By Henry Weltman
Personally, I always enjoy learning about new and exciting nonprofit organizations with missions to help kids and families around the world. That is why I feel lucky to have met Jacob Sztokman. As the sole Founder and Director of the Gabriel Project Mumbai, he was able to teach us what it takes to turn your passion and turn it into a large organization.
I remember him introducing himself and talking about his ties in the technology sector. He worked at a steady job and did plenty of traveling for his work. When he was tasked with taking a trip to India, he initially did not want to go assuming that the trip would not be worthwhile for him. However, it was during this business trip that Jacob was able to hone in on his passion and strive to give help and hope to an impoverished and overcrowded community in Mumbai. He spoke about the connection he felt to the children of the community and the strong need he had to improve the lives of many people within the community. Jacob told our cohort about the tireless hours it took, the numerous people he had to reach out to, the failures and the successes that all went into birthing the Gabriel Project.
Today, the Gabriel Project Mumbai is providing countless services to the community. Vital services such as providing proper nutrition to students, proper education, and health care are received by over 1,500 children. The Project has also been able to empower hundreds of women in the slums and villages as well as surge social-economic development within the community, through providing clean water, founding schools, health-care units, and thousands of volunteers from around the world. Jacob is not just ensuring that these children and families are provided with sufficient help in the short-term, but he is creating an environment where they can succeed in the long-term. Women are being trained as medics, as well as receiving training on treating acute and moderate malnutrition of children in the community.
Definitely, the most inspiring and impactful aspect of meeting Jacob Sztokman was simply hearing how passionate he was about the work his organization was doing in Mumbai. Jacob was not simply an American leading an overseas nonprofit organization from the comforts of America. He told us about the many visits he makes yearly to check in on the children in the school and the health care units to ensure they are being properly run and continue to help the community. Jacob was able to name individual students who are studying at the Gabriel Project’s school in Mumbai and was able to talk specifically about many of the children. He has a personal connection to the mission of the organization and it was apparent in how he decided to run the Project as a whole.
One especially touching piece was his story of The Shravan Health Center. He told a story about a young, bright student in the school with a lot of promise for a successful future. There were a couple of days where he did not show up to school, thinking he was sick, and in his sleep died of acute starvation. In his memory, the first ever medical clinic for mothers and children was established in the Kalwa slum, which provided a wide range of services, including sick visits, vaccinations, tuberculosis treatment, and more to over 200,000 community members.
Jacob Sztokman certainly showed us that with a big heart and hard work, any of us can turn our loves and passions into a reality.
