At opening of Zara/CIOG IT centre…
YESTERDAY, the Zara team commissioned another Information Technology Centre and Library in Guyana, this time at CIOG’s headquarters in Woolford Avenue. This totals four hi-tech computer learning centres that the team has established in Guyana, apart from another four in the USA where they reside.  Minister Manzoor conservatively estimated the cost at an approximate US$500,000 spent so far – only on building IT technology.  Their contributions in other areas and George’s humanitarian missions with the Guyana Watch teams have not been factored into this estimate.
Nothing is as unpredictable as time; nor can anyone, except the Almighty, chronicle the chapters of someone’s life with infallible precision before it unfolds.  If, however, the chain of uncertainty and unpredictability is ever broken, especially in noble endeavours, it is felt that even God applauds those who can inspire humanity.  This sentiment was reiterated by Imam Sheikh Zakir Khan, who said that great rewards come to those who practice righteous deeds.

quote: ‘Here I was challenged by someone who was probably half my age who had dedicated his life to God and service, but was still in search of help for others.  I was deeply touched.  His voice echoed the desire of the children and I felt it all in that moment when Bramchari Vidur whispered those words to me’ – Jay Sobraj

The three Sobraj brothers – George, Jay and Ken, and their immediate and extended families, especially Sarwan Budhu and Naresh Singh, comprise the Zara Team of benefactors to thousands of persons across borders of every kind.
And while George has been concentrating mainly on saving people’s lives in a physical sense, having spearheaded and largely funded the medical teams that performed the first open heart surgery and kidney transplant operation in Guyana, Naresh, Sarwan and Jay and Sylvia Sobraj have been spearheading literacy and IT training programmes across two continents – and they make no distinction in the communities on which they bestow their time, energy, expertise and largesse because, as Jay put it, they only recognize one race – the human race.
In July of 2007 Senior Vice-President of Zara Realty Holding Corporation and Mechanical Engineer (Chartered Status) Jay Sobraj made a casual trip to Guyana that would, in less than six months, change his life.  He had travelled to his homeland with his brother and partner, George Sobraj, to distribute several barrels of school supplies in their ongoing charitable mission of “giving back’ to the charitable, educational and cultural institutions of Guyana.  Among these was the alma mater of Jay’s Wife, the Hindu College at the Cove and John Ashram.

quote: ‘Every member of the team stresses the importance of acquiring a mastery of language, hence their juxtaposition of a library with every computer centre that they have built’

At the Ashram Jay asked administrative head, then youthful Bramchari Vidur, currently still youthful Swami Shivshankarji Maharaj, if there was anything specifically he could do to help the children at the Ashram and was told that there was a need for eight computers to help the children in their studies and for purposes of research.
Jay told the young ascetic that he would look into it upon his return to New York, whereupon he was stymied by the quietly spoken response; “I have heard that before Bhaiji (brother).  “Those simple words and the sincerity of his tone humbled me beyond expression.  It was not what he said, but the manner of his pronouncement that kindled a strange sensation in me.  I am known to be sharp and promptly responsive, but that simple remark humbled me.  I just felt a strange emptiness and went silent.  That moment’s silence seemed unending, as images of those children willing to learn but deprived of that important educational tool played havoc with my mind.  Here I was challenged by someone who was probably half my age who had dedicated his life to God and service, but was still in search of help for others.  I was deeply touched.  His voice echoed the desire of the children and I felt it all in that moment when Bramchari Vidur whispered those words to me.”
Upon his return to New York Jay immediately conferred with Nardeo (Naresh) Singh, IT consultant, whom Jay describes as an Information Technology Guru, and who had been instrumental in establishing the Computer Lab at the Berbice Campus, requesting that the latter visit Guyana to do a thorough assessment of the needs – units, station and infrastructure etc.
In August, Naresh used his summer vacation to return to Guyana to conduct a complete feasibility study, after which the hyped-up duo decided to go the full course and establish a complete computer centre.  Sylvia and Sarvan Kumar Budhu pledged their complete support and the Team was born.  Soon the Pranav Computer Centre, with twenty-two computers and a fully-refurbished lab, was established after major infrastructural changes, which included a complete overhaul of the energy supply system.   Everyone worked, including Jay’s and George’s sons, Amir and Tony.  Sylvia planned the minutiae in exquisite detail, while Tony Yassin provided free shipment of the computers and related components, and the state-of-the-art Pranav Computer Centre.
This was the genesis of the establishment of seven additional computer centres by the Zara team of family and friends. To date the transformational changes they have made at the Ashram within a relatively short timeframe have bedazzled visitors, which include former students who reside all over the world, periodically returning to visit their school and pay homage to their Gurus (teachers.)  President Jagdeo, who began his working life at that institution, is always a specially honoured guest, and revered Guruji, Swami Vidyanandji Maharaj that the service he performed at the Hindu college in his younger days has caused him to be blessed with the Lord’s guidance and the magnitude of success he has achieved in his leadership of the country; and even the President exulted in the changes he has seen at the Ashram, which include a soon to come onstream techvoc centre.
Subsequent to the first computer centre the team has completely rebuilt and refurbished the dormitory, initiated a literacy programme, which is driven by the big-brother/big-sister concept, and renovated other sections of the Ashram, but their stellar achievement at that institution is the 7000 sq. feet Zara Learning Centre, which is the most impressive school of technology la
unched in Guyana early in 2010, along with the Sarwan Budhu Library.  Every child who wants to learn is welcomed at the various educational institutions at the Ashram; but every member of the team stresses the importance of acquiring a mastery of language, hence their juxtaposition of a library with every computer centre that they have built.
With more than 20,000 books constantly being updated, the Sarwan Budhu library has become a unique area for research.  Many of the students and even adult members of the communities on the East Coast corridor frequent the new library, which was established in memory of Sarwan’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Budhu, both who worked unrelentingly to establish the first buildings of the Ashram.
The team also donated computers to other schools and institutions, including the Enmore Primary School.
Subsequently elder brother George established a hi-tech Zara Computer Centre on the West Coast of Demerara, and the team founded the Zara Computer Training Centre and the Swami Vidyanandaji Education Centre in New York.  The team also produced the documentary:  “First Swami in the Caribbean”.
Included among the many humanitarian works of the Zara family are the building of elevators, installation of heating and air conditioning systems to create better and more comfortable systems, mainly for the very old and the very young in several institutions and mandirs.
Space does not permit a complete listing of the magnitude of the generosity of the Sobraj brothers and their extended family, to which Naresh Singh and Sarwan Budhu are integral and essential.
However, this latest partnership with the CIOG, where they completely overhauled the infrastructure and refurbished the centres, with furnishings shipped in from the USA free of cost by Tony Yassin, is merely another drop in the ocean of their largesse.
Jay says he and the rest of the team live the Hindu concept of seva – which is service to humanity without expectation of reward, because that is their worship, and the meaning is the same in Sanskrit, Hindi, and Urdu.
Naresh, in attempting to describe the altruistic depths of Jay, related an incident where he was attempting to reach a friend, who was returning to Guyana, in time to give him a bag of computer components for the Ashram at Cove and John.  Naresh said that this man, a multi-millionaire by US standards, who could command anyone to do his bidding, was hurrying with the bag of parts in the rain so as not to miss his friend and thus delay the children at the Ashram being able to begin their computer classes.
These very busy brothers, wives and friends do not only give their money, but they work unrelentingly when they reach Guyana and are not afraid to get their hands dirty.  For the past week Naresh has been teaching at a workshop that he held at the new computer centre at the CIOG and the students say that even they are amazed at the range of the subjects that he covered within that short timeframe.
Shaad Alli said that he learnt from Naresh in a week what he would take a year to learn in a normal computer class.
Jay said that they know well the face of poverty, because they have lived it, and so they do not give charity, but they give back for the blessings that God has showered upon them by creating opportunities for better lives and lifestyles in this and future generations, and they give back to the race of man, without reservation, which is a lesson in generosity and a commitment to education taught them by their parents.  The Cove and John Ashram and the CIOG, students of which institutions come from all religions, races and walks of life, are testimony to this humane philosophy.
Jay Sobraj named his daughter and the family business after the precious and beautiful desert flower that enthralled him while he worked as an engineer in Egypt.  It is also the name of the daughter of Prophet Mohamed.
But, according to Jay, all the learning centres are also named after the fragile flower that survives and thrives in the wilderness of the harsh desert, because the name is the promise of emergence of beauty and strength from harsh and unpromising circumstances, and the students are the flowers that will weather their circumstances to emerge triumphantly to become the leaders of the future.