Raj Loomba, UK-Based NRI, Puts His Money Where His Heart Is

Armed with this conviction, 57-year-old UK-based nri Raj Loomba has chosen to play mother to an orphaned cause. A cause distinct from the concerns that usually grip today's world of well-networked social workers. As a start, Loomba set up a first-of-its-kind trust last year to financially assist impoverished widows with their children's education. And if money is any indication of sincerity and concern, then Loomba is hugely involved, he has already pumped in Rs 1.2 crore into the trust. This sum will, in turn, fetch an annual interest income of Rs 15 lakh to be distributed amongst 100 children of widowed mothers with a monthly income of less than Rs 1,500.

To begin with the young beneficiaries are from Delhi. But with plans already afoot to launch intense lobbying and fund-raising efforts in India and abroad, Loomba sees it soon expanding into a nationwide project. An awareness campaign is a necessary prelude to planning on such a scale, he says: "Please ask everybody to call in on 4636832 with suggestions and help."

A rich businessman's whim? An nri dabbling with causes in the motherland? As if anticipating such scepticism, Loomba shares the past that inspires his present and shapes his dreams. Having lost his father at the tender age of 12, Raj was witness to his mother struggling with seven children and the burden of widowhood in Punjab's small town Dhilwan. "Though uneducated, she was a far-sighted woman, and managed to educate us with the money father had left. I saw her battle life first-hand," recalls an emotional Loomba. The trust, named after his mother Shrimati Pushpawati Loomba, is his tribute to her. "When she died in '92, I felt the best way to honour her would be helping poor widows who have to fight to keep their offspring off the streets," says the mild-mannered man thoughtfully.

It certainly helps that this suave samaritan employs the same managerial acumen in his social work that saw his fashion knitwear business go places. Realising the trust's success depends largely on funds being disbursed to the truly needy, he's worked hard on the procedure for selecting deserving candidates. "Starting a swank setup or getting ngos to do it would be wasting money," says Loomba. So he entrusted the ncc with the task: "Its wide reach and impeccable reputation suited the purpose."

And the youthful glee writ large on the faces of beneficiaries validates Loomba's belief. Smiling ear to ear, Anju Rani, 19, Hindi Honours student at a Delhi college, is thrilled that her "regular attendance and academic perseverance" have been rewarded. She says the money will make things easier for her two younger siblings and widowed mother: "Now I can afford to concentrate on my studies. And ma won't have to look so hard for sewing jobs either."

Barely looking his 13 years, frail Rahul jumps with joy at the prospect of being able to help out his four siblings and mother who earns a meagre sum stitching on saree falls. It's the end of nine years of scouring for funds after his father died: "All because I'm good at sport and came second in class! I'll give all the money to my mother," he says, and adds with a mischieveous glint in his eyes "Maybe I'll keep some in the bank also. For when I grow up..."

...grow up perhaps to be another Raj Loomba. And learn from the past lessons that can make a difference to the future: for himself and for others.