In February, two individuals from multi-faith families, Raj Thakur and Vasu Vanapalli, proudly pledged their oath of service after completing the comprehensive Term of Reference training facilitated for individuals joining the Ismaili Volunteer Program. Raj and Vasu are the first multifaith family members to engage as Ismaili Volunteers for the Ismaili Council for the Southwestern USA.
Following the training, Raj and Vasu began shadowing volunteers and engaging in seva on a weekly basis at Houston Principal Jamatkhana. Raj serves as a member of the Safety and Security Team, and Vasu serves as a member of the Transportation team.
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While married to their Ismaili spouses, both Raj and Vasu have engaged in volunteer opportunities for years outside of the Ismaili Volunteer Program. However, this felt different.
“My 11-year-old daughter became a volunteer in January, and I had my training one month later,” said Vasu. “To be able to wear the same uniform as her and to see her light up as we got into the car to go to Jamatkhana together, it was an unforgettable moment for our family.”
For Raj, the same feeling resonated. When he married his wife in 2007, he was exposed to the deep-rooted tradition of
in the Ismaili community. He was grateful to engage in opportunities in many capacities, including through volunteer work with the Aga Khan Foundation USA. But he never lost sight of the work happening on Jamatkhana grounds.
“I always heard about and saw members of the Safety team standing outside of the facilities,” he recalls. “I formed so much respect for their silent professionalism and their 24-hour dedication to the comfort of the Jamat – whether in rain, shine, warm or freezing temperatures. When I got to stand with them and be a part of the team, the feeling was just extraordinary. You feel so much satisfaction and respect for what you’re doing. I wish I could give every second of my life to it.”
Creating new opportunities for multifaith family members demonstrates a greater desire to build inclusion and increase connections in the community. Naeem Khoja, a member of the Ismaili Volunteers for the Southwest Jamat, sees this as a critical component of realizing Hazar Imam’s vision.
“It is so important for our multi-faith families to feel welcome,” Naeem says. “Such families will continue to grow, and it is our job to embrace them. This is a message Mawlana Hazar Imam has emphasized for decades, especially during his Diamond Jubilee Mulaqat in 2018. We are now focused on learning from these initiatives and continuing to create platforms of inclusivity where our Ismaili and non-Ismaili family members feel a part of the same community.”
On a larger scale, programs like this aim to strengthen the spirit of unity within and outside of the Ismaili community by bridging the pillars of service and pluralism. These efforts have echoed across multiple volunteer, civic-focused, and multifaith initiatives focused on building relationships, creating understanding through dialogue, and supporting the common good – all essential elements to advancing a civil society.
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In 2014, the Imam expressed the significance of these efforts in the Stephen Ogden Lecture at Brown University. “It is in [this] spirit that we can nurture bonds of confidence across different peoples and unique individuals, welcoming the growing diversity of our world, even in matters of faith, as a gift of
the Divine,” he said. “Difference, in this context, can become an opportunity – not a threat – a blessing rather than a burden.”
As they described their first days as Ismaili Volunteers, both Raj and Vasu were embraced in the reception from their volunteer teams, immediately feeling one with the group. “At the end of the day, I’m not Ismaili,” says Raj. “But I am able to be who I am while giving the gift of seva, and I’m welcomed with open arms every single time.”
Each individual hopes to model the way for other multi-faith family members as they believe the practice of khidma, which is a throughline to all the volunteer efforts they’ve engaged in, has enabled a feeling of fulfillment in their personal and their family lives.
“It’s a very nice thing to come together and serve,” says Vasu. “Whatever time and effort you put in, it makes you, your family and the relationships you have stronger. And to be able to now do it alongside my daughter, it’s truly a dream come true.”
