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The seeds of the Loomba Foundation’s global campaign to eradicate discrimination against widows can be traced to more than half a century ago in Dhilwan, a small rural town in the State of Punjab in India, when a wealthy local businessman, Jagiri Lal Loomba, succumbed to the still widespread scourge of tuberculosis.
The seeds of the Loomba Foundation’s global campaign to eradicate discrimination against widows can be traced to more than half a century ago in Dhilwan, a small rural town in the State of Punjab in India, when a wealthy local businessman, Jagiri Lal Loomba, succumbed to the still widespread scourge of tuberculosis.
The date was 23 June 1954
The importance of these achievements in transforming the lives of thousands cannot be overstated. It is still however a drop in the ocean worldwide, and more needs to be done to bring relief to the many millions of widows and their families still suffering poverty and discrimination. We have made a great start, and now we have the chance to bring about large-scale culture change. So while we celebrate the past, let us keep our eyes focused firmly on the future to eradicate this injustice from the world.
The curse of widowhood often plunges the whole family into destitution and despair, with consequences that blight communities and last for many decades. Raj Loomba saw that if he could find a way of funding the education of the children of poor widows, it would not only transform the conditions of that family but also provide for a better future for all its members.
If in many villages, towns and cities and in numerous countries it is impossible for widows to find employment – whether because of discrimination or lack of skills – the inevitable consequence is that they must support themselves by other means, and all too often this leads to child labour, prostitution and other forms of exploitation. The Loomba Foundation’s empowerment programme invests in skills training, equipment and microfinance to help widows set up in business and become independent.
The curse of widowhood often plunges the whole family into destitution and despair, with consequences that blight communities and last for many decades. Raj Loomba saw that if he could find a way of funding the education of the children of poor widows, it would not only transform the conditions of that family but also provide for a better future for all its members.
Loomba Foundation launched its first scholarships programme to fund the education of 100 children of poor widows, The Foundation announced its target, that with in a decade it would fund at least 100 children of poor widows-seected purely on the basis of need-in each of India’s (then) 29 States.This meant the Foundation hoped to educate 2,900 children by 2009.
In 2003, Dr Mike Krimholtz walked 350 miles form Resolute Bay to the Magnetic North Pole, raising $2,000. International lawyer Chris Parsons, chairman of the India practices of Herbert Smith Freehills, cycled 2,000 kilometers form London to Gibraltar and raised $120,000: enough to educate 240 children of impoverished widows.
On 22 January 2016 the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, who represents Varanasi in the Lok Sabha, launched the Foundation’s programme to train and support 5,000 poor widows in the city, which was fully delivered in just over two years.
