THE WORK: Showing up in India

Blog by Stephen Keppel, President at PVBLIC Foundation

Originally published on LinkedIn

Cricket, Community, and the Promise of New Partnerships

There is a version of international development work that happens entirely over Zoom, Google Meets and Teams. Decks get shared, commitments get made, next steps outlined and everyone logs off feeling productive. I've learned (sometimes the hard way) that version rarely moves the needle the way in-person presence does. 

So when the opportunity came to travel to India, it was not simply to support our board member Princess Jahnavi Kumari Mewar and the initiative she and her family are championing. It was a deliberate decision to show up with purpose, to represent PVBLIC Foundation on the ground, and to begin advancing our next phase of growth.

This trip marked the early execution of our formal entry into India, with plans underway to launch PVBLIC India this quarter. Even though “showing up” in this case required three planes, a six-hour car ride, and roughly 8,500 miles door to door, it was an investment in building presence, relationships, and long-term infrastructure in one of the most strategically important markets in the world.

Why India, Why Now

India is having a moment and that's not just a diplomatic nicety. It is the world's most populous nation, a rising economic force, and increasingly, a convener of the kind of multilateral coalitions that PVBLIC was built to support.

What draws us to the Indian approach is something that's been called the "India Way" — a foreign policy framework rooted in multi-alignment rather than allegiance to any single bloc. Rather than choosing sides in a fracturing world order, India engages across geopolitical lines, building bridges with the Global South, Western institutions, and emerging powers simultaneously. That mirrors something fundamental to how PVBLIC operates: we sit at no one's table exclusively; we build and set tables.

Equally important is India's stance as reformist but not revisionist. The India Way aims to reshape global institutions from within. It is not seeking to overturn the international order; it is pushing to make that order more just, more inclusive, and more responsive to the countries most often left out of the room. That is the same ground PVBLIC stands on every day.

In short: India is not just a destination for us. It is a natural partner.

A Cricket Tournament and a Community

The team from Rajasthan celebrates their victory

On April 14th, PVBLIC was proud to support the National Divyang Wheelchair Cricket Tournament, organized by Viklang Shikshan Seva Sansthan at Barkatullah Khan Stadium in Jodhpur. The three-day tournament brought together teams from Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh and involved athletes competing at a national level, in front of their communities, for a chance to be champions.

From the moment we walked into that stadium, it was a celebration. There was drumming, music, and confetti (so much confetti!). In the stands were groups of students from local schools, families, donors, and government officials who had supported the event. The energy on the pitch was electric. The kind of excitement that comes when something genuinely matters to the people participating.

The athletes were extraordinary. These were competitors who had trained, traveled, and shown up to prove something. When the final whistle blew and Rajasthan lifted the trophy in front of their home community, the pride on their faces (and confetti in their hair) said everything. The awards ceremony that ended the day was an eruption of joy and communal support. Athletes from different teams celebrating each other, family members cheering, and a lucky group of people in the stands inspired and reminded of what the human spirit is capable of.

I had the privilege of handing out trophies and speaking about PVBLIC Foundation. I spoke about PVBLIC's mission, the role sport can play in advancing the SDGs, and our decision to establish a formal presence in India. I was nervous as an obvious outsider but it was one of those moments where the words felt easy, because the players and crowd were so joyful, grateful and accepting. 

Jahnavi Kumari Mewar, whose leadership and partnership made this moment possible, put it best:

"Beyond the boundaries and the scoreboards, this is where grit meets grace. Every turn of the wheel and every powerful strike of the ball is a masterclass in resilience, proving that courage isn't the absence of struggle, but the triumph over it. Let's ensure that every dreamer has a pitch to play on."

Building Something Lasting: PVBLIC India

This trip is also the beginning of something bigger. PVBLIC is establishing a formal entity in India. A step that will allow us to deepen our work across the country and the broader Global South. Princess Jahnavi has been central to that effort, bringing the institutional knowledge, relationships, and commitment to sustainable development that allow an organization like ours to move from visitor to stakeholder.

We didn't arrive with a fully formed program. We arrived with a commitment. That's usually how the best things start.

Supporting the National Divyang Wheelchair Cricket Tournament was one event, one community, one stadium full of joy in Jodhpur. But it was also an important first step in a much larger story we intend to build with partners in India.

The Work, Up Close

Part of what this series tries to capture is what global impact actually looks like from the inside. Not the glossy moments, but the decisions, the logistics (the long car rides through the desert) and the relationships that make everything else possible.

Traveling 8,500 miles to show up for a partner, advance a good cause and plant the seeds of a long-term presence: that is diplomacy in its most honest form. It doesn't always make the headlines. But it is always the foundation.