A whopping £320,000 was raised in just 20 minutes at a Charity Dinner organised by the Shanta Foundation in London on November 5. The gala charity event in aid of a Critical Care Hospital to be built in Karmsad (Gujarat, India) was held at the Montcalm Hotel in the British capital. About 180 attendees, comprising London’s movers and shakers, graced the occasion and donated magnanimously for the noble cause.
The Shanta Foundation is a charity organisation run by Bhikhu Patel and Vijay Patel, the founders of Waymade Pharmaceuticals. The foundation is named after their virtuous mother, Shantaben Patel who is a role model for the entire family.
The Patels donated another £320,000 – as promised by them to double the money raised at the event by contributing from their own funds – taking the total amount raised to £640,000, which will go to the Critical Care Hospital.
The Charity Dinner was organised in collaboration with British Asian Trust founded by His Royal Highness Prince of Wales and a group of visionary British Asian business leaders. The Trust works for disadvantaged communities in South Asia, and on Saturday it donated a matching fund of £640,000, which will go to various charities transforming lives in South Asia.
The Critical Care Hospital will be part of the Shree Krishna Hospital run by Charutar Arogya Mandal under the able leadership of Dr Amrita Patel.
Speaking to Asian Voice, Vijay Patel says: “There was demand for critical care unit. A request was sent to us from Amrita Patel. My elder brother Bikhubhai visited Shree Krishna Hospital last year. He found the hospital is run very well. Ninety per cent of the treatment given is free. The idea is all about equity. Anyone who comes to the hospital gets equal treatment – be it poor or rich. And hence we decided to sponsor the unit.
“The hospital had a demand for £800,000. I am confident that over the next 2 years there will be more donations coming. The land is ready. Money is ready since it is charity driven. Since we are involved, the funding will be gold-plated. Other than any local domestic issues, I don't think there should be any problem in the way.”
He said Shree CB Patel, Publisher and Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, also attended the event and Karmayoga Foundation donated £5,000 for the noble cause.
Vijay Patel says: “Bhikubhai regularly visits the hospital. He is paying a visit to the hospital in next 2 weeks. I am going in February. Before all the funding is released we will ensure that the accounts are clean and properly audited by reputed European accountants like KPMG. We will have our people at the site for surveillance. Quality assurance people will also be visiting the site. Only after they approve of it, things will move forward. Even though it is charity work, it will be done very professionally. Every single penny will be counted and accounted for. We will also invite all the donors to visit the site.”
Earlier Bhikubhai shed light on the upcoming project and the facilities offered by the state-of-the-art hospital, especially how people will benefit from it.
The entire Patel family (four generations) is involved in Shanta Foundation.
“My mother (we call her Baa) is the first generation. In fact, the first donation was by Baa. She endorsed the project and donated £10,000. She often says you should help wherever you can. She is 97 and a pensioner. Her donation was the inspiration. It encouraged everyone to chip in with their mite. If a pensioner like her can contribute, why can't others. Almost all of them donated in the range of £5,000 to £10,000 to £20,000. We (Bhikubhai and me) and all our children contributed individually to the cause donating £10,000 each,” says Vijay Patel.
Shantaben is the inspiration behind this noble gesture.
“Yes, my mom is behind this knowledge. She is a simple and virtuous lady. She went throught lot of hardships to bring us up, as my father passed away early when we were just kids. Baa ran a kindergarten for almost 25 years in Eldoret in Kenya. Even with her limited earnings, she used to earmark a certain amount for charity. We studied till GCSE O-levels in Kenya free of charge. Now, it’s our turn to pay back. We have the debt of gratitude. Today we run a nursery school there.
“Baa says this wealth is nothing but dirt of hand. Today it is there, tomorrow it may or may not be there. Only good work pays. What you sow, so shall you reap. This is her philosophy in life. She says never be ashamed of your poverty and old parents. Always wear clean clothes, no matter even if it is torn. Basically what she means is keep your mind clean. If something wrong is happening, stay away if you can't rectify it. But don’t become party to it.”
Vijay Patel says wherever good work is done, one should contribute. “I should say we have been very fortunate to have such a good life. And I want that we don't forget our past and roots, our humble beginnings. Our feet should always remain grounded.”
Well, helping a person may not necessarily change the world, but it will certainly change the world for that person.
May your charity increase as much as your wealth.
