This has been another wonderful year of collaboration and expansion. We have great aspirations to reach out to more communities and create an even larger impact. Our efforts remain aligned with what Dr. Sehgal always says, as many of you know: “Small is beautiful, but big makes an impact.” We have the capacity, will, and the resources to spread out, expand our horizons, and do our shared duty for society.
Dr. Suri Sehgal is a living legend who has always dared to dream big. After a successful career in the seed industry, he created seed businesses with his wife Edda and they did very well. He always said that India gave him a very good education that created the foundation for his ability to achieve wealth. In the spirit of gratitude to his country of origin, Dr. Sehgal, along with Edda, started this amazing organization that has already done so much to help develop rural India. We are so proud that under his leadership, Sehgal Foundation has flourished and continued to make tremendous strides. We are now recognized as one of the most credible organizations in the development sector . . . and, as Dr. Sehgal says, we remain a work in progress, with still so much more to be achieved.
I am delighted to announce that Dr. Sehgal has nominated Jay Sehgal as his successor and chairperson of the board of S M Sehgal Foundation. With Jay’s extensive experience in leading the organization during the early years of the foundation as executive director, and thereafter serving on the board, Jay brings a unique combination of leadership, grassroots experience in community work, and a robust strategic vision. Aligned with the Sehgals’ vision, Jay is an advocate of a people-centric approach, ensuring that we build a strong, long-term, sustainable organization with a motivated team, with focus on efficiency, impact, and quality.
Jay Sehgal and Anjali Makhija, in a community meeting in 2005
For those on the team who came later, I will share a few small incidents from Jay’s journey during the formative years in our organization. In those early years, Jay always said that he was here to learn. Jay, Pooniaji, Lalit, and I used to go together for community meetings in the villages. Depending upon the availability of the community, Jay readily came with us during the early hours of the morning or late in the evening. Jay helped us pick up stones in the summer heat along with members of the community when we built the first check dam. Right from the beginning, he was a strong advocate of women’s leadership. I have no doubt when I say that, among our board members, he has the strongest hands-on community connection. He understands the challenges we face in our work with the communities. Whenever he comes to India, he makes sure to visit our projects on-site in the villages.
Jay Sehgal in Nuh, Haryana.
Jay says that our motto should always be, “How can I help others?” and that we must focus on how we can support the team. Aligned with this commitment, during this most recent visit, Jay guided us on the way forward to ensure more responsibility and accountability by decentralizing our work across all levels and functions. He has given us a vision of becoming a thirty-million-dollar organization by 2030 and, at the same time, maintain our focus on compliance, and actively explore the use of technology and innovation in all our programs. Our most important focus is to remain a people-driven organization. Thank you, Jay, for showing us the direction and guidance for the way forward.
We warmly welcome Jay as the chairperson of S M Sehgal Foundation. We look forward to the leadership of Jay and our co-chair, Vicky Sehgal, in upholding the legacy of Dr. Sehgal and Edda Ma’am, and taking the foundation mission to ever greater heights.
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