: Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize, This Hero Used Indian Culture To Transform A US Town #IndiaNEWS #India At one point in time, the Apache Boulevard in Tempe, Arizona, was home to a plethora of empty

Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize, This Hero Used Indian Culture To Transform A US Town #IndiaNEWS #India
At one point in time, the Apache Boulevard in Tempe, Arizona, was home to a plethora of empty motels, abandoned storefronts and graffiti, with an increasing population of the homeless. Crime and drug abuse were rampant. In 2002, one rundown building among these was bought by a man from India, who, with his wife, had followed their daughter to Arizona after she arrived there to study.
This rundown building is today called the India Plaza. It opened in 2003, and has a number of businesses like gift shops, yoga studios, a market and eyebrow threading parlours. It is a hub of Indian food, music, culture and heritage, and its popularity is, in no way, just contained to the Indian population.
The plaza has spurred much economic development in the previously blighted area entrepreneurs are always finding new ventures to open there, including barber shops and vintage stores. Alongside, the Tempe Community Action Agency, of which this man is a board member, provides housing and financial assistance to the homeless in the area.
The man behind this movement is 72-year-old Raveen Arora, who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for transforming Tempe, alongside his work to tackle hunger and homelessness in India and Bangladesh.
Arora has been nominated among 230 others by dozens of organisations across the globe.
With his nomination, Arora perhaps comes full circle, because he was once among the people he is now helping.

Meet Raveen Arora, the founder of India Plaza in Tempe. His work — both locally and in India — has led service organizations from across the world to band together to recommend him for the Nobel Peace Prize. t. co/1EfoQBxVfa
— azcentral (@azcentral) June 28, 2021

‘Raising the profile of the Indian community’
What prompted Arora to buy the dilapidated building in an “undesirable neighbourhood???? In some ways, it reminded him of home, he said.
Arora was born in a refugee camp in Kolkata, after his family moved there after the Partition of India. “I had a very modest upbringing. We used to live near the slums and had to add water to milk to ensure there was enough for everyone. I used to stand in line with my father in the ration booth. My mother used to make clothes for my siblings and me from my dad’s old pyjamas,??? he recalled in a conversation with Rediff. “My father worked menial jobs to make ends meet. ???
At the age of 10, Arora met Mother Teresa when she visited their camp to speak to the children. She asked the kids to give what they could to the underprivileged. Arora put his hand in his pocket, knowing fully well that he had nothing at his disposal to offer.