Letters From Tej Kohli

As we step into a new decade, I cannot but help looking back...and looking ahead.

In many ways, I have led a privileged life. My childhood was not exactly lived in luxury. I managed to gain entry into the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, from where I graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

I moved to the United States, where I soon began my journey as an entrepreneur and found success. I then moved to Costa Rica, where my businesses thrived.

Costa Rica is a geographically diverse country, with magic in its jungles and stirring beauty along its coastline. The country's beauty is mesmerizing, and it is easy for visitors to not quite notice the poverty that afflicts much of the nation.

One of my friends has a farm in Guanacaste, a province in Costa Rica and I was visiting him once, when I met several needy children and their families.

It was an experience that made a deep impact on my mind. I could not just walk away from their problems and, before long; we set up a foundation and started funding the education of those children and rendering them other forms of assistance. We started with 12 children, and then the numbers kept growing. We paid special attention to the needs of disabled children.

In my mind, I was very clear about one thing. Children are the future and we have to give them something to live for. I was just happy to help spread a little bit of happiness in their lives. And, as the Foundation grows, we hope to help a lot more people have a chance at a lasting, brighter future.

Today, in Costa Rica, our Foundation provides food, education and lodging for kids, as well as occasional medical assistance. Beyond that, the participating children receive a monthly allowance. We follow their educational progress closely.

We have decided to build partnerships with appropriate agencies and charities working in these areas and we also want to spread our activities to new areas.

India was the obvious choice when we decided to expand our programs. On one of my recent visits home, I became aware of the magnitude of the problem of corneal blindness in the country and decided to support efforts to eradicate it.

As a first step, our Foundation has announced that it will cover the cost of corneal transplants performed by the Niramaya Eye Bank in Gurgaon, near Delhi. This would entail $ 100,000 per year for transplants in Gurgaon and an additional $100,000 for each additional city in which the program is expanded.

We hope to help at least 1000 people receive corneal transplants. If we raise awareness of the need for corneal donors, we can overcome this tragedy and help make a big difference in the rest of these people's lives, especially the young among them.

But, given its size and population, there are many other problems calling out for solutions in India. At the foundation, apart from corneal transplants, we have decided to focus on five other areas in India: malnutrition among poor children, vocational training for the disabled, the empowerment of women, education for underprivileged children and rural health care.

Over the coming months, we will evolve appropriate programs in these areas and try to bring together Government agencies, businesses and other organizations to implement low-cost, high-impact solutions to meet these challenges. Initially, when I began working in these areas, I felt like my gifts were not significant enough. But a friend, who saw my name listed, said to me, "Tej, when I saw you had made a gift, I decided to make one, too."

I realized at that point that there is a value in letting your philanthropic gifts be known. I also believe that success should not be achieved or celebrated in isolation.

One of the aims of the Foundation, and something I hold very dear, is to nurture the age-old traditions of charity, and social help. In short, I want every person with whom I come into contact, whether they’re students at the Foundations, or CEOs of my subsidiary companies, to understand the purpose and position of philanthropy and social responsibility in our 21st century world.

During my many travels, I’ve come across unique individuals who are changing the world with imagination and innovation. Many times, I’ve wanted to continue to learn more about these ideas but other areas of concern always overtake my focus.

Now, through these letters, which I hope to write every quarter, I would like to open a dialogue with all of you on how we can collectively solve some of the problems facing our world today and make a difference. The biggest changes begin with the smallest steps. Do take out some time to think about the impact you could make. I hope and pray that all of you have a wonderfully happy 2011. Tej Kohli