Our Founders
Mrs. Bala Theresa Singareddy (Gingras) was born in Reddypalem village of Warangal district and is married to Mr. André Gingras a French Canadian, whom she met during her studiesf abroad, 40 years ago.
Hailing from a farming family in India, Mrs. Bala Theresa Gingras is well aware of the problems of the rural communities.
She was not comfortable with the comforts in Canada as she was very conscious that millions of people in her mother land are living in poverty, discrimination, lack of opportunities, etc. Taking the inspiration from her father Mr. Singareddy Chinnapa Reddy, who always motivated her to share with the deprived, she decided to do something to help the poor back in Andhra Pradesh.
With the support and encouragement from her life partner Mr. André Gingras, and relatives and friends in Canada, in 1977, Mrs. Bala Theresa established a society named SOPAR (Société de Partage…which means Society for Sharing) in Canada, to support initially her village Reddypalem and neighboring villages. But it soon spread to the whole of Warangal district and later to all other districts in Andhra Pradesh.
By 1991, the volume of the programs in Andhra Pradesh having become huge, and with Mrs. Bala Theresa's desire to enhance her services in India, it necessitated the creation of 'Bala Vikasa' in India, for effective implementation, coordination and monitoring. Bala Vikasa now acts as the sister organization of SOPAR in Canada and is being supported by many other generous funding agencies from Canada, Europe, Asia and local corporate.
The Co- Founder, Mr. André Gingras has been playing a very important role in SOPAR-Bala Vikasa since its inception. He had worked for nearly 30 years in many countries as a diplomat with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and gained valuable experience in community development. He retired in 1995, and since then he has completely dedicated himself to the service of the poor in India, through SOPAR- Bala Vikasa.
The Gingras are not just the founders of Bala Vikasa but also the builders. For the past 33 years, they have been devoting most part of their time and energy for the empowerment of the poor in India. Their commitment, competence, vision and their sacrificing nature, blended with high values, have been the constant source of inspiration not only to the members of Bala Vikasa's large family and local communities but also to hundreds of development professionals spread across the country.
