Dr. Terry Papneja
An incomparable philanthropist with few peers
The soft-spoken Dr. Terry Papneja, one of Toronto’s top dentists, with a staff of over 85, is better known for his philanthropy in India where his efforts have helped lift hundreds of rural kids out of poverty through education.
After graduating in dentistry from Indore, India, Dr. Papneja came to Canada in 1981. He got his Canadian qualification in dentistry from University of Toronto and started Axis Dental Group in Brampton in 1986.
Axis Dental Group emerged as one of the biggest dentist clinics in the GTA because of Dr. Papneja’s dedication, hard work, business acumen and professional skills. Even as he notched up success in his profession, Dr Papneja always focused on serving the underprivileged.
“At school in my native Kareli in Madhya Pardesh, I saw poverty at close quarters; when my father passed away, I opened a school in Kareli in his memory in 1992 where at present over 1,400 students are studying,’’ he says. He donated $60,000 to start the school.
Simultaneously, Dr. Papneja started sponsoring five kids from his hometown each year for their education up to graduation. “At one time, I had 35 children in that program and one of them – Manish – is now working as a computer engineer in Dallas,” he says.
In 2002 when Dr Papneja was thinking of sponsoring even more children, Swami Dayanada Saraswati, founder of AIM for SEVA which builds educational hostels for poor kids in rural India, came to Toronto. “AIM for SEVA was the right platform for our charity work. I started the Canadian chapter of AIM for SEVA to institutionalize our sponsorship and reach more students,” says Dr Papneja. AIM for SEVA Canada has become the biggest donor contributor to AIM for SEVA in India.
“Out of the 129 hostels started by the whole organization in India, the Canadian chapter of AIM for SEVA alone has built 26 of these hostels in which we support over 640 children — from the age of eight to 18. In these hostels, kids get free education, accommodation, food, clothing and all their expenses,” he explains.
In fact, since its inception in 2002, the Canadian chapter of AIM for SEVA has raised over $7 million. Operating with zero-administrative cost, it sends all donations directly to the charitable cause. Dr Papneja is now taking AIM for SEVA to other cities in Canada, having opened its Montreal chapter earlier this year.
Not surprisingly, he has been honoured as ‘Humanitarian of the Year’ by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce. The Canada-India Business Council also bestowed the annual Roy MacLaren Humanitarian of the Year award on AIM for SEVA at its 2018 Diwali gala, with Dr Papneja accepting the award from Mr MacLaren himself. The India Centre at the University of Winnipeg also honoured AIM for SEVA Canada at its annual Awards dinner in November 2017, with Dr Papneja accepting the award and delivering the keynote speech.
Simply put, Dr Papneja has few peers.