Ms. Girija Aggarwal who passed away recently was one of the earliest donors of AIM for Seva. When Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati announced the formation of an All India Movement of Seva, Ms. Girija Aggarwal came forward and contributed a large corpus for educating students from rural India. This generous contribution was done in the year 2003 for the benefit of the boys residing and studying at the Rani Girija Devi AIM for Chatralayam for Boys, Srinagar, Uttarakhand.
Following the first donation, Ms. Girija Aggarwal continued her association with AIM for Seva. She played a critical role in the founding of the Swami Dayananda AIM for Seva Chatralayam for Boys, Chikkamagalur, Karnataka. Her generous act as a building donor has ensured that today 31 boys from 40 villages surrounding Chikkamagalur have a safe and secure boarding residence for 10 months, every year. She continued her association with AIM for Seva by donating towards hostel expenses.
Despite facing a huge personal loss in the autumn of her life, Ms. Girija Aggarwal continued with her philanthropic zeal till the end. Till her very last breath, Ms. Girija Aggarwal was dedicated to fulfilling her Guru, Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s vision for rural India. Just a week before her passing, Ms. Girija Aggarwal called us and expressed her wish of establishing a fund for furthering the knowledge base of students studying in Pujya Swamiji’s birthplace at Manjakkudi.
Her last endowment commitment would be utilised towards setting up of a memorial library for the benefit of the students at the Swami Dayananda College of Arts & Science, Manjakkudi, Tamil Nadu.
This state of the art facility measuring 3,563 square feet would come up at the N Block at the Swami Dayananda Campus. Her lasting contribution at Manjakkudi would enable us move towards the goal of making Manjakkudi a knowledge hub. Today, 1744 students from 201 villages surrounding Manjakkudi attend the college on a daily basis.
AIM for Seva has been extremely fortunate to be associated with a partner over the last decade who was aligned with our goal of educating rural India. We pray that Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s blessings always be showered on Smt. Girija Aggarwal and continue to guide her family members.
Om Shanti.