My Nonprofit Reviews

"Vinodji joined the university of Rhode Island in economics department. I was in mathematics department of the same university. Our apartments were in the same building of university. Vinodji, Sarlaji, my wife and I used to meet in the evenings sometimes either in their apartment or our apartment. One evening Vinodji said that he will work for 25 years. After that the remaining years of his life he will work for the service of humanity. After a few years he left the university job and joined the world bank.

In 1970s Indira Gandhi declared emergency and put many people in jail. To help those people and their families, Vinodji along with some of his friends started India Relief Fund. In 1977 when India Gandhi
was defeated they did not see the need of IRF and were thinking to disband it. Vinodji persuaded the people not to disband it but use it for sending money for relief work in India.

I started sending money for girls’ education in Rajasthan and I RF was a great help in that. Vinodji used to send the entire amount to the designated institute. Used to write a letter to the institute, put it in the mail along with the check and paid the postage from his own pocket. This continued for 10 years up to 1987.

Then, Vinodji thought that relief is not enough. A person who has lost a house will need a house after the relief time is over, so we should build a house for him also. So, they change the name India Development and Relief Fund, IDRF.

For the last 30 or 35 years I have been sending money for schools, colleges, hostels (dormitories) and other charitable institutions. I could send to all these since 2005. After that foreign contribution regulation act (FCRA) made difficulty for the small institutions. But, I can send to a few as Maharishi Dayanand Mahila shikshan Sansthan. Grameen. Mahila shikshan Sansthan Swami Keshwanand and charitable Institute Sangaria, shiksha bharati Hapur, Pardada Pardadi school Anoopsahar. These are all girls’ colleges or girls’ schools. They are doing a remarkable job, all because of India Development and Relief Fund’s help. We started help building dormitories, colleges and schools in 1982. Up to this time, there are 28 dormitories, 21 schools and colleges.

I go to India every year for four months, July, August, September and October. I used to visit as many as I could. But now at the age of 90, I visit only a few every year, those are.

M. D. Girls college of science Jhunjhunu. This college was started in 2003 with 38 girls. Now there are 1400 girls and 425 of them live in three hostels of the college. This is only a science college teaching mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany, zoology and computer science for B.Sc. and M.Sc. This is one of the best colleges of Rajasthan, perhaps the best. The girls score very high marks in the examinations. Five girls topped in the university examinations in B.Sc. and M. Sc. Admission in the college is on merit. No sears are reserved for the management and recommendations do not work in this college. The college fees for B.Sc. students is between 10 and 12 thousand rupees. Hostel expenses including boarding and lodging is between 25 and 30 thousand rupees. The total is under 40000 rupees for the year.

In this town, there are some colleges where college fees are 45000 rupees and the hostel expenses are between 60,000. 70,000 rupees. The total expenses are more than one lakh rupees.
This college is a boon for ordinary people who cannot afford to pay the fees of expensive colleges. If in the middle of their courses some girls cannot afford to pay, they are given additional financial aid and are not forced to drop out. Now, Birla Institute of technology is imparting better education, but their cost per year for Indians is 2 lakh for Indians and 9 lakh for NRIs.

Grameen Girls college is an equally good college. Beside science this college also teaches Arts. They also run a high school. This college has done a very good job of teaching the girls from the neighboring villages. There expense are about 40 or 45 thousand rupees per year.

Swami Keshwanand Charitable trust runs many colleges and schools. The money they receive from me they distribute as scholarship to needy girls and they also give scholarship to students who are studying engineering or medicine. They will email you the comments of some students who has benefited from these scholarships.
I visit these three institutions every year. They all are doing a remarkable work of parting educations quite inexpensively to the students."