘I visited

some poor brothers of yours who have no food to eat nor

any land to till. They are dying for no fault of theirs. Could

some of you be willing to share your riches and save

them?’ He sought with his eyes. And finally rested on

landlord Ramachandra Reddy. Ramachandra asked:

‘How much?’ Vinoba: ‘100 acres’. Ramachandra wrote out

the deed, signed it and thus was started the Bhoodan

movement, which between 1951 and 1970 collected 4.2

million acres from about a million donors, which were

eventually distributed to the landless. More than the

combined state governments of India.

107106

PHILANTHROPICAUTORICKSHAW

DRIVER This auto rickshaw was different. Magazines.TV. First-aid box. Radio. Fire extinguisher.Wall clock. Calendar. Pictures and symbols of different

faiths. Pictures of 26/11 heroes. This auto rickshaw driver

was also different. Lost his job when the company shut

down. Drove 14 hours a day. Goes to an old age

women’s home in Andheri once a week or whenever he

has some extra income. Donates tooth brushes,

toothpastes, soap, hair oil. Painted message below the

meter read: “25 per cent discount on metered fare for the

handicapped. Free rides for blind passengers up to Rs

50.” Name: Sandeep Bachhe. Auto rickshaw MH-02-Z-

8508.

- Contributed by Suvendu Roy

109108

BILL GATES ONPHILANTHROPY

“I'm driven by the that children aredying. Why can't we move faster or makeinterventions available quickly?”

“Earlier, I gave 20% of my time to theFoundation and the rest to . Now, I give 20% of my time to Microsoft and the restto the Foundation.”

“In my and Melinda's case we decided it wouldbe better for our children if we themoney as opposed to largely giving it to them.”

“All billionaires should give away the vastmajority of their fortunes.”

“Great wealth should from the richest to thepoorest.”

111110

HEART AS BIG AS HIS WALLET

Bombay’s patron philanthropic saint isJamsetjee Jeejeebhoy.

Spent Rs. 1,45,403 to set up Sir J. J. Dharamshala on

Bellasis Road (where the old and destitute still receive free

food, clothing, shelter and medicines), the first free home

for the elderly in Asia.

Founded J. J. Hospital and Grant Medical College.

Instituted Rs. 18,000 for Sir J.J. Books, Prizes and Medals

Fund to encourage medical students.

Opened Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy Obstretics Institution

for poor women.

Spent Rs. 155,800 to build the Mahim Causeway.

Created 126 notable public charities (including the

Sir J. J. School of Arts, the Sir J. J. School of Architecture,

and Sir J. J. School of Commercial Art).

Funded the bund to contain the raging Mulla and Mutha

rivers in Pune.

Built wells and tanks over Bombay, hospitals and schools

in Surat and Navsari, agiaries in Bombay and Pune.

Contributed Rs. 80,000 to a panjrapole for animals,

distributed money for feeding stray dogs, built water

troughs for cattle and horses.

Total estimated charities: more than Rs. 100 crore.

113112

HE WHO WAITS TO DO A GREAT DEAL OF GOOD AT ONCE, WILL NEVER DO ANYTHING.

115114

CAREER GURUWhen his children were being tutored for the IITentrance exam, Additional Director General of Police

Abhayanand felt he needed to do something for bright

underprivileged students as well. He sought the help of

Anand, a mathematics teacher, who ran his own entrance

coaching institute. The result: Super 30 coaching classes

(attached to Anand's house in Mithapur, Patna).

From an initial 200 students, 30 were selected. Coached for

five months. Some 18 cleared the IIT entrance exam. So far,

122 Super 30 students have made it to the IITs. Anand bears

all expenses. Offers to lodge the poor students in his house

(90 per cent of the students come from poor families). The

coaching centre now has a strength of 600. Anand teaches

them three days a week for two-and-a-half hours.

Anand’s spark? Being humiliated by an RJD MP (de facto

education minister) when he sought financial help for higher

studies abroad. Vowed to remain unmarried and help at

least 10,000 students become engineers.

Source: Rewritten from an article that appeared in The Week,

17 June 2007

I am Mohan Lal Saini, a member of Coca-Cola’s team involved in the restoration of the‘Sarai Bawari’. This 400-year-old well was damaged and unfit for any use. We undertookthe task of restoring it with the help of the local ‘Jal Rakshaks’. Today the Bawari not onlyprovides water sustainability to the local community, it is a proud reminder of the culturalheritage of India. This is my drop of joy.

To know more about how we spread joy, log on to www.coca-colaindia.com

117116

LESS IS MORE…a charitable organisation, like a religious one, gains a

great advantage when it has slightly less money than it

would like to have, and is at a disadvantage when it has

more than it really needs … It means that you have to

stop and think whether what you are planning to do is

really necessary, if it is necessary, is there a cheaper way

of doing the job? Can you take off your own coat and get

down to the job of painting, or digging the foundations or

making the curtains, instead of putting everything out to

contract? Can you go out and collect bricks from another,

and so on?

In consequence, the whole organisation acquires a new

dynamism, and a reputation for doing what it can for itself

instead of sitting back and asking for the moon, as is

thought to be the case with some charitable bodies. On a

much more profound level it also means that you are able

only to do what the providence of God allows you.

When you have the money to spare you can embark

upon all kinds of ventures of your own choosing, and it

could be that one of these will lead you off your true

course, perhaps leaving you stranded at the very

moment that a major challenge comes your way. When

you are hard up you can undertake only what you clearly

see is directed at you and you alone. Once you have the

right people, even if only two or three to begin with,

everything else including the money will follow. But not

necessarily the other way around.

Source: The Hidden World by Leonard Chesire

119118

THE TATA TRADITIONThe tradition of Tata philanthropy goes back to1892. Admission to the Indian Civil Service (ICS) had just

been opened to Indians by the British and Jamshedji

Tata was keen that Indians took advantage of it. He was

also eager that professionals, especially doctors, were

trained in England. At the time Indian women did not go

to male doctors and many of them died while giving birth.

Given this situation Jamshedji first gave grants to two

lady doctors to go abroad and specialize in gynaecology.

‘I can afford to give but I prefer to lend,’ he said. He gave

the money on condition that it was returned to him in due

course so that others could benefit from the same funds.

In the next hundred years the J. N. Tata Endowment for

the Higher Education of Indians was to give loans to over

2,000 students towards their studies abroad

Source: Beyond The Last Blue Mountain by R.M. Lala

121

CHARITY

120

Give to the poor,A cure for many ailments, sure.

The suffering of the depressed, Does not your heart get suppressed?

No food, no water, O miser! With you what is the matter?

Give with your hand right, Withholding from left the sight.

Flourish your livelihood, With this deed so good.

With alms, purify your soul, With raised palms, clarify your servile role.

When with poverty the poor die, The rich God will try. Then we will see who will cry!

From the wealth of the rich, The poor have a right for their clothes to stitch.

When you give, The happier you live,

Defend your faith with charity's help, It will create in you a noble self.

What we get is a living, A life is created by giving.

By Huzaifa Khorakiwala

123122

Remove from your brothers path hardships’ stone,A hand of help will surely make your soul bright and shone.

On the path of knowledge and wisdom you give guidance,Surely, this too is charity, faslehoods’ riddance.

Changing a receiver to a giver is indeed a charity truly great,Teaching fishing and making independent is also charity’sgreat trait.

In God's Way don't you want to give a loan? Purifying in your body every bone.

From dust we came, To dust, our call will come, Is there any use of the storage of wealth's greedy sum?

If you want to shine brighter for your soul, Then let charity be your goal.

O Lord! I wish to walk on benevolence’s path,And purify my soul with alm’s bath.

A life of giving is the only life worth living,Make these words in your heart alive and believing.

In charity, give of what you have the best,Such giving is indeed handsomely blessed.

For the materialist also there is a rewarding way, The more you give, the more you get is this not anestablished say?

Don’t feel irritated when people ask of you,Don’t you wish for God’s Blessings to be renewed fresh and new?

Service to man is service to God, For your greed do you wish to face the iron rod?

Do you want to give the needy more pity? They need help, not any sympathy so less worthy.

O God! How I wish forever to the poor I give! To earn Thy Pleasure is what for I live.

Do you want to deny even a little? How shameless you are, O belittle!

When you give, nothing becomes less, Have you forgotten God's handsome bless!

Giving, kindness, charity enhance position, Do not doubt this brilliant decision.

In all the way will be honey, honey, honey, If in charity you give money, money, money.

Who said charity is only money? A kind look, a kind word, a kind thought is sweeter than honey.

Charity is also good deeds and good conduct,In the manners’ of nobility, many of your friends you must induct.

In generosity be safe, be sound, The cycle of good always goes round.

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When God is the giver, Aim for His Joy to get more from His quiver.

Sins are debit, charity is credit, Favouring your balance bit by bit.

Sins reduce wealth,With charity increase your subsistence’s health.Justice is enhanced through redistibution, Poverty performs alleviation.

For the mind, learning is charity, For the blind, seeing is charity.

Descends God's Mercy on the benevolent, How fresh you feel, no need for mint!

Charity is light, A powerful might. O God! Let me not lose of this sight. Whether it is day or night,Charity is right. Let your palms not be tight, By God, you will soar to a great height

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