<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">NEW DELHI: On November 11, Bill Gates will come calling. His itinerary includes a visit to Andhra Pradesh where the Bill Gates Foundation has given a grant of $25 million for a joint project to the Children''s Vaccine Program. He is also expected to announce a long-term, strategic commitment to support India''s efforts in its fight against HIV/AIDS.
For the past few years, the Gates Foundation has been giving grants to several education and health related programmes in India.<br />Why is India the philanthropist''s favourite mall? Says Joe Carrerr of Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation: "Bill is very passionate about fighting AIDS, since in India it is not yet a big problem, he feels putting in money for the cause will avert a crisis later. Also, he wants to return some of what he has got back to society."<br />According to Rajeev Haldar of Prayas, "For most, it is a great image building exercise. For some who believe in repaying society, India is their favourite since they can work at the grassroots level. Also, there is no dearth of causes."<br />For Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith, Penelope Cruz, Tom Cruise, Goldie Hawn, singer Ricky Martin, Spanish pop star Ignacio Cano, cricketer Steve Waugh and the rest, India, especially our cities, have become a prime destination for cause-hunting. On October 10, Hollywood actress Melanie Griffith organised a gala fund-raiser dinner in her Los Angeles mansion where Penelope Cruz, Tom Cruise and others sold their personal belongings for Kolkata''s destitute children.<br />Kolkata and Delhi, teeming with street kids, have specially become a paradise for those who want to "give something back to society". In Kolkata, for example, the Sabera Foundation, a home for street children and orphans named after the girl who was adopted off the streets and taken to Spain by singer Carlos Nacho, has the backing of the entire Spanish fraternity in Hollywood. So while Penelope Cruz heads the US operations, she is helped by Banderas and Griffith, Tom Cruise and supermodel Esther Canadas in her endeavour. Girls from here have stayed at the palatial Los Angeles home of Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith and have swum in the sea wearing swimming costumes borrowed from their daughters, Stella and Dakota. Sometimes they have gyrated with Ricky Martin and Spanish pop star Ignacio Cano.<br />The Spanish connection has also got the Real Madrid Foundation involved. Forty six boys were tested and selected from a local club outside the girl''s home in Kolkata and are being trained by the foundation which has sponsored the gear, which includes boots, balls and jerseys. Apart from football every evening, the boys are trained in English twice a week and are given an evening meal, sponsored by thee Spanish restaurant chain owner Carlos Galan.<br />Author Dominique Lapierre''s association with Kolkata began after he penned <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The City of Joy</span> and started a foundation by the same name. For Rev John Steven''s Udayan, the home for children of leprosy sufferers, cricketer Steve Waugh came as a messiah. He has been funding the home and visiting the boys regularly. He has also helped in setting up Nivedita House, the girls wing, and is now helping raise funds for Ashray, another home for about 200 destitute girls.<br />In Bhopal, Dominique Lapierre and his nephew and co-author Javier Moro have been donating regularly to the Sadbhavna Trust. Initially, they donated 100,000 Euros and followed it up with a few more. Lapierre says he has donated more than $5 million for various humanitarian causes in India "because it gives me immense satisfaction and I''m proud to be associated with such dedicated work."<br />Delhi too has its share of foreign celebrities working for a cause. There was Richard Gere, a few years back, raising funds for AIDS. Actor Steven Segal gave grants to Prayas Institute of Juvenile Justice, an NGO for street children. Even now he has taken up their cause among his Hollywood friends. Segal, also known as Rinpoche after becoming the Dalai Lama''s disciple, has been raising funds for Tibetan children regularly.<br />For some western celebrities taking up causes in India, the fact that NGOs are better organised here is a motivating factor. "The administrative and accounting systems of NGOs are well organised and there is transparency. Celebs feel comfortable about putting money here," adds Haldar of Prayas.<br />For Waugh, it was just an opportunity he was looking for. "I heard his interview where he said he wanted to do something for underprivileged children. I wrote a letter to him. He replied and came to see the home. There has been no looking back," says Shamlu Dudeja, who was instrumental in bringing Waugh and Udayan together.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Who gives whom</span> • Steve Waugh: Udayan, Ashray: homes for destitute children in Kolkata • Dominique Lappiere: Udayan, Southern Health Improvement Society, Howrah South Point Home for Handicapped Children, United Brothers'' Association, Sambhavana Trust in Bhopal • Mats Wilander, Pat Cash, John McEnroe: GOAL • Ricky Martin, Penelope Cruz, Esther Canadas, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith: Sabera Foundation • Real Madrid: The Real Madrid Academy, culled from Nabarun Sangha boys. • Steven Segal: Prayas Juvenile Home • Richard Gere: NGOs working in the field of AIDS<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">What they have done</span> • Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas: Have taken girls from Sabera for a short holiday live with them in LA. Organised gala fund raiser dinner for Sabera. • Penelope Cruz, Tom Cruise and Esther Canadas: Sold their personal artefacts to collect funds for Sabera • Ricky Martin: Sang, played football and had lunch with the kids at Sabera Foundation<br />(With imputs from Chita Siddartha in Kolkata and Suchandana Gupta in Bhopal) <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Our comment:</span> This makes it clear that while we may like to pat ourselves on the back for our many scientific and technological achievements, in the eyes of the international community poverty remains our biggest attraction. </div> </div>
