Nearly 30 years ago, while working for a UK corporation supporting volunteer programs in India, a young professional found himself in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It was there—at Seva Canada’s renowned partner, Aravind Eye Care System— that Colin Williams shared an office with none other than Aravind founder, Dr. Venkataswamy, affectionately known as Dr. V.
Since those early days, Colin has built a distinguished career as a consultant specializing in personal and organizational development. He has worked with a wide range of high-profile clients, including Visa, Intel, and Lloyds Banking Group. In a particularly unique career chapter, Colin served as co-owner of Wrexham Football Club, where he focused on the soccer club’s community-based operations and played a role in its successful sale to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in 2021.
While his professional path has taken him around the world and across industries, the time with Dr. V in the mid-1990s left a lasting impression. “The questions and challenges Dr. V posed changed my life,” he reflects. Inspired by Aravind’s “free and paying” model (those that can afford to pay subsidize the cost for those who cannot), Colin left the corporate world a year after his time at Aravind to start his own consulting business, dedicating 10% of both time and profits to projects supporting underserved communities—a model he continues to honour personally. That formative experience sparked a deep, ongoing commitment to eye care and learning-based development work— a commitment that continues to this day.
Colin’s most recent gift has supported Seva Canada’s Evidence in Practice program, which helps our eye care partners improve their quality of care by fostering a culture of continuous learning. The decision to support this particular program was rooted in trust and connection: “I’m a big believer in turning to a network of trusted friends when making decisions— and I have plenty of these in Seva.”
One of those friends is Sanil Joseph, Seva Canada Board Member and a colleague of Colin’s who visited his UK business years earlier as part of a learning exchange. Sanil recognized that Evidence in Practice would be a perfect fit. “It all my buttons,” Colin says, “Learning-based interventions build independence, self-reliance, and sustainable value for communities. They provide the best return on investment possible.”
What sealed the decision was discovering that among the key players in this initiative is Seva Canada’s Program Director, Operations, Katie Judson, a former colleague: “Knowing Katie was at the helm gave me real confidence in the program’s value and impact.”
Colin’s support also came with a practical twist: being based in the UK, he could increase the value of his donation through Gift Aid— a program from the UK government that encourages philanthropy by giving an extra 25p for every £1 given. “lt was a happy confluence of personal, practical, and philosophical reasons,” he says.
What began in a small, shared office in Madurai has rippled outward-across decades, across borders, and across lives. That ripple continues through Colin’s support of Seva Canada’s work: “Inspired by Dr. V, Aravind, and Seva, I have fully embraced the principles of ‘enabling’ as opposed to ‘helping’.” As he puts it, “It’s about creating long-term change, rooted in knowledge and local leadership. That’s the true impact of restoring sight.”
Thank you, Colin, for continuing to inspire change through your vision and generosity!
