After the first ever visit to India by a UK Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, highlighted the Jewish organisations’ commitment to social responsibility.

The chief rabbi returned from an 11-day trip to India where he visited 19 Jewish communities in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Cochin.

“My time in India has been extraordinary on a number of levels. Jewish communities around the world are already doing a great deal of work in this area,” he said.

He added: “As Jews, we have a responsibility to ensure that, where possible, our charity extends beyond our own community to people who we may never meet but who are so deserving of our help.”

“I call upon all Jews to recognize that responsibility and will be using my experiences here to raise awareness about what more can be done in this sphere.”

Both organizations are part of OLAM, a new initiative designed to help advance the global Jewish service movement, which functions as a coalition of 40 organizations dedicated to promote, enhance and showcase the impact of Jewish organizations and individuals in the field of global volunteering, aid and development.

During his visit, he visited Gabriel Project Mumbai (GPM) and Sundara, two Jewish organizations that work with underprivileged populations in Mumbai. GPM cares for vulnerable children living in slums and poor rural areas of India by attending to the Triad of Children's Well-being: education, health and nutrition, and Sundara’s mission is to reduce preventable hygiene-related deaths by creating sustainable soap recycling programs for underserved populations around the world.

He also visited the Economic Rural Development Society in Kolkata, funded in part by a the UK Tzedek charity.

The Gabriel Project Mumbai, Sundara and Tzedek are all partners of OLAM, a coalition of 40 organizations dedicated to promote, enhance and showcase the impact of Jewish organizations and individuals in the field of global volunteering, aid and development.

OLAM Executive Director Dyonna Ginsburg welcomed the emphasis that Mirvis has placed on the goal of global social responsibility and Jewish involvement in such initiatives.

“We are delighted that someone of the stature of Chief Rabbi Mirvis has placed the issue of social responsibility on the highest agenda, especially in the Jewish world,” said Ginsburg. “Jewish tradition and historical experience has taught us to take responsibility, help make the world a better place and look after the stranger.”