WZO briefs

"The largest single donation ever received by WZO, not to be capitalized but for immediate application towards charitable causes,” as World Zoroastrian Organisation chairman Sammy Bhiwandi­walla described it, totaled a cool £ 400,000 (approx Rs 3.2 crores).

When Alex Burns and Jill Ruhomutally, trustees of the Dennis Williams Richards Will Trust (DWRWT), were looking for potential beneficiaries who in their opinion would do most to improve the lives of the underprivileged in India, they approached his long time friend Rohinton Irani for assistance. Irani, whose annual garden party raises funds for WZO projects, introduced them to Bhiwandi­walla. Identifying a number of potential beneficiaries including WZO, the group arrived in India and went on a fact finding trip, hosted by Dinshaw and Bachi Tamboly of WZO, India.

Impressed by the dedication and professionalism of the Tambolys, the DWRWT trustees not only decided to allocate £ 180,000 of the £ 400,000 available in the Will Trust to seven WZO charity projects but entrusted the WZO with the distribution of the remaining £ 220,000 to their 13 other selected charity institutions in India including the Masina Hospital in Bombay, the Jai Vakeel Day School and Residential Home for the mentally challenged children, the Sneha Sadan Society which aims to keep the under-privileged children off the streets of Bombay, and the Cheshire Home for the physically challenged.

The WZO projects and funds which benefited from this generous donation, which came in two equal instalments, included the Women and Childrens’ Fund, the self-employment schemes, the Senior Citizens Centre in Navsari. Moreover, the WZO was able to build 25 basic brick and mortar homes to replace the huts of the poor Zoroastrian farmers in Gujarat, Bhiwandiwalla acknowledged the munificence in his speech at the WZO annual general meeting. The 20 charitable projects thus cover all age groups and include education, housing, medical care and vocational training.

The trustees of the Erach and Roshan Sadri Foundation (ERSF) have also donated towards three WZO projects in Iran and India notes a letter from WZO president Darayus Motivala. The Pourchista Foundation in Yazd, Iran has been allocated £ 18,500 for the establishment of a Skills Centre and Senior Citizens’ Day Centre, to equip the latter located in a magnificent house donated by Zoroastrian philanthropist Mehraban Zartoshty. A further £ 37,000 for the Gujarat farmers project will be used for the replacement of 10 more mud and cowdung huts with brick built cottages, notes Hamazor. The administration of the ERSF Academic Scholarship Grants for undergraduate and vocational studies for the residents of India, Pakistan and Iran to pursue their higher studies in their home countries has also been entrusted to the WZO. Applicants need to contact the local WZO offices in Bombay and Karachi or, in the case of Iran, WZO, London.

The UK Charity Commission has been discussing the relationship between religious charities and public benefit since late 2006, notes the WZO report. A view expressed by WZO in the consultation draft has been incorporated in the final document viz "Many expressed the view that religious organizations play an especially important role in providing assistance to certain members of society, for example immigrants and refugees both in helping them to establish themselves in a new country and by allowing them to practice their religion (such as in the case of Zoroastrianism) which they may not be able to practice in their country of origin.”

Case studies of the WZO’s work for refugees and asylum seekers have never been publicized. International committee member Prof Shahin Bekhradnia has been the organization’s focal contact in this regard and as per the report has appeared as expert witness at immigration hearings and appeals and continues to do so. One change in emphasis of this line reported by the WZO is the increase in the number of requests for assistance in gaining asylum in their countries of residence from refugees living outside the UK.

The WZO report for the year ended December 31, 2007 also speaks of a change in the WZO website (www.w-z-o.org) which is now an interactive one. Unfortunately, the annual general meeting of September 28, 2008 is not yet reported on it.