Los Angeles Citizen Diplomat Adopts an Entire Village in India
Dr. Amarjit Marwah is the featured citizen diplomat for this story submitted by Jane Elliot. Dr. Marwah has used his retirement to continue his already good work in humanitarian relief efforts and citizen diplomacy. A co-founder of the Bank of Punjab, he has done remarkable things to help those in desperate need in the Indian subcontinent, providing funds to pay for certain necessities like a wedding or for schooling.
Read more of his work in Janet's story. Also, do not forget about sending us your story. The U.S. Center will continue to graciously accept stories of citizen diplomacy.
Los Angeles Citizen Diplomat, Dr. Amarjit Marwah - Adopts an Entire Village in India
The International Visitors Council of Los Angeles (IVCLA) is proud to count Dr. Amarjit Marwah as one of our Citizen Diplomat members. Anyone who knows Dr. Marwah knows why he is highly respected for his generous community involvement. IVCLA members who attend the Annual IVCLA Fulbright Luncheon he and his wife have hosted for the past 20 years, personally experience their warmth and generosity. The Marwahs also consistently welcome international visitors into their home to share their gracious Malibu hospitality.
So Dr. Marwah was a natural choice for IVCLA's Outstanding Citizen Diplomat Award in 2006. Over the years Dr. Marwah has earned numerous awards for his community work and philanthropy, one of his most recent being the Alumni Humanitarian Award, from his alma mater the University of Illinois. The award is presented to those rare individuals who, through their outstanding involvement and dedication, have made a significant contribution of leadership or service which has improved the lives of others.
It is true Dr. Marwah has held many positions serving his community. He has served on the boards of IVCLA and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, chaired the Hollywood Arts Commission and the Los Angeles/Mumbai (Bombay) Sister Cities, and was president of the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission. He founded the first Sikh gurudwara (temple) in Los Angeles in 1969. But it is not just here in the Los Angeles area that he is known for his dedication to the community. Born in Punjab, India he has done amazing work helping the underprivileged in his home country.
Dr. Marwah co-founded the Bank of Punjab, a financial institution committed to community service for India. He has supported various Indian schools, believing that a community can not progress if women are not educated. He and his wife founded the KK Marwah Girls College (named for Mrs. Marwah) in Faridkot, Punjab.
He has adopted schools in India, helping to meet infrastructure needs by building auditoriums and facilities. He's established schools for poor Indian women to learn trades (such as sewing), so they can earn money to feed themselves and their families. He's adopted students, providing scholarships to pay for their educational needs all the way down to uniforms and pencils. He's adopted slum children, convincing teachers to instruct them for free and schools to allow them to use classrooms after regular school hours.
There are also the funds he has provided for families who have found suitable husbands for their daughters but cannot provide the celebratory meals, wedding clothes or household items for their new homes. Then there are the impoverished widows he looks out for - every month, sending money to purchase groceries for these elderly women.
But now Dr. Marwah has adopted an entire village in India. "You see, I'm retired from practice, but I'm very busy," he laughs. Through a private foundation he runs with his wife and three daughters, he will personally provide the additional funds needed with a matching grant from the Punjab government to bring running water, a sewer system, paved streets, a town hall and a small man-made lake to Gurudidhabb, a historic village located near his hometown of Kotkapura. Dr. Marwah explains, "In Indian villages there is no running water, sewer system, or paved roads, so this town has never seen anything like this. When we finish, their health will change, the disease will [vanish] - their outlook will change completely."
Dr. Marwah is truly an inspirational Citizen Diplomat.
Having been fortunate to have a successful dental practice and teaching career on the faculties of the University of Illinois, UCLA and USC, he feels a duty to give back. "You know, God gives you the privilege to do it, and that's what I do," he says. "It might give incentive to other people, I hope, to do things for the underprivileged. That is my wish."
Photo caption " Dr Marwah warmly welcomes international Fulbright Scholarship students to his home for the 20th Annual IVCLA Fulbright Luncheon he hosts in their honor.
Posted Thursday, July 22, 2010