10. The Birth of a Mission — SOPAR, Bala Vikasa, and the Call to Serve

Bala Vikasa drinking water well

1. A New Decade Dawns

During the mid-seventies, though we were living in Canada, our hearts were increasingly drawn back to the villages of India—drawn by memories, affection, and a deep sense of responsibility. It was a responsibility rooted not in obligation but in love.

2. SOPAR — The Seeds of a Mission

We were receiving each week, several personal letters from India of people in need requesting our assistance. 

Our friends from our parish Saint-Alexandre, joined us to form a committee called partage Reddipalem and soon after with the suggestion of André we have registered it as an NGO with the name SOPAR.

Thus SOPAR—SOciété de PARtage—was born in 1977 with a simple vision to support grassroots development in India, empowering people to improve their own lives.

André brought to SOPAR his deep knowledge of international development, his disciplined mind, and his unwavering passion for justice. I brought:

•       my understanding of village life,
  
•       my intuition about people’s needs,
  
•       my cultural roots,
  
•       and my profound desire to serve.

Together, we shaped SOPAR into an organization grounded in respect, partnership, and human dignity.

We started small.
Humble projects. 
Local initiatives.  
Simple goals.

But behind each word, each proposal, each meeting was something much greater: the conviction that development is not charity—it is partnership.

3. Bala Vikasa—Love, Vision, and the Power of Community

As SOPAR expanded in Canada, there was a clear need for a community-led counterpart in India. This opportunity arose when André, then CIDA Francophone Africa vice-president, moved to India as Development Consular at the Canadian High Commission in Delhi and I Supported by a financial program by CIDA for diplomats' spouses; with the help of André and Fr. Colombo we have established officially Bala Vikasa in 1991 in Warangal, Telangana as SOPAR's partner NGO in India. Over the next four years, I built Bala Vikasa into a solid and effective development organization.

What began as modest assistance soon became a movement:

Women coordinators meeting

• Women’s empowerment groups
• Water projects
• Education projects
• Food security projects
• Capacity-building programs
• Community development training
• Leadership formation
• Village-level resource centers

Our vision was never to “help the poor” in a traditional sense.
It was to enable people to recognize their own strength, their own voice, their own leadership.

From the very beginning, women became the heart of Bala Vikasa. Their determination, intelligence, and ability to transform families inspired us every day. I found in them reflections of the strong women I had known throughout my life—my mother, my aunts, the sisters who taught me, and the countless women who held communities together with invisible strength.

4. Travel Between Two Worlds

As founders our lives moved rhythmically between Canada and India.

In Canada, we worked tirelessly to build partnerships, raise awareness, and gather support.

In India, we worked with Bala Vikasa staff—agents of change, walked through villages, listened to families, met community leaders, and witnessed transformation firsthand.

Travels were challenging but deeply energizing. Every village we entered welcomed us with open arms. Every program affirmed that the mission was growing in the right direction.

We were not “bringing” development to India.

India was teaching us how development must happen.

5. The Dawn of a Legacy

By the end of the 2025, SOPAR and Bala Vikasa had grown beyond anything we originally imagined:

• Villages were changing.
• Women were rising.
• Communities were taking ownership.
• Partnerships were flourishing.

We began to see that this was no longer a project. 

It was a legacy—one that would outlive us and continue serving long after our time.

The seeds planted decades earlier—through my father’s request to André, our shared compassion, and our deep bond—were now blossoming into a forest of hope.

6. Our Mission Continues Through SOPAR and Bala Vikasa

From 1977 onward, SOPAR and later Bala Vikasa became for me and for André, our life’s work.

For 49 years, we have given ourselves completely—financially, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually—to the mission of helping people help themselves.

We devoted our days and nights to community development, women’s empowerment, education to deserving children, water projects, humanitarian initiatives, farmers’ programs, training, documentation, audits, proposals, strategies, and donor relations.

With our other NGOs Jana Vikasa, and Raithu Vikasa and Bala Vikasa Trust, ensuring continuity even during crises, we extended our reach to widows, orphans, farmers and vulnerable families.

7. A Family United in Mission

From the beginning I am with our mission with passion without break. André took his retirement in 1995 and ever since he gave himself totally to our joint mission. We always assisted SOPAR’s Board, bringing the plans, program results, updates on all related matters from Bala Vikasa. André served on the Board as secretary, president, mentor, thinker, and guide. Wrote strategies and numerous articles. 

Our mission was no longer just ours—it belongs to the next generation.

Éric and Marc joined SOPAR’s Board in 2003, Éric served as Secretary with solid judgement, and understanding, Marc carries the torch as president with pride, passion and vision, Sunita served on BV Foundation Trust Board with wisdom and care. 

Our niece Shobha played a key role at SOPAR and at present serves as the director, nephew Showreddy served of Bala Vikasa, lived with us in Delhi for four years, played key role and from 2010 serves as director embody our values and carry forward our legacy with dedication.

Our grandchildren grow up seeing a family rooted in service. They know that helping others is not an obligation but a way of life.

This is our greatest joy: our mission continues through our children brining the organization forward holding dear our mission and values.  

We hope that our work, writings, trainings, and programs will inspire future generations long after we are gone.

8.       Challenges, Crises and Resilience 

No long mission is free from challenges. SOPAR faced staff resignations, donor losses, disagreements, and the heavy administrative transition when Bala Vikasa was entrusted to Warangal Diocese, which later, we brought back into lay leadership to preserve its neutrality and effectiveness.

In 2023, Bala Vikasa endured an Income Tax raid and FCRA suspension, leading to funding decreases causing some problems of staff uncertainty. Thanks to resilience, local donors, and strong management, operations continued. Fortunately, the organization has since then regained its FCRA license and can now access foreign funding.

Crises come and go; our mission never stops.