Seva Foundation
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In 1978, after working with the World Health Organization (WHO) to end smallpox in India, Dr. Larry Brilliant (currently Executive Director of Google.org), and his wife Girija Brilliant, a public health specialist, published an article entitled Death of a Killer Disease. It was a personal account of their decade in Asia, first as youthful travelers, then as spiritual seekers, and eventually as part of WHO's successful smallpox eradication team. They concluded the article with an appeal to readers to find the compassion and understanding to support international health programs to benefit those struggling with poverty. Readers were moved, and soon $20,000 of donations arrived in Larry and Girija's mailbox — with the first $5,000 coming from not-yet-famous computer inventor, Steve Jobs. Seva-supported programs and partners have helped nearly three million blind people to see again through affordable cataract surgeries. In just the past year, Seva's Sight Program benefited over 500,000 people worldwide, including more than 25,000 children. n 1983, Seva expanded its vision of how it could be of service and began to provide aid to Guatemalan refugees displaced by war. Seva's work with Native Americans began in 1982, when we helped establish the Porcupine Clinic on the Pine Ridge Reservation — the first Native American operated health clinic in the country. n 1996, Seva launched the Diabetes Talking Circle, a highly effective training that helps Native people develop self-managed strategies for diabetes prevention and treatment.
