[www.keralites.net] The professional `beggar' for others

 

The professional `beggar' for others MUDAR PATHERYA How Uncle or Ramesh Kacholia, the man behind Caring Friends, started a movement of making the rich part with their money for the larger good of those in need This column is dedicated to Uncle. That's how most people refer to this 79-year old Mumbai evangelist philanthropist. I heard of Uncle when Mamoon, Kolkata's Clint Eastwood-like do-gooder, mentioned him. "Badi takleef me tha...phir Uncle mil gaye." Later, Vinayak Lohani of Parivaar (ex-IIM, IIT, who now runs a free residential boarding-cum-education facility for 1,300 children) dropped the line: "Mera sabse bada support Uncle se aaya." Then someone else. Then more.Each time, they dropped the Uncle line."Uncle yeh"... "Uncle woh". I tracked Uncle to listen to his story.The man, who makes the art of giving so fashionable, commences the exchange by giving me (of course!) something. A book. Uncle presents a copy of The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall. I ask whether this is his standard handshake; he tells me he has given away 5,000 copies of this book till now and influenced others to give away another 20,000 copies in the last couple of decades, which works out to a neat math of around Rs 50 lakh sales for this title. Whoa! This man sitting in front of me actually transformed what would otherwise have been a nice, but largely unknown title into an Indian bestseller. Back to Uncle's story. Uncle worked at a bank for four years in the Seventies, then moved to Zenith Pipes. In 1981, he chanced upon an article in India Today, titled Healing Touch, on Baba Amte. Uncle took a train to see Anandvan for himself. Of all the things he saw in that fascinating oasis of humankind, one picture lingered on his mind: the lepers rejected by the mainstream were engaged in productive labour, walking with a sense of urgency around them, doing this, attending to that. Until now, the only lepers that Uncle had seen were those with bandaged fingers and extended hands. The physically challenged people -deaf, mute and blind -that he had seen in the outside world were consigned to a corner; here they were helping others. It was an awakening of sorts and a transformed Uncle resolved to mediate.He asked Baba for a leaflet; Baba did not have anything that, in modern usage, is referred to as "collateral". Uncle appointed himself Baba's ambassador. He returned to Bombay, spread the word, money-ordered funds (unlike most prospective donors, who disappeared following their return from Anandvan) and in the space of just two years, had won Baba's trust for him to say that Uncle was his "third son". Baba said something else that was to transform Uncle's perspective. He said "help others as well". And then Baba, taking the lead, connected Uncle with a number of people engaged in anonymous grassroots development away from the shore of large cities. There was someone working with farmers in water harvesting practices; another batting for rural women empowerment; one more running a network of remotely rural schools; another providing health care to the poor. Baba had plugged Uncle into a fascinating subterranean network of change-makers, struggling to balance their month-end books but carrying on regardless. Uncle resigned in the early Nineties, went into business, outlined the partnership terms (that would make it possible for him to spend half his time attending to the needs of the larger world) and the result is that by 2003, he had, by his own admission, graduated to become a professional beggar -besharam in seeking help for the larger good. If he got on to a flight, he would charm his way across row passengers to part with their money for a needy cause; if he engaged with a business associate, the meeting would be concluded with Uncle writing out a donation receipt. Normally, Uncle would have been seen as a philanthropic pest; on the contrary, others joined in. His word carried weight; he was like the venture capitalist who said `Donate!' and others obeyed. No questions asked. Gradually, many others joined him, brought in more people and the network grew to 65 members; the loose association extended across the continents referred to as Caring Friends. The group remained nonchalantly non-registered; there was no bank account; no fees or forms to fill; no designations. What seemed like a hopeless case -anonymity, one man-driven, getting the selfish to hold their purses less tightly -has evolved into one of the most influential philanthropic opinion-makers in India. The Axis Bank Foundation was impressed enough to write Rs 37 cr (crores, baby, crores) in support to an NGO called Dilaasa. Caring Friends has inspired people to disburse more than Rs 300 cr across the last couple of decades; the annual disbursement run rate is estimated at Rs 40 cr. It works downstream with 30 NGOs and Uncle's polite writ runs across Foundations and listed companies. A number of professionals have joined the initiative to donate their time and competence (who doesn't need appraisers?). The due diligence is stringent enough to exit relationships when NGOs cannot clearly explain their expenses and the funding efficiency strike-rate is about 80 per cent ("not scared of failing"). And, thus, one man's persistence started a movement. Uncle's name? Ramesh Kacholia.

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Posted by: Cool Kis <cooolkis@gmail.com>

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