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Lacombe-based A Better World marks 35 years

The Lacombe-based charity A Better World is marking 35 years of making a profound difference in lives around the world.

For Eric Rajah, who founded the organization along with Brian Leavitt, the unflagging support of the community over the years has been an inspiration in and of itself.

"It's an extraordinary start of the year for us because this is the 35th year, and what is significant to me is the generosity of communities like Lacombe, Ponoka, Red Deer - and all those around here," said Rajah, who serves as executive director. 

"That's what makes (it) all worth it to me - the generosity that continues to be shown to a not-for-profit organization here in Lacombe."

Rajah emphasized how the foundation of support is also truly on a grassroots level. "We are relational, and the relationship to our donors is very tight. 

"I've discovered through my studies, and looking at the statistics, that 75 to 80 percent are repeat donors," he said, adding that one-third of the donations also come from the organization's board. "They are always willing to do more and to give more.

"We have a goal, that by 2030 we will have 75,000 students enroled in the schools we have built and renovated in many countries, including Afghanistan, but mostly in Kenya. At the end of December, we had 60,200."

Rajah, who is originally from Sri Lanka, also pointed to ABW's surgery and rehabilitation programs - something the charity started out with from the very start.

"We began with helping children gain mobility, and we are still carrying on with that. The other cornerstone of our success are our volunteers, who travel as part of dental or medical teams, and our board members who travel and help to manage projects as well," he explained.

Something else that has been very rewarding is taking supporters overseas to see the range of projects.

"More than 2,600 over our 35 years - and those people have remained very loyal because they have seen (the work)."

Coming up in June, another mission trip is planned to check out projects in Kenya.

"So this has been my life for these 35 years," said Rajah. "I'm also doing this because of the difference that people have made in my own life - mostly Canadians - even before I came to Canada.

"Some missionaries came and gave my mother the chance to go to school. Her life, and our lives, would not have been changed without them. I also know who they are - I met them in Canada. Believe it or not, they went to Burman University as students. I wasn't even born yet," he added with a smile.

"They had come to Sri Lanka and met my mother, who was not able to go to school," he said.

"My grandparents could not send her to school. There were nine girls and a boy, and the first three usually get to go to school," he explained, adding his mom. was closer to the middle age-wise. 

"The missionaries put her in school. She met my Dad, and became a teacher.

"This is why A Better World's motto is 'Breaking the Cycle of Poverty'. I have seen it in my own, immediate family."

The family later landed the opportunity to come to Canada - settling first in Vancouver in the mid-1970s.

"I was 16, so it's been 50 years that I've been in Canada. And 50 years later, I took my entire family to Sri Lanka to see my grandmother's house where my mother grew up," he said.

As for ABW. Rajah said he had never imagined the organization would grow to the point it has.

It was back in 1990 and Rajah teamed up with Brian Leavitt to invest in a development project. According to the web site, the two men, and a handful of others, decided to pay for reconstructive surgeries for 15 children in Kenya.

Currently, "A Better World has projects in more than 15 countries and has invested $35.7 million in quality education, essential healthcare, and clean water. Over one million lives have been changed for the better."

Rajah has a hard time believing at times how A Better World has grown over the years.

"I wanted to do something because of what people had done for (my family). We would have never come here," he noted. Seeing that kind of help extended to himself personally has influenced him to be more generous, kind, and compassionate, he said. "It has become my life.

"It also changes you in making you appreciate more what other people do for you, too," he said. "Every time I come back from a trip, I'm so thankful." 

For more about A Better World, head to www.abwcanada.ca.

 

 

 

 



Mark Weber

About the Author: Mark Weber

I've been a part of the Black Press Media family for about a dozen years now, with stints at the Red Deer Express, the Stettler Independent, and now the Lacombe Express.
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