The news media regularly report on desperate human needs. But often the problems seem so huge and formless to the millions of readers and viewers hearing the reports, that they don't see a way to be of help. In this new series, we'll present stories of "ordinary" people who took extraordinary action, even though their resources might have seemed meager in view of the problem.
Child Relief & You (CRY) is a nonprofit organization established in 1979 to "restore to Indian children their basic human rights," as the organization's mission statement declares. Instead of establishing its own projects, CRY focuses on funding already existing programs, and at present is supporting 300 groups in various ways. Its founder, Rippan Kappur, died in 1994. His sister and his wife, —who were both greatly involved in CRY's development—spoke with Journal senior staff editor about Rippan's vision and the organization's continuing work. Amita has been president of CRY and is still a member of its board of trustees. The organization's Web address is: www.cry.org.
Neera: Even when he was still in school, Rippan was disturbed when he saw children who were going without food while he had enough to eat. He got the idea to sell containers of milk at just a little more than the fixed price. He used the profits from these sales to help the children who were in need. Then when he grew up, he felt he had to do more. He said, "What I can do, I must do." He and some friends gathered a very small amount of money to form an organization that would benefit children. And CRY was born.
