A blind eye, a deaf ear — this is what the vulnerable in today’s world are subjected to when they call out for help. But Gurugram’s Jas Kalra is making sure they are seen, heard, and served.
Jas’ journey of selfless service to people, or sewa as he words it, did not have a defined starting point. Since he was only nine years old, he had seen his father Ravi Kalra devote all his energy to helping society, whether it was for the community, animals, or the environment.
In 2008, Ravi founded the Earth Saviours Foundation and would personally go out into the streets to find disabled and destitute people — bringing them into the foundation’s shelter home, and serving them around the clock.
When Jas turned 21, he had already started learning from his father and hoped to continue his legacy. However, fate had other plans. After just four short months of learning from his father, Jas lost him. He was left to carry on his work in what would become the toughest journey of his life.
“Had someone told me a year ago that I would begin this journey of selfless service at the most challenging time of my life, I would not have believed them,” says Jas, who was suddenly responsible for 600 abandoned elders overnight.
But sometimes, when you feel like you have been buried, you have actually been planted.
This turning point marked Jas’ voyage as a social crusader. Now, every day, he opens the gates of The Earth Saviours Foundation to welcome people society has discarded — elderly citizens left to fend for themselves, disabled individuals with nowhere to go, and those on the brink of death, covered in bedsores and maggots.
At just 25, he cares for 1,200 people, who arrive at his shelter in the most desperate conditions. Jas believes that he draws his strength from them. “It is not the cruelty that they faced that surprises me. It is how they still find a reason to live and grow. Despite having been exposed to the extreme cruelty this world has to offer, they remain unbreakable.”
Jas has also personally rescued more than 1,500 destitute people from harrowing conditions on the streets, providing them with immediate first aid and admitting them into his shelter homes. Moreover, he has reunited over 3,000 people with their families after rehabilitation, and he says the joy is immeasurable.
or a team member’s dedication to the cause, Picture source: Jas’ social media handles
His philanthropy does not stop with the living — he has personally cremated over 3,000 unclaimed bodies, individuals who died nameless in hospitals or on the streets. In performing their last rites, Jas ensures that even in death, they are treated with respect. “Everyone deserves dignity, no matter how society has failed them,” he says.
Continuing to lead with a heart full of compassion, Jas now harbours his father’s dream of building the world’s largest free-of-cost shelter home in Gurugram, designed to house 5,000 people, who will be provided with 24/7 ‘sewa’.
Jas, who runs the foundation entirely on donations, expresses, “We don’t receive any aid. Everything we do is made possible by people who believe in what we’re doing.” And this is where you can step in.
Want to help Jas actualise his vision? Donate here:
Bank Name: Axis Bank
Account Holder: The Earth Saviours Foundation
Account No: 918010088923274
IFSC Code: UTIB0003539
Account Type: Savings Account
Branch: Nirvana Country, Gurugram
Edited by Pranita Bhat
