The Azim Premji Foundation (1) was started in 2001 by Mr. Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro (2) and India’s top philanthropist to promote primary education in the country. Wipro is one of India’s leading information technology companies and Mr. Azim Premji was the first Indian to sign up to the Giving Pledge (3), a campaign led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
In 2020, when the first Covid wave struck India, many hospitals were overwhelmed. The Azim Premji Foundation stepped into the breach and funded several hospitals in remote rural places to combat the pandemic and stay afloat in the face of severe adversity (4). Makunda was one of the hospitals that was privileged to benefit from this initiative by the Foundation.
When we started our partnership, Mr. Narayan Krishnaswamy (Director – Human Resources at the Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives) took the extra step of understanding the work at Makunda. After a few interviews, he decided to write our story in the form of a cartoon strip in a publication brought out by the Foundation called “The Dispatch” to motivate young people to consider a life of rural service.
Ann and me are privileged to have our story told in this format by such an eminent Foundation. We thank Mr. Narayan Krishnsawamy and the creators of the cartoon strip, Mr. Bijoy Venugopal (Script) and Mr. Tadam Gyadu (Art) for the beautiful way in which they have brought out our story – we pray that it will inspire those who read it, bring glory to God and lead some to a journey of faith like the one that we were privileged to embark on. May God bless Mr. Azim Premji and all the staff of his companies and the Azim Premji Foundation and continue to make them a blessing to many.
References:
- https://azimpremjifoundation.org/
- https://www.wipro.com/
- https://givingpledge.org/
- https://azimpremjifoundation.org/Covid-19
The cartoon strip can be viewed or downloaded from here:
The Sparrow's Nest 