“Giving was always a mainstay of my family’s life,” Aban Rustomji says, reminiscing about her childhood in Quetta, now Pakistan.

“Even as a child, with a two Rupee allowance, I would be in tears every time I saw this old, blind man, and make it a point to give him two annas. It was understood that each of us would put aside a part of our savings to donate.”

She acknowledged that many of us are recipients of community generosity. “When Purvez and I first migrated, if we had $14 left at the end of the month, we counted ourselves lucky,” she remembers. Fondly recalling his favorite maxim “to give is to receive”, she said, “Donating is community building. It builds the next generation.”

The FEZANA scholarship endowed by Aban and her husband Purvez in 2011 has each year given an undergraduate student a grant of $5,000. Long-time ZAH members, the Rustomjis also funded the Rustomji room at the Zoroastrian Center of Houston.

She believes that donors should consider how the funds would impact people. “Charity is an act of creative imagination.”

Aban’s husband Purvez used to say it was enormously satisfying to give. Rather than ‘how will my amount make any difference’, she suggests we consider ‘whatever little I can give, it’s a privilege to be asked to join a worthy goal.’

For your community-focused goal, please connect directly with our team. We would like to hear how you want to help people, and what legacy you would like to create for the future.

Contact Nawaz@FEZANA.org and Ratan@FEZANA.org, or directly to Homi Gandhi at President@fezana.org

Charity is an act of creative imagination!