A Tribute to a Benefactor and His Vision to Educate Young Kids

The math teacher Carmen Johnson with four of the eight mentors who tutor kids in the classroom.           Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

The math teacher Carmen Johnson with four of the eight mentors who tutor kids in the classroom. Photos: Jawahar Malhotra

By Jawahar Malhotra
HOUSTON: As twenty young kids stood on the steps of the stage of the cafetorium playing “Amazing Grace” on their musical recorders and four elder ones stood above them accompanying on their violins, the projected picture of a beaming, robust David Raj smiled down on them and the audience and eerily, it was as if he was giving his benediction to those who had come to pay him tribute.

iEducate President Dr. Roopa Gir spoke about the beginnings and goals of the program.

iEducate President Dr. Roopa Gir spoke about the beginnings and goals of the program.

The simple two-hour program started with snacks and reception in the library and then moved to the cafetorium was held to renew emphasis on the mentoring program at Crockett Elementary School. It was organized by the woman whom Raj had chosen to carry forward the torch after he passed away on September 28, 2013, Roopa Gir, a close friend who had visited him just a few days before his death of complications due to cancer in Chennai, India. The program also featured a solo vocal performance of “All is Well with My Soul” by first grade teacher Sakeo Martinez. Raj’s cousin Gita Thomas who has been a fifth grade teacher at Crockett for the past ten years spoke of the passion that Raj had for helping others. She read a poem written by David’s friend and former IACF President, Anu Bala, in memory of Raj.

Students played two songs on their recorders and violins in homage to David Raj whose photo was projected on the screen behind them.

Students played two songs on their recorders and violins in homage to David Raj whose photo was projected on the screen behind them.

Raj had been a fixture in the local community ever since he came on the scene as a Director on the board of the Indo American Charity Foundation in 2009 and through its auspices, he had nurtured the organization’s nascent Education Initiative started two years ago and taken it personally to heart. He had donated considerable amounts of his personal money and energy to getting the program off the ground and sculpted his year of presidency at the IACF to focus on the kids at Crocket Elementary, featuring them onstage and as the musical entertainment at the 25 year-old non-profit’s annual fundraising gala in 2012.
Even though he was well aware of the terminal stomach cancer that raged within him, he inaugurated the iEducate program in this exact same cafetorium (see IAN dated Aug. 30, 2013) just a scant few weeks before he left Houston, entrusting its finances and management to the hands of his brother Daniel and some close friends who formed the Board of Directors of the new non-profit organization. These included Dr. Rupa Iyer (Education Chair), Subba Viswanathan (Governance Director), Ranjana Narasimhan (Co-Chair Education), Jose Villarreal (Secretary), Imtiaz Munshi (Treasurer), Dharma Rajah (Vice President Marketing), Paras Choudhary (Vice-President Communications), Dr. Roopa Gir, the first President and Ramesh Anand (Advisor).
Many of them were at the event held last Friday, December 13 at Crockett Elementary off Taylor Street in the inner-city to pay a tribute to Raj and bring attention to the earnest launch of the program. The incoming IACF President Ramesh Cherivirala acknowledged Raj’s passion for educating young minds and promised support. Daniel Raj and Viswanathan also spoke briefly, as did Gir in praise of David’s foresight into the crying need for mentoring kids from the elementary level.
“The US is now ranked 48th in the world in Math and Science. The mentoring program that has been setup at Crockett helps young minds when they need it the most and follows the kids as they move through grades. The results speak for themselves”, said Gir, as she shared how the school’s fifth graders had improved their scores in math and science from failing to straight A’s and lifting the school from 56% to the 72% range. Two young success stories – Blessing Andrade and Michael Franco, both former fifth graders – briefly described how the mentoring program had helped them. Blessing is now an Honor-Ro;; student and said she was shocked when “Mr. David donated $1,000 right away to support us”. Michael said he loved math and was getting straight 100’s now.
The impact of the program was acknowledged by the Principal Claudia Chavez who spoke of the generosity and commitment of David Raj and the Education Initiative that the IACF had sponsored for the last two years. Carmen Johnson, the math teacher, brought four of the tutors to the podium to be recognized for their efforts that had turned the fifth graders around. They in turn spoke of the enthusiasm of the kids and the uniqueness of the program that provides in-class mentoring that helps the students learn and excel.