What Distinguishes The Prem Rawat Foundation From Other Charities?

Mary Wishard, Media and Communications Manager for The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF), recently responded to the question below from a large foundation considering TPRF for a grant. We also think the Q&A would be of interest to anyone wanting to know more about TPRF: 

What distinguishes your organization’s work from other organizations in the field?

While TPRF is a relatively small foundation, it enjoys worldwide support from people in 50 countries because of the nature of the founder’s international work. Much support comes in the form of volunteering time and talent. We are also a virtual company with no physical offices. Both of these factors allow us to keep a low overhead.

All of TPRF’s work is guided by the principles of Dignity, Peace, and Prosperity. The people we work with are treated with great respect for their dignity, for their worth as a human being, rather than as people in need of help. Our programs are designed to help people with essential needs so that they have a chance to turn their own lives around in spite of the challenges they face.

In the case of the Food for People (FFP) program, we have discovered that providing one nutritious hot meal a day to children and ailing adults in their local cuisine has been enough to bring about significant changes in the whole community. The local leaders participate in decisions about what is needed to ensure that village collaboration is created. The Food for People model develops local ownership, pride, and assurance that the program will continue.

Through the Peace Education Program (PEP), people from all walks of life all over the world discover their own inner strengths and the power of choice, whether they are successful business people, young students, or prison inmates. They are empowered to find fulfillment for themselves, individually. Much like the youngsters receiving food from FFP, they find their own dignity based on understanding their innate worth as a human being.

These programs offer far more than food and education. They offer individuals a well of resources that last as long as they choose to use them.