Mrs Kanchan Ellam, Founder and President of "Children are Treasure" with her husband Aly (left), her cousin Brijesh Hari and some of her younger beneficiaries at the school in Pomgaon.
The Geneva based ‘Children are Treasure’ is not your run-of-the-mill foundation, most of which tend to be vehicles to cater for the philanthropic urges of those who have large family fortunes. This one was founded as a non-profit organisation in 2003, when Kanchan Nair (now Mrs. Ellam), a young lady in her mid-twenties returned to Switzerland, the country of her birth, after having left to study and work in the United States and India (the country of her origin). Always interested in children’s causes, her aim was to promote and support children’s primary education and health in developing countries and in regions affected by war, natural disasters and diseases.
She initially concentrated on raising funds through private donations from her personal network of friends and contacts. The money was distributed to various projects which already had existing structures to ensure that the funds were used efficiently. In 2008, she discovered the cause to which she has remained committed to this day. During a visit to her family home in India, she went to a school in the village of Pomgaon only a few kilometres away and saw the extremely dilapidated state of the building and facilities in which the 100 students were obliged to study. Kanchan “adopted” the school and with the Committee of Treasure, took the decision to support the school by providing hygiene, educational and medical follow up for the students, as well as repairing and expanding the premises. The Committee wanted more children to attend the local school and improve the quality of education. The images in the 4 minute film posted on YouTube and the photographs posted in the Projects section of the website speak for themselves. Today, the school has more than 250 students and the success of this project has encouraged Treasure to use it as a prototype to improve two more schools in neighbouring villages. With support from her India based cousin, she is also trying to convince well-off residents and local real estate developers to donate and participate in the project to create a snowball effect through which many more schools will benefit. The organisation is also involved in several healthcare related projects for the children; two of the members of the Honorary Committee are doctors based in Mumbai and regularly organise medical camps at the schools.
It is indeed impressive to see the dedication that Kanchan and her fellow committee members (most of whom work in full-time jobs and are unpaid for their voluntary work) bring to their cause. I was “shown the light” by my friend J. William Tavelli (who is active in the fields of fundraising and philanthropy in Geneva, and is a good friend of Treasure) and converted to the cause over a masala chai and an hour long conversation with him and Kanchan. I am now a devoted follower and have agreed to play an active role in organising their ambitious Charity Gala in September.
Over the years Treasure has organised several cocktails, dinners and other fundraising events, the most successful of these being the Treasure Ball in April 2011 held at the Geneva Intercontinental which attracted 210 guests and raised a total of CHF 43,110.30. The event being planned for September 2013 is even more ambitious and promises to be a poly-cultural affair combining Bollywoodian spectacle with a fashion show, an art exhibition, a display of designer jewellery, an auction and a DJ who will no doubt have Gangnam Style (and several variations thereof) as an integral part of his repertoire. While it is safe to assume that a wonderful time will be had by all, the real beneficiaries of the evening will be the schoolchildren of Pomgaon, Shiravali and Maripur.
Will YOU be there? If you can’t make it to the event, a small donation will go a long way towards supporting a worthy cause.
Related articles written by Anil Rikhye and J. William Tavelli:
Empowering Women Through Entrepreneurship
The World Development Report 2013 : Jobs Excellent Research, Poor Execution
Is Charity Dead? The Role of Corporate Philanthropy in Today’s Business Environment
