March 23, 2022 – OHTA is pleased to share some exciting news regarding a recent donation to our organization along with some inspiring words from the donor, Maharshi Mehta of International Safety Systems, Inc.
The donation by Maharshi was given in memory of his parents who taught him the value of education and meaningful work. Maharshi grew up in India with his parents and four siblings who struggled to make ends meet. Maharshi shared with OHTA that his father was a sincere, hard-working ironworker, and his mother worked as a seamstress using a foot-operated Singer sewing machine for 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week for about 30 years. Despite the odds, educating children was a priority for his parents and they insisted that all of them attend college.
Maharshi stated that “My ability to contribute globally, including in business, came from leadership lessons learned from my parents. These lessons from their lives include not to give up despite all odds, not to seek the shoulders of others to cry about problems, focus on solutions and not on problems, and do not earn a single penny by compromising values and ethics, keep supporting all those who are not as well off as you are, invest your time where the need is enormous, and the resources are limited.” In addition to his success as an occupational hygienist and business owner, Maharshi’s upbringing led him to become a foster parent of a child from Mumbai who is now a marine engineer and has moved from the slums to a house in Mumbai.
OHTA extends our thanks to Maharshi Mehta for the donation and for this touching tribute. He wrote that “With this donation to OHTA, I am returning a tiny portion of what I received growing up”.
