i a h s a m a h s w a t s i the exhibition is for kenyans by kenyans a message from the ceo of asian foundation - meera pandit “this exhibition is unique because it is one of a kind. no one has ever had a philanthropic exhibition in nairobi. this exhibition has brought people and communities together and to show- case how we can help people at the grass roots level. it’s not about us or about the pomp and grandeur. it’s been really an expensive exercise. it has been challenging to get everyone together. but we have been able to suc- cessfully bring 47 communities together. the asian foundation has not charged anybody anything to participate in this exhibition. we got really special donors supporting our cause and it is because of them that we were able to pull this off. there were also many philanthropists who didn’t take part in this exhibition because they prefer to remain anonymous. they believe you lose the essence of giving when you talk about it. yet, it is when we talk about it that we are able to inspire the youth to be interested in phillanthropy. the success of this exhibition will be felt the most by children and adults at the grassroots level. this exhibition is for kenyans by kenyans, we are just a facilitator. as the chairman of asian foundation, dr chandu sheth, aptly puts it, you have no idea how far kshs 25 can go. it’s a whole meal. and if we put aside that kind of money every day for about three months, just imagine how many children we will be able to feed. therefore, this is to generate awareness that you don’t have to come from the rich man’s club. anybody from any race and any gender can help. doors for the exhibition opened on may 12 at 2.00pm. then on the two consecutive days, the exhibition ran from 10.00am to 6.00pm. on the second day of the exhibition we had a sympo- sium, which was an interactive session to gener- ate awareness. the panelist during the symposium were dr manu chandaria, vickie winkler, dr chandu sheth, tifany nyagah, siddarth chatterjee, janet mawiyo and pheroze nowrojee. they shared their own views about philanthropy. the session was moderated by john sibi-okumu. the sympo- sium will seek to establish the gaps with regards to doing charity. the exhibition also seeks to encourage philan- thropy amongst our youth who make up 80% of the population. right now, majority of those who spend their time, energy and resources in philan- thropy are senior citizens. but our senior citizens will not be with us for long. somebody’s got to take the torch forward. that is why we have a re- sponsibility to bring this awareness to them. some of the young exhibitors here include young jains and oshwal youth league. that shows you that the message is getting across." may / 19 - 25 / 2017 i
i a h s a m a h s w a t s i stawisha maisha exhibition sees incredible experts share their views on philanthropy outpouring of volunteer efforts, time and resources i a h s a m a h s w a t s i by simon muli photos by dhruv shah friday, may 12 at the oshwal centre nairobi. the air was filled with love, compassion, selflessness, giving, charity and a host of other related virtues. and no. it was not international day of charity. this was the day that the much-awaited and first-of-its- kind exhibition on philanthropy dubbed, stawisha mai- sha was taking place. the opening ceremony, which was punctuated with pomp and colour, brought to- gether some of the country's leading philanthropists, representatives from various charitable organisations as well as individuals with big hearts. the chief guest for the event was chief justice and the president of the supreme court, david maraga. spearheaded by the asian foundation, the exhibition ran from may 12 to14, under the operating theme of transforming lives and communities. the exhibition pre- sented not only an opportunity for all exhibitors to learn from one another of the various charitable activities bring carried out, but also provided the general pub- lic time to reflect on what they can do for the com- munity at large. chairman of the asian foundation, dr chandu sheth, gave a moving speech imploring peo- ple of goodwill to give to the poor, the weak and the marginalised members of the society "every great religion in the world emphasises that there must be a moral imperative of charitable giving. every code of ethics - be it religious or secular - mandates that the strong must look after the weak. from a simple moral perspective, those of us who are blessed with a very comfortable life are obliged to help the less fortu- nate in the society,” intimated dr sheth. he added that in a developing country like kenya where there was a constant struggle to lift millions out of poverty, access to basic healthcare, education and alleviation of hunger was still a distant dream. he also described his own personal encounter with communi- ties living in dire straits in such areas as mathari, kange- mi, mukuru, kibera, kawangware, and gachie; where the needs were so great but options very few, where families have abandoned their disabled members be- cause they had no choice. the opening ceremony “this is how the idea of stawisha maisha came about. we said, it was about time, we found out what every- body else is doing. preparations began last year and 46 community organisation as well as some individual trusts that will showcase their work amid the 57 stalls during the three-day period. it is our hope that visitors, guests and even participants benefit from a better understand- ing of the core importance of charity, philanthropy and compassion,” said dr sheth. chief justice david maraga lauded the incredible out- pouring of volunteer effort, time and resources in order to make the event a success. “i also note that you are targeting our youth and school children to participate in the exhibition. it is these future leaders who need to value and nature the culture of giving back to the soci- ety. at this tender age, they must be taught that every- one can and should be donors, not just of wealth, but all forms of giving should be encouraged, facilitated and organised. maraga added that even as the exhibition celebrated philanthropy and its positive impact to the society, there was a need to also question why our society has such high levels of vulnerabilities. “why is our society so sick, so delinquent and so poor? the fact that well, over 40% of kenyans live below poverty line 54 years since inde- pendence, in my view is a serious indictment against the entire country and an issue that we must all address,” he said, before declaring the exhibition officially open. chief justice hon david maraga with asian foundation officials dr chandu sheth, meera pandit and hasu devani chief justice hon david maraga his eminence john cardinal njue chief justice hon david maraga, dr chandu sheth and dr manu chandaria taw's ashish patel, kajal patel and nisha hirani brahma kumaris group michael laxmi, nimisha vekaria and bharat jani darshna hirani, mohan, champa varsani and manju gorasia ihc hon suchitra durai, retired ambassador r swaminathan and asian foundation team with part of sksst nar narayan ladies band panelists pose for a photo with the moderator and asian foundation officials siddharth chatterjee tiffany cheng nyaggah with vickie winkler moderator john sibi-okumu entertainment before the symposium senior council pheroze nowrojee and dr manu chandaria janet mawiyoo dr chandu sheth deputy indian high commissioner rajesh swami hirji shah the aga khan band by simon muli as stawisha maisha exhibition got underway at the os- hwal centre, a symposium on philanthropy was held at venue’s auditorium on may 13. the quasi-intellectual discussion saw panelists engage the audience in an in- teractive session to not only exchange views about phi- lanthropy but also establish the gaps that are yet to be filled with regards to the noble undertaking. moderated by seasoned journalists john sibi-okumu, panelists of the symposium included dr manu chan- dari, siddharth chatterjee, janet mawiyoo, pheroze nowrojee, tiffany cheng nyaggah, dr chandu sheth and vickie winkler. perhaps to prepare the audience for the discussion that was to follow, a documen- tary that showed the activities of the various chari- table organisations under the umbrella of the asian foundation was screened. several issues emerged during the discussion. first, the private sector had an important role to play as far as philanthropy is concerned. dr manu chandaria, a long time industrialist and philanthropist was the opinion that corporate bodies had to make sure that they have a robust corporate social responsibility that makes a dif- ference in the community among which they coexist. but caution had to be taken even as individuals, corpo- rates and charitable organisations strive to make a posi- tive impact in the society to avoid creating a problem of dependence among the beneficiaries of charity. “help- ing people is also something that requires an educa- tion; it requires skills. unfortunately, the way help has been delivered in african has created a situation where people sit back and expect more,” said janet mawiyoo. tiffany cheng nyaggah and and siddarth chatterjee seemed to agree that education was the key that can unlock the doors of opportunities to the poor and the marginalized. “education is not so much about access, it is also about the quality,” argued nyaggah. “we have a big number of kenyans who are graduates but are not getting jobs. education has to be aligned to the economy,” added chatterjee. vickie winkler on the other hand said that philanthropy needs not to wait until one is ready. “if you have ten dollars and you are not willing to give one dollars, if you get a million dollars you won’t be able to give 100,” she said. ii may / 19 - 25 / 2017 may / 19 - 25 / 2017 iii
i a h s a m a h s w a t s i the stawisha maisha exhibition attracted people from all walks of life to witness the first-of-a-kind fair on philanthropy. here is pictorial coverage of some of the guests who attended the three-day-event. photos by dhruv shah visitors shared their feedback about the exhibition organisations, institutions that showcased at stawisha maisha i a h s a m a h s w a t s i azmina, yogesh pattni and sharad rao villoo nowrojee, vijoo rattansi and surinder kapila ihc hon suchitra durai with ambassador r swaminathan dinesh kapila, navin shah, navin dave, virendra jaidka and sudhir raythatha gita raythatha, gita dave, geeta devani and jaya malde jk haria giving a token of apprecia- tion to dr chandu sheth with dp kothary and dr manilal dodhia kirit pattni with dr david silverstein karim pirbhai with shamira dostmohamed nawaaz, lazeena gulam, shailesh and sanjuti shah np sheth, mary ketter, sister mary killen and dr chandu and pratima sheth mehreen somra, sarah khalid, summaiya khalid, sheikh waqqas, aniqah khalid and aqsa diwen kiuri mburathi, jayesh malde, paresh shah, sr vedanti, tanya martin and swami vigyanandjee najma zaveri, sonal nagda, aradhana trivedi, perry devani, anuradha narasimha and sister chandrika sejal shah and sheel gill sir mohinder dhillon, kanu devani and sam kombo usha and dr rasik kantaria an aerial shot of the exhibition area angela waithira rose mureu it’s a really nice atmo- sphere here. people are friendly and ap- proachable. i have quite several interest but they are linked to sustainable develop- ment. i also do volun- teer a lot and it was good to find people here that are doing a lot for others. i am impressed by the work that they (the philanthropic organ- isations here) have done in supporting the vulnerable and the weak in the soci- ety. i am dealing with children with cerebral palsy and the young jains – who took part in this exhibition – are supporting them. fr simonpeter kamomoe it’s a wonderful thing to help people who are suffering in the society, just like what dr sheth said in his speech that we can never be happy even as an if some members of our families or society are suffering. we are part of the same commu- nity. individual durcas alusala this is a very infor- mative exhibition because most of us did not know how much charity work is going on out there. it also helps if some- one who wants to get into this kind of work to see what other people are doing and see how they can fit in, con- tribute and help in some way. kavingo matundu i come from makindu and i am happy to be at this exhibition because for once it brings so together many organisations that i have had an in- teraction with through their charitable work, particularly regarding a school back in ma- kindu. in fact, i have met the giant group of twiga who have supported close to 90 girls with sanitary pads every year. i have also met hindu religious and service centre who have been very supportive in the area. wanja njoni blessed this exhibition has been an eye opener. going around these stands and seeing what they have been up to has been wonderful. the three day stawisha maisha exhibition saw 47 philanthropic organisations and institutions showcase their charitable activities from may 12 at the oshwal centre. here is a visual spread of each stall that featured, along with some of their repre- sentatives and volunteers. ankit b, harleen kaur, shaileja vaghela and mercy kabaka bella, anil nandha, priti shah, sheetal mandavia and tanya martin the arya samaj women's wing comprises of a group of visionary and enthusiastic women, in- spired by the words of guru manu maharaj. it was established arya stri samaj in 1918 at vedic bha- van. it played a significant role in propagating the mission of maharishi dayanand saraswati, but it has also been an effective organisation in public wel- fare and philanthropic programmes for decades. amrita centre kenya is run under the banner of m. a. math charitable trust, kenya. registered in 2010, they aim to implement the teachings and values of our guru, mata amritanandamayi, popularly known as amma (mother). various projects are undertaken by the centre to transform the lives of the underprivileged mem- bers of the society. caroline onyuka, samuel kinyanjui and caroline sang aga khan foundation (akf) is an agency of the aga khan development network (akdn) which works in over 30 countries around the world. it was founded in 1967. akf’s activities are intended to improve the quality of life of beneficiary com- munities. in east africa, akf focuses sustainable economic development, health, early childhood development (ecd), education and civil society. esther nyawira, ashok shah and jackie tonui as a financial services company, apa apollo foun- dation provides essential services to the commu- nity. they play a role in connecting people with each other, with other communities and key com- munity services. their strategic goal is to enhance food security for all in society by providing com- munities in semi-arid areas reliable access to clean water supply. manisha dave, bansi shah, john shimmon, vasha vora and diana nzisa the amara charitable trust was registered in oc- tober 2008 and is managed and run by five ener- getic and resourceful women with the assistance of one administrator and one ground supervisor. amara’s vision is to build kenya through holistic education and its mission is to provide an all- round learning experience to educate, empower and enhance the lives of children in kenya. sonu nagda art of living was founded in 1981 by sri sri ravi shankar. it is one of the largest volunteer-based ngos. it is an educational and humanitarian organ- isation engaged in stress management and service initiatives. the organization operates globally in 152 countries and has touched the lives of over 370 million people. the programs are guided by sri sri’s philosophy of peace. asian foundation officials with volunteers and students the asian foundation was founded in 1988. its founding chairman was dr. manu chandaria who has continued to be on its committee and advisor till today, 28 years later. it is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit or- ganisation which promotes social and economic develop- ment in kenya and the east african region. it fosters a better understanding of the cultures and values of the indigenous asian populations and the peoples of east africa. it is com- mitted to promoting freedom, peace, harmony, national unity and prosperity among the peoples of the east african region. iv may / 19 - 25 / 2017 may / 19 - 25 / 2017 v
i a h s a m a h s w a t s i i a h s a m a h s w a t s i cindy ogana, vincent oloo, philip odiyo and stella munene jaymangal das and rukma das kala shah and anooj shah sister bhaviksha h with sister dipti shah faraja cancer support trust was founded in 2010 by breast cancer survivor shaira adamali who no- ticed an enormous difference in cancer healthcare and chances of survival between the uk and ke- nya. over the last 6 years faraja has become one of kenya’s most trusted charities, witnessed by the thousands of adults and children who gain hope and comfort from faraja’s free services. faraja can- cer support trust offers services to complement medical treatment through our free complemen- tary therapies and support group meetings. food for life - an initiative by the hare krishna movement (iskcon) is the world’s largest veg- etarian non-profit food relief organization. it is a worldwide project operating since 1974 when it was started by the iskcon founder, his divine grace a.c. bhaktivedanta swami prabhupada. serving over two million meals daily, food for life has been lauded by many notables. in kenya, over 1,000 meals are distributed to the less fortunate daily by iskcon nairobi, kisumu and mombasa. shree jain youth league was founded by thika oshwals in 1941. the league’s aim and objec- tive was to provide welfare services for the poor. their first project was to provide the cost of run- ning a block of rooms at thika district hospital for many years. yet today, they can proudly say they have carried out 37 free eye and ent camps, screened over 400,000 patients, and conducted over 17,000 eye and 5,000 ent operations, com- pletely free of charge. the entire camp is run on a voluntary basis. the brahma kumaris is an international spiritual insti- tution with more than 9,000 branches in over 130 countries. the regional headquarters for africa is based in nairobi, kenya housed at the serve af- rica retreat centre in westlands. the centres offer a variety of short courses, lectures and seminars, which focus on the self-development and values. all activities are offered free of charge. these in- clude: meditation, positive thinking, stress free liv- ing, inner leadership, secrets of self-esteem and many others. effie oketch with angela masha a better life for every individual is a better world; this forms part of the conception of the chandaria foundation, a charitable organisation born over 60 years ago. the foundation, was set up with a philosophy of the chandaria family’s belief in phi- lanthropy. through socio-economic development in education, health, culture, sports and art, that are sustainable with a distinct bias in supporting children, the handicapped and the girl child as the family contributes as the voice of the voiceless. mohamed mustafa, zainab murtaza, murtaza abdulkarim, hon abdulkarim mohamedali and mohamed mohamedali dawoodi bohra community members are approxi- mately 6,000 in number in kenya and they play a vi- tal role socially, economically and politically. when kenya gained independence in 1963, the 51st his holiness, dr. syedna taher saifuddin saheb (ra) came to kenya and strengthened the faith amongst his followers. his holiness advised his followers to be loyal and helpful to the country, and encour- aged them to venture into business. giants ladies members hrsc team giants group of nairobi twiga is a social service group with 42 members. their headquarters are in mumbai, india. in kenya, giants twiga has been doing charity projects since the last 25 years and their main emphasis is in the education sector. supporting karura primary school, sanitary towel project, uji feeding project, computer lab proj- ect are some of flagship projects. the hindu religious and service centre (hrsc) is the service arm of the hindu swayamsevak sangh (hss), which has been carrying out social work in kenya since 1947. the hrsc has carried out several service projects including the school feeding and tree planting programs, which have been appreci- ated by thousands in the country. young jains nairobi is a non-profit organisation formed in 1997 by a group of young profession- als under the inspiration of shashikantbhai mehta, a philosopher in jainism. young jains nairobi con- ducts various charitable activities to help eradicate poverty by providing food, shelter and education to the less fortunate. bomu hospital is a non profit organisation established is the late 1970s when a group of philanthropists saw the unavailability of accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare services in mombasa. a small outpatient clinic was set up in the mkomani area of nyali primarily providing family planning services. through various donors and well-wishers, today bomu hospital operates through its flagship institution located in changamwe. dignitas believes every child has the right to a quality education; however, in nai- robi nearly 63% of students live in marginalized communities with minimal access to government schools. since 2008, dignitas has been partnering with these schools with the goal of supporting school leaders and teachers to improve the quality of education for students. dignitas accomplishes this by building school leaders who are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and beliefs to empower their teachers and transform their schools into thriving institutions of learning. young jains nairobi members bomu hospital team some of asian foundation dignitas members sanjay solanki, pritul patel, sanyah ahad and swapnil trivedy giants group of nairobi is a charity organization in kenya that has been assisting the less fortunate of our society for the last 30 years. giants it is an acronym and stands for generosity,integrity, action, nobility, truthfulness and service. the giants goal is “put a smile... lift up spirits... enhance humanity.” shaina shah, satyan shah, motichand dodhia, manilal dodhia, amu savla and tarachand shah established in 1989 in the presence of pujya gu- rudev chitrabhanu and with his blessings, 40 founder members started the group. dhirendra p kothary was unanimously elected as the founder chairman of jsg. projects such as eye care pro- gramme for cataract operations, cornea grafting and vitreo-retinal treatments, provision of jaipur foot support for amputees, children’s heart sur- geries for corrective procedures are some of their projects. some members from foect foect was founded in june 2012 as an organisa- tion where all tree planting and related activities could be carried out. the trust was set up with the aim of looking after the forest cover and the environment. their core activities are concentrat- ed in kabage forest, within the aberdares which is one of the five principal water towers of kenya. shawn, agnes gomes, alex muhia and mukesh desai in honour of manilal ambalal desai, a great leader in kenya’s fight against british colonialism, the in- dian community built a memorial in nairobi and named it the desai memorial library. in keeping with the vision of desai, the foundation puts great importance on education through initiatives such as scholarships for the needy, donating books to school libraries and other deserving institutions. the main objective of the foundation is to support secondary education within kenya to deserving- children who will shape the future of kenya. some members from baps charities the global vision of baps charities is that every individual deserves the right to a dignified and healthy way of life. established in 2013, baps char- ities harnesses the collective spirit of volunteers to serve communities in five key areas: educational services, environmental protection & preserva- tion, health & wellness, humanitarian relief and community empowerment. dr vijoo rattansi with dr prabha choksey and team dr. choksey albinism foundation is a charitable trust established in kenya with the objective of reaching out to and assisting people, especially children, with albinism. the founder, dr prabha choksey, is an ophthalmologist with experience of over 40 years of being an eye specialist. since 2008, she has been offering free ophthalmic services to all people with albinism and has reached over 800 people, mainly children. viii may / 19 - 25 / 2017 may / 19 - 25 / 2017 ix
i a h s a m a h s w a t s i i a h s a m a h s w a t s i bena and priti doshi darshna hirani, mohan, champa varsani and manju gorasia formed in 1927, shree sthanakvasi jain sangh (ssjs) was set up to enable sthanakvasi jains to practise their faith. ssjs’s charity activities include provision of educational books to the school li- brary and giving sponsorship for full education to five girls at st ann’s gichocho girls second- ary school in 2015. it also refurbished a kitchen at salama gachie school and built an ecofriendly energy-saving jiko for school meals. since the establishment of the samaj in 1953 the community has undertaken numerous projects, including the establishment of schools, medical centres, and temples to name but a few. recent developments include community housing proj- ects and educational facilities expansion, and the community’s vision to establish a hospital is in progress. davis ndonye with odiliah githinji the manav foundation was established by the doshi group of companies for the relief of pov- erty and distress of the residents of kenya and for the advancement of education. our projects have benefited communities within nairobi, and in the eastern and coast regions by supporting schools, dispensaries, children’s homes, community lands, colleges, a church and a local administration office. faisal kassim with aniqah khalid gurdial singh, davinder singh eari and satvinder singh sian the young muslim association (yma) is a chari- table non-profit organisation which became an as- sociation in 1964. the young muslim association and its affiliate al-momin foundation’s principal objectives are the provision of social services, es- pecially targeting the less privileged and vulnera- ble members of our society, particularly orphaned and destitute children, women and the elderly. the philanthropy ethos in sikhs is encapsulated by the sayings of the tenth guru, guru gobind singh jee: “jin prem kio tin hi prabh payio.” some of the philanthropic activities by the sikhs in kenya include free langar for all and sinking of numerous boreholes in the most arid areas of ke- nya to alleviate the scarcity of fresh piped water among others. kenneth onzere the zarina and naushad merali foundation is a charitable foundation established in 2006 for the purpose of betterment and promotion of health, advancement of education and relief of poverty for the residents of kenya. the founding trustees of the foundation are naushad noorali merali and zarina naushad merali. james kioko,narendra shah, raku shah and suli shah premchandbhai foundation was established in kenya in 1959 by the families of kachrabhai, premchandbhai and juthalal vrajpal shah. the foundation has con- tributed to the extension of the lions sight first eye hospital, funded the con- struction of an intensive care unit (icu) in mombasa hospital, a high depen- dency unit (hdu) at the bethany kids children’s centre in kijabe, and donated towards provision of chemotherapy treatment at jalaram medical services. some of the committee members of navnath shree navnat vanik mahajan was founded in 1950 with members from nine ancestral towns in gujarat residing in nairobi. some of its philan- thropic activities include the food for life programme where it is cur- rently providing 7000 school going children with uji every day during the school week. it also has done facilities upgrades in two schools in machakos district as well as provided jaipur foot and other equipment for the physically and mentally challenged. ketaki sheth, azmina pattni, millicent muthoni and sara hinga prina, sajni galaiya, priti doshi and daniel mwita vandana patel, vachini joshi, sonal shah, sabina bindal and pratibha tewary victoria commercial bank charitable trust was set up in 2012 to independently undertake the csr activities of victoria commercial bank limited. the trust support to the jalaram medical service dia- betic centre and chemotherapy services as well as providing over 1.2 million free meals annu- ally through a program called “food for life and cycle for life charity.” veerayatan is a jain organisation focused on pro- moting humanitarianism, education, and inner de- velopment. the organisation provides educational and social welfare services, along with medical services through its renowned eye and orthope- dic hospitals, which have performed hundreds of thousands of surgeries. streeniketan was established in 1978 when kumar pratima pandit visited nairobi and got a group of women to come together. each year, the organisa- tion hosts a large fund-raising event to raise funds for a selected noble cause. donations have been made to cancer research as well as giving stoves to the un in previous years. visa oshwal community maureen pearce with catherine biketi neeraj kamdar with neeraj mehta the trust was registered in 2015 to manage and sustain salama gachie community school project in gachie, kiambu, kenya. the school was found- ed by volunteers in may 2014 and set up as a private school for out-of-school girls and boys be- tween the ages of 6-17 years from the impover- ished community. about 80% of operations costs are covered by donations from well-wishers. sri sathya sai centre kenya is a spiritual and service organisation that aims to benefit society by pro- viding subsidised health care, free food and cloth- ing to the needy, human value based education and conducting spiritual activities. the centre was founded by bhagawan sri sathya sai baba in 1968 during his visit to kenya. one of its main service activities is the sathya sai school, kisaju, which provides free education to students. victor mukele, michael laxmi, nimisha vekaria, bharat jani and judy njuguna prime bank ltd is one of the leading private banks in kenya and was founded in 1992. one of its key corporate social initiatives include the free- dom for girls project where the bank has donated sh 11 million since 2008, hence ensuring 24,444 girls across the country are guaranteed a full year’s supply of sanitary towels and undergarments. some committee members of omm some of oerb ladies members shaina shah, shobhna shah, bindi shah, jyoti shah and dipti malde oshwal mahila mandal, nairobi (omm) is a oshwal ladies non-profit organization. it is a sister organi- zation of visa oshwal community, nairobi. some activities include organising medical talks, talks on organ donation, competitions and skits, oratorical contests and debates, factory visits, overseas trips for senior citizens and cultural programmes such as diwali and navratri. the oshwal education & relief board (oerb) was borne on april 11, 1941. as part of the centenary celebrations, in 1999, marking 100 years, oerb gave out 101 scholarships to the local people for four year university education. in june 2006, oerb conducted a water project where a borehole was dug in oyugis, western kenya just to mention but a few projects. oshwal youth league (oyl) has existed informally since 1928 as part of visa oshwal community and oerb. the most significant projects to date for oyl and women’s wing have been helping the less fortunate and the environment through community outreach, support for school fees, cornea dona- tion, tree planting, and building and refurbishment of various charitable institutions. x may / 19 - 25 / 2017 may / 19 - 25 / 2017 xi
i a h s a m a h s w a t s i justmore kimori with protus wanyonyi the jaipur foot was invented at jaipur, india in 1968. it was introduced in kenya in 1990. there is only one jaipur foot project in kenya which is managed by jaipur foot trust. the project is a so- cial welfare institution funded by donations. it was started to help financially underprivileged physi- cally-challenged amputees. since july 1990 up to december 2016, the project has served 29,807 poor and needy people in kenya who were made to walk again and regain their human dignity. kamal kantaria, kamal kantaria, uma modi and bharti savani kaniz ibrahimji, devota rubana and sarah scott raghuvanshi, popularly also known as lohanas, are a socially dedicated community in east africa and the world over. their valuable contributions, not only in kenya but also in uganda and tanzania, to bring relief to poverty and distress, advancement of education and religion has played a key role. they have been very active donors in cash and in kind towards projects such as jaipur foot, flying doctors and thogoto home among others. the founders of the karimjee jivanjee family, namely hassanali (1872), mohamedali (1876) and yusufali (1882) were pioneers in public charity. the main charity trusts were established in 1940 when they built schools, mosques and community centres in tanganyika and zanzibar. during the 1950s the charitable projects increased and included librar- ies, hospitals, clinics, schools, community centres, social clubs and scholarships for higher education. jatin shah and sagar shah jalaram laboratory & diagnostic centre opened in april 2004. in 2012, they registered as jalaram medical ser- vices and obtained a licence to run as a faith- based medical institution with the motto of seva (service). they subsequently introduced specialist clinics and chemotherapy services for the benefit of less fortunate members of our society, with af- fordable costs. neriah m'bolo, dr romeo soares, arvind dubal, suraj shah and dr stuart gontier jalaram bapa’s life’s message was to feed anyone who passes through virpur, so the devotees wanted to start the unn shetra - free food to any- one who comes to the temple. thus the jalaram chakula programme was launched on august 10, 2000 in kenya. abhijeet gupta, harry njagi and clara suma mrm has a structured approach to shelter, edu- cation, environment and health. the safal mrm foundation runs two primary initiatives, the mabati medical centre (mmc) and the mabati technical training institute (mtti). the mmc avails healthcare services at minimal cost while the mtti aims to equip needy youth of mariakani and its environs with the skills to be self-reliant. monica gokaldas, anuradha nath, mamta advani and punita acharya the lotus healing seva group began in novem- ber 2005 in nairobi, with about seven reiki healers meeting once a month to spread reiki to people with various disorders and life situations. today, 11 years later, they have grown into more than 150 reiki healers in kenya and other countries. they have helped change the lives of more than 3000 people in kenya and many more across the world. part of the karuna charitable trust team some members from kalaniketan shishukunj karuna charitable trust was started by lekha srini- vasan, the wife of the then high commissioner for india in kenya. in her short stay in kenya, she put the trust on a firm foundation by getting prominent women of nairobi as patrons and members. the sole objective of the trust is to raise the quality of life for all by initiating projects to assist people in acquiring education, financial aid and economic security. kalaniketan, a children’s welfare and cultural insti- tution, started in nairobi in 1955. it caters for chil- dren between the ages of six and 14 years and a sunday programme lined up for developing the children’s talent. some of the children activities that kalaniketan is involved in includes shishukunj nursery, scholarship and bursary programmes, textbook loans programmes and technical educa- tion support. xii may / 19 - 25 / 2017