Testimonials – Donors

Mr. Ramin - President - Committee Maharashtra, Reunion Island, France Donor of Kadalur Student Home and other tsunami projects

“Every project we do in India, we will do it through AIM for Seva.”

Aruna Padmanabham - HR Director, Freescale Semiconductor India Pvt. Ltd. Freescale contributes through corporate donations as well as individual employee contributions for various projects in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand

“I strongly believe that it is every citizen’s responsibility in this country to bring up another child which is less fortunate.”

Dr. Terry Papneja - Donor and President, AIM for Seva, Toronto, Canada

“At AIM for Seva in Canada, we believe that education is the critical factor that draws the line between being able to live a decent life or wallow in poverty.”

Hemlatha Ravi - Treasury & Taxation Manager, Corporate Finance - Emirates Group, UAE. Donor for Dharmapuri Student Home, Tamil Nadu

It is heartening to know that step by step AIM for Seva is improving the quality of life of many. Even in the short time they have been around, the progress is already visible and concrete. The organisers and the volunteers display a high degree of accountability and youthful enthusiasm and are committed to the highest principles of living and to the inclusion of all. When Emirates decided to fund one of the AIM for Seva student homes in Tamil Nadu, I visited a couple of their existing homes there. The best testament comes from the smiling faces of incredibly bright children whose lives have been touched. An opportunity has been given to them to get out of their extreme poverty, achieve their potential and become contributing members of society. And the change is remarkable. From toddlers reciting nursery rhymes in English to bright eyed children diligently doing their homework every evening under able supervision, they make you aware that it is only equal opportunity that separates them from those of us who have been given everything we need by God's grace. A little conscientious gesture from each one of us has the power to become a mighty movement which AIM for Seva's founder Swami Dayananda Saraswatiji has envisioned. Let us be a part of his vision and the Dharmic way of Hindu life.

Mr. Sampath Srinivas - Software Entrepreneur, Bangalore Donor for Sathyamangalam Student Home, Tamil Nadu.

"I was introduced to AIM for Seva at a time when I was looking for the right opportunity to which I could donate some money to. I was looking for something in primary education where the overheads would be low and the impact would be immediate and tangible. I also wanted an organization where I felt I could trust the people unconditionally to do the right thing. I was very impressed with the simplicity and common sense behind the chatralaya concept as a way to keep poor children in school. I was also very impressed with the Aim for Seva team and it was a very easy and quick decision for me to contribute towards setting up a new chatralaya."

Rajiv Malhotra - Head of Infinity Foundation, Princeton New Jersey, USA Donor of Serudur Tsunami Project

My reasons for selecting AIM for Seva over all other NGOs that I looked into are summarized as follows:

• I want a group that respects the native culture of the people rather than trying to use their distress to convert them, because such conversions especially under duress cause long term disharmony and breed divisions/clashes inside India. This alone disqualifies many prominent groups.
• The organization should have extensive experience in Indian village/tribal development projects, and should have established on the ground tsunami village adoption projects. AIM for Seva has many such tsunami projects. NRI communities in places like Allentown, Pa. have already adopted villages with them.
• Any US donor should have DIRECT access to the team doing work in India. I have personally called the AIM for Seva leadership in India and had instant access to them by phone. There is no bureaucracy in the middle.
• 100% of the funds donated should go to the village project - AIM for Seva has assured of this.
• People visiting India, or their kids wanting to do community service, should be able to go and get personally involved at their discretion. (One of the leaders of the AIM for Seva team in India is a young NRI second-generation woman in her 20s who was raised in the US, and who has relocated to India to work with this organization.)
• There should be a US based office directly involved in the project, which should be always approachable by us. Janet Falk who lives in Arsha Vidya Gurukulum, Pa., is the head of AIM for Seva in USA, and she will visit us in New Jersey to give a talk once we have the funds ready to give to her. Dr. Krishnan Ramaswamy, Long Island resident, has already helped raise significant funds from other NRI communities (for their own separate village adoption projects through AIM for Seva), and he will be present to explain AIM for Seva and its projects as well.
• I plan to visit their project once we have the funds raised, to not only offer my services but also to bring back a status report with pictures of the project.