PARTICIPANTS

Ankur Patel
BAPS Charities

Ankur Patel is a volunteer Program Officer with BAPS Charities.  For the past 5 years, he has coordinated both field and fundraising activities within the US and abroad.  Currently, he is working to strengthen capacity within BAPS Charities and its parent organization, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.  Patel received his BS in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and an MA in Sustainable International Development from Brandies University.  Patel has held a variety of professional positions ranging from Information Technology, Academia and Large-Format Films.  He is presently an Economic Analyst at the Institute for Quantitative Social Sciences at Harvard University.

Paragraph Statement

Question: What do you think is the most important issue involving religion that confronts international NGOs?

While there are many important issues involving religion that NGOs face, one issue of particular importance is one that confronts all religions and groups that aim to serve others.  It is the issue of how to relate to, work with, support and help those that are different than conceived notion of 'us.'  The issue of otherness intersects with a whole range of identities, but perhaps none more so stronger than religion. 

The challenge lies in the 'how.'  How does a NGO with a religious background translate its religious principles into service of others?  How does an NGO overcome the anxieties of those it aims to serve in a religious context?  How can religion have a voice in the secular world of development?  And, how can we answer those questions without sacrificing the fundamental principles that drive our organization?  In essence, any NGO must strive to balance their mission to help others with the principles that sustain it.

BAPS Charities, the humanitarian services entity of the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, while secular in its approach is based upon Hindu principles of empowerment and social service.  Our experience has been that when we leverage the spiritual motivation for sincere, unbiased service we can overcome the unique challenges involving religion that NGOs face and bring quality assistance to those in need, while remaining true to our faith.  Very often this might mean, at first, we need to do as much listening and learning as helping.  It is a challenge that takes time and patience, but ultimately proves rewarding.

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