The American India Foundation, founded and supported by valley tech
executives and entrepreneurs, has so far raised $33 million for India, including
more than $8 million in 2006. In just a few years, the organization, of which
former President Bill Clinton is an honorary chair, has become a leading
U.S.-based non-profit directing help to India.
Sushma Raman, a program manager with the Ford Foundation, said the group
reflects the valley's collaborative ethos. It's also got the cash, the
connections and the business smarts to do more than just throw money at a
problem.
``They've managed to develop a system of networks in the United States of
mostly people who give not only money, but also time,'' said Raman, whose
organization has given AIF a couple of small infrastructure-building grants. ``I
can't emphasize enough the importance of people doing things collectively. The
fact that in five years they have been able to ramp up without any one
individual donor, like a Henry Ford or Carnegie, is impressive. They've brought
together people who have put aside their egos.''
AIF was created to help rebuild India's Gujarat state after a devastating
earthquake hit the region in 2001. The organization now takes a business-minded
approach to a handful of areas -- education, HIV and AIDS, ``micro loans'' for
poor entrepreneurs and programs that help people develop work skills, such as
making furniture -- and look for measurable success.
Initially, there was concern that India wouldn't necessarily welcome the
philanthropists back with open arms.
The feeling from some, Krishnan recalled, was, ``Who were they to come and
tell us what to do?''
Azim Premji, chairman of the Indian information technology giant Wipro, said
that in the past when foreign groups have gotten active in India, ``People
typically ask, `Are they trying to influence us?' ''
Though initially hesitant, Premji recently agreed to allow his family
foundation, which provides assistance to 20,000 schools in India, to form a
partnership with AIF.
Unlike most other immigrant communities, Indians have been more able to use
the professional connections and the wealth they've garnered through successful
careers in tech to give back to their homeland. And they are able to exploit the
A-list status of India, among companies, employees and the general population,
who all have India on their radar.
``There are probably more successful entrepreneurs of Indian origin in
Silicon Valley than in any city in India,'' observed B. Ramalinga Raju, founder
and chairman of Hyderabad-based software outsourcing giant Satyam. ``They have
not forgotten their roots. They want to contribute based on their experiences.
They realize that leadership is the primary contributor for change, not mere
checkbook charity.''
Education and work skills are at the core of AIF's philanthropic philosophy.
The group is funding projects to teach women who survived the 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami new skills, such as brick making, to replace unreliable industries such
as fishing. It is supporting a non-profit that is instructing Bangalore
embroidery makers to form collectives to take on bigger projects and get more
business.
And it aims to open up the world of professional careers to the poor through
the Digital Equalizer program, which, in particular, resonates with many AIF
supporters, a good number of whom have made fortunes in technology.
``This is our talent. This is our living. We know how to do this,'' said
Vinod Dham, father of Intel's Pentium microprocessor and an AIF board member.
Initially, the foundation provided the computers, networking equipment and
software, as well as teacher and student training for three years. Now it is
forming partnerships with the government and valley companies, such as Intel,
Advanced Micro Devices, Applied Materials and Adobe, which underwrite much of
the cost, while AIF provides training and supervision. More than 670 Digital
Equalizer centers exist around the country. AIF plans to increase that to as
many as 2,000 next year. Overall, the foundation has spent about $3.5 million on
the project, including $1.5 million in 2006.
``What it will mean is, the kids in the ninth, 10th and 11th grade will be
using Excel spreadsheet better than I know how,'' Dham said. ``We are going to
generate a cadre of people who will not only be employable, but will see the
world differently than I did when I was growing up.''
The Digital Equalizer program was first envisioned by valley business leader
Kailash Joshi and Kumar Malavalli, co-founder of San Jose's Brocade
Communications, who has donated about $500,000 to the cause.
``Just giving PCs alone won't help them,'' Malavalli said. ``There has to be
content -- English, science, math, those three topics. Without that content, you
can't make them successful professionals.''
It also gives them access to the Internet, and a view of the world outside
their impoverished neighborhoods.
But organizations that hope to improve the educational system have no choice
but to work with the sometimes cumbersome government bureaucracy.
Because 90 percent of India's primary schools are overseen by state
officials, it's crucial to have a constructive relationship with them, Wipro's
Premji said. ``We have to play a very low-key role so the state government gets
all the credit, the state-government politicians get all the credit,'' he said.
``The moment we start being front-end on this, they feel threatened and they
will not work with us. So you've got to play the politics well.''
Krishnan added, ``I would say our experience with the government has been
more positive than negative.''
Any bureaucratic tussles are forgotten when lives are changed. Adding
computers to the classroom can transform a school, said G.S. Raghunath,
headmaster of Rajarajeshwari Vidya Mandir, another Bangalore government high
school.
``The moment we introduced the Internet-based education, it changed their
behavior,'' he said. ``This program energizes students to learn, to do better in
other subjects.''
He pointed to Divya, a 15-year-old student whose father is a carpenter. The
experience with the school's 5-year-old Digital Equalizer program has opened her
up to possibilities her family never dreamed of before.
``I want to become a software engineer,'' said Divya, smiling broadly.
