Barack and Michelle Obama CARE for India

A colony of migrant labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal in New Delhi may not be on the itinerary of US president Barack Obama and wife Michelle, but it will be keenly following his visit since the American first family has been connected with the labourers for long.

The Obamas have been funding CARE India, an affiliate member of Geneva-based CARE International Confederation established in 1950. It runs health programmes impacting maternal and child mortality and malnutrition among the most vulnerable populations in 10 states of the country — Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgrah, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

CARE also runs an HIV/AIDS prevention programme for migrants — mostly security guards, cooks or helpers in small hotels, office peons and domestic helps — living in a few Delhi slums.

In 2009, CARE International, US, was the biggest recipient of the Obamas’ personal donation.

Barack and Michelle paid $8,55,323 in federal taxes for 2008 on an adjusted gross income of $2.66 million. The couple reportedly gave $1,72,050, or about 6.5% of their adjusted gross income, to 37 charities. Of this, CARE India got $50,000 during 2009-10.

Apparently, CARE is the only NGO in India which the Obamas are funding from personal charity. Incidentally, Helene D Gayle, president and CEO of CARE International, chairs the Obama administration’s presidential advisory council on HIV/AIDS and serves on the president’s commission on White House fellowships.

“At this time when the Obamas are visiting India, we thank them for personal generosity to CARE. It sets a standard which inspires others to make similar contributions leading to a wave of support to fight poverty, exclusion and suffering,” Muhammad Musa, CEO, CARE India, said.

Obama, like former US president Bill Clinton, has keen interest in HIV/AIDS prevention programmes.
As a senator, his family used to donate a relatively minor amount of its earnings to charity, as reported by the American media.

The Huffington Post reported that from 2000 to 2004, the senator and his wife never gave more than $3,500 a year in charitable donations — about 1% of their annual earning. In 2005, however, that jumped to $77,315 (4.7% of their annual earning), and to $60,307 in 2006 (6.1%), the paper claimed.

According to The Washington Post, Obama donated $1,25,000 from his Nobel Prize money to American-Indian College Fund, which aims to transform Indian higher education by underwriting and creating awareness about the unique, community-based accredited tribal colleges and universities offering students access to knowledge, skills, and cultural values.

The fund disburses approximately 6,000 scholarships annually to American-Indian students seeking to better their lives through higher education. The fund also supports tribal colleges.