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B.T.Lakshman
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EVEN WHEN BANGALORE T. LAKSHMAN WAS JUST BEGINNING HIS CAREER AS A CIVIL ENGINEER, HE WAS DETERMINED TO CONTRIBUTE HALF HIS SALARY TO HELP THE NEEDY.

Based on the philosophy that everyone has some resources and time to spare for others, Laks, as he likes to be called, created the BTL Foundation for International Services in 1980 as a way to provide health, job-oriented education and humanitarian services to those in need.

Since then, Laks has “spared” more than $1 million to support the foundation. The hospitals and schools he helped to build in rural areas of India are his way of “giving back” for the opportunities he was given to further his education and become successful in life – both in India and the United States. Graduate studies brought Laks to the University of Delaware, where he earned a masters degree in 1972 and then spent 22 years as chief engineer at Artesian Water Company.

Through the BTL Foundation, Laks has helped the needy in this area by providing holiday meals, food baskets and clothing; contributing money to the Ministry of Caring for the purchase of buildings that serve as transitional shelters; and starting scholarships at the University of Delaware for needy engineering students. Laks also has served as a catalyst for giving through his involvement in Rotary International, initiating a fundraising project that helped provide health-related services in five countries.

Laks believes that “service to the needy is service to God” and as he celebrates the 25th anniversary of the BTL Foundation, he continues his efforts to help the needy in many countries.