US NRI after retirement, fulfill his dream with a
mission to teach children in India how to read and write well.

New Delhi, Jan 18, 2004

For Anil Shah, an Indian American based in Houston, the Great American Dream that powered his youthful days acquired a new resonance five years ago.

"I took voluntary retirement five years ago from a multinational construction company I was working with. I wanted to do something different," says Shah.

He had money, status and identity, but something vital was missing in his life. There was an itch to do something different, something that will make a difference to the lives of people of the country he left behind.

The inner voice that's been quietly telling him about doing something for the poor and the marginal became more insistent and eloquent. And then someone told him about Pratham - an NGO that was started in 1993 with the mission to teach children in India how to read and write well.

"It was like a prayer being answered as I wanted to get involved with social work connected with children. It changed my life, gave a new meaning to my whole existence," Shah told IANS in an interview. He had come here to attend a workshop organised by Pratham.

Now Shah speaks in the tone of a convert, a man who has finally reached his promised land. "We have been able to generate at least a quarter million dollars through fundraising galas. More and more Americans are increasingly becoming aware of Pratham's activities," says Shah, president of the US chapter of Pratham.

If Pratham has been able to establish its presence in 20 major US cities, it's largely because of Shah's tireless efforts, along with those of his colleagues Yogi Patel and Vijay Goradia to infect others with the cause of spreading literacy.

"The scale of illiteracy in India is simply mind-boggling. We must ensure that every child has access to play school. Imparting education to children must become a mass movement," says Shah.

He then goes on to speak enthusiastically about providing library facilities to children in every district. "The presence of a library creates in children a love for learning. It's absolutely imperative that we create a learning culture."

Women's empowerment is another area that galvanises him. "At Pratham, we believe in giving women a sense of purpose and direction. We train our women volunteers to teach school children and also pay a token salary to them. But more than money, it's their love for what they are doing that brings them to Pratham," says Shah.

"The idea is to create an army of committed citizens who can then bring in a radical social transformation," says Shah in the tone of a missionary. "Pratham volunteers are like a thousand points of light," says Shah, exhorting every one to join this movement of bringing sweetness and light into the lives of children darkened by years of denial and neglect. IANS

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