Harvard Business Review reported that in the last twenty years in the US alone, charitable foundations have doubled, while the assets of these foundations have increased over 1,100 per cent. The assets of these foundations are estimated to be over $330 billion, and they contribute to different causes and have spent over $20 billion annually in humanitarian aid, education, research and development, and cultural and religious organisations. The report further states that the US is committed to volunteerism and philanthropy. But one man is taking the concept of philanthropy to another level, Mr Tej Kohli.
The US can lead the philanthropic world as a donor country, but one man is changing social progress and creating a sustainable future with not one but several foundations philanthropist Tej Kholi.
Tej Kohli partnered with Dr Sanduk Ruit, an ophthalmology surgeon also known as ‘God of Sight’ by his patients, to cure people of cataract-induced blindness. According to Mr Kohli, in the underserved regions of the world, cataract is the main reason for poverty; with early intervention, free-of-cost screening and cataract operation, a sustainable and less poverty-prone economy can be created. The mission is to cure 500,000 cataract patients by screening 1,000,000.
Funded by Tej Kohli, it is a centre that aims to eliminate corneal blindness globally by 2035. While conducting corneal transplants and providing preventive medication for corneal diseases, it is also an institute that invests in research and development to find a treatment that can cure the condition at minimum or free of cost. Between January 2016 and November 2019, it cured 43,255 patients of corneal diseases, primarily free of cost, after checking 223,404 outpatients.
A $2 million program investment is made at the Tej Kohli Cornea Program at Harvard Medical School to accelerate innovative technology to find breakthroughs in corneal diseases. The research aims to find a solution that is affordable, accessible, and scalable in curing corneal blindness, where surgery or donation of cornea is not required. This program uses cutting-edge molecular technology for diagnosing corneal infection and GelCORE, a biomaterial adhesive corneal replacement tissue.
As an angel investor, Mr Kohli invests in Open Bionics, a Bristol-based robotic company that develops artificial bionic arms for children with disabilities. The prophetic arm offers multi-grip myoelectric control.
The organisation works at the grassroots level with projects that will create better living conditions for underprivileged communities. It addresses many issues and tries to make a sustainable solution and eradicate poverty and inequality.
However, the question remains: what role do these grant-giving organisations involved in philanthropy play in the US? Do they stay as intermediaries between the donors who fund and the different enterprises they support? If so, then it falls short of its capacity for the work.
Self-made billionaire Tej Kohli believes that any philanthropic organisation must think strategically and set goals. The result is the creation of several foundations, funding different organisations, and working with each of them closely to follow the results. All these foundations financed and supported by Mr Kohli have a couple of common themes – making life better for the underprivileged and creating a sustainable world for future generations.
