Events & Personalities
Mobeds: Support from HK
One hundred and nine mobeds (pictured, for representational purposes)and 30 widows of mobeds who are aged 60 and above will receive financial assistance from funds collected by the Global Working Group (GWG) starting January-March 2019. "We are indeed delighted that we have been able to address one of the single most important issues facing our community and that is supporting and improving the (lives) of our elderly mobeds and their widows,” wrote non executive chairman of GWG and president of the Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hongkong, Canton and Macao Neville Shroff in an email dated December 11, 2018 to Parsiana.
"When this situation was brought to the attention of GWG, I felt it should be a priority and hence immediately formed a sub committee comprising of (Udvada High Priest and member of the National Commission for Minorities) Dastur Khurshed Dastoor, (WZO Trust Funds chairman) Dinshaw Tamboly with (advertising professional) Sam Balsara as chairman.” Noted Shroff, "our next step forward for our global leaders is (to decide) how can we help our younger mobeds” and even encourage our youth to become priests.
A donation of one crore rupees from a Hong Kong based corporate philanthropic institution made the program possible, stated Tamboly in a note to Parsiana. To qualify for the assistance, the recipient’s annual income needs to be Rs 600,000 or less in case of mobeds and Rs 3,00,000 or less in case of widows.
GWG will "consider ways and means to extend support” to those mobeds who are less than 60 years of age, and who are earning less than Rs 6,00,000, based on requests from younger priests, stated Tamboly.
Payments would be made in advance for each quarter: Rs 19,500 per quarter to priests and Rs 13,500 per quarter to widows, Tamboly explained.
Discussions were held with mobeds and posters distributed at fire temples all over the country. "Much research had gone into the selection process and identifying the numbers involved,” noted Shroff. The committee collated all-India details of deserving cases (see "Support elderly mobeds,” Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, October 7, 2018).
"When this situation was brought to the attention of GWG, I felt it should be a priority and hence immediately formed a sub committee comprising of (Udvada High Priest and member of the National Commission for Minorities) Dastur Khurshed Dastoor, (WZO Trust Funds chairman) Dinshaw Tamboly with (advertising professional) Sam Balsara as chairman.” Noted Shroff, "our next step forward for our global leaders is (to decide) how can we help our younger mobeds” and even encourage our youth to become priests. A donation of one crore rupees from a Hong Kong based corporate philanthropic institution made the program possible, stated Tamboly in a note to Parsiana. To qualify for the assistance, the recipient’s annual income needs to be Rs 600,000 or less in case of mobeds and Rs 3,00,000 or less in case of widows.
GWG will "consider ways and means to extend support” to those mobeds who are less than 60 years of age, and who are earning less than Rs 6,00,000, based on requests from younger priests, stated Tamboly.
Payments would be made in advance for each quarter: Rs 19,500 per quarter to priests and Rs 13,500 per quarter to widows, Tamboly explained.
Discussions were held with mobeds and posters distributed at fire temples all over the country. "Much research had gone into the selection process and identifying the numbers involved,” noted Shroff. The committee collated all-India details of deserving cases (see "Support elderly mobeds,” Readers’ Forum, Parsiana, October 7, 2018).
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