Draft:Eric Rajah

Eric Rajah (born 12 January 1958) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian businessman and humanitarian, who lives in Lacombe, Alberta.

Early life and education
Rajah was born 12 January 1958 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka to M. S. and Florence Rajah, as the eldest of three sons. Immigrating to Canada as a teenager, he arrived in Vancouver with his mother and brothers in 1974 to join his father who had preceded them.

After graduating from Winston Churchill High School in Vancouver (1976), Rajah enrolled in a business program at the University of British Columbia but in 1978 transferred to Canadian Union College (CUC) – now Burman University – in Lacombe, Alberta. He received the Bachelor of Theology degree in 1981.

Family life
In 1985 after becoming a Canadian citizen the previous year, Rajah married Candyce Schafer of Lacombe. They have two sons, Brenden and Jaden.

Professional life
After graduating from college, Rajah served as the student finance officer at CUC and later worked in Red Deer, Alberta as an accountant with the intention of becoming a chartered accountant. However, preferring to work directly with people instead of focusing on financial records combined with his interest in the developing field of computers, he decided to launch a company that would address both.

Advanced Systems
Rajah launched his initial business venture, The Computer Training Centre Inc (CTC), in 1986. As the first such private entity, the centre provided business users with training on computer operating systems and major business-related software. Five years later, CTC morphed into Advanced Systems (AS) with offices in central Alberta that provide a complete information technology package of training, hardware and network equipment, software, service, and support for businesses and non-profit organizations. AS is currently located in Lacombe and Red Deer, Alberta.

A Better World
About the time Rajah established AS, he and his wife Candyce started to plan for ways to help others after they retired but soon realized that they could begin to make a difference without waiting. He started with $5,000 from their savings and, with his friend Brian Leavitt, conceived of A Better World (ABW). Launched in 1990, the nascent ABW focused from the start on investing in the future of Third World people. The first modest project involved a physiotherapy centre for young polio victims in Kendu Bay, Kenya.

Originally, ABW intended to fund ten $5,000 projects. However, over the years that objective ballooned to million of dollars annually for education, health, food security, infrastructure, and income-generating projects throughout the developing world. These projects involve whole communities in planning, design, and construction and often extend over many years of joint involvement.

Alberta Order of Excellence
Rajah was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence (AOE) in 2011. The AOE is a civilian award for merit in the Province of Alberta, instituted in 1979. In so honouring him, the AOE stated, "Eric Rajah is the compassionate co-founder and motivating force behind A Better World, an Alberta-based, volunteer-run aid organization. Thanks to Eric's thoughtful leadership the organization has delivered invaluable, life-changing support to people in need around the world."

This is "the highest honour the province of Alberta can bestow on a citizen and was established 'to accord recognition to those persons who have rendered service of the greatest distinction and of singular excellence for or on behalf of the residents of Alberta.'"

Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division)
In 2021, Rajah and Leavitt became the announced recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division) [MSM] from the Governor General of Canada for founding ABW Canada "that invests in sustainable solutions to poverty in developing countries" and "tackles poverty in some of the world's most disadvantaged regions." Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rajah and Leavitt did not officially receive the MSM until May 2024.

This award recognizes "great Canadians for exceptional deeds accomplished over a limited period of time that bring honour" to Canada through their "remarkable contributions in many different fields of endeavour, from advocacy initiatives and health care services, to research and humanitarian efforts."

Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Medal
As a member of the AOE, Rajah automatically received the Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022 as one of 7,000 Albertans who were deemed to have made "significant contributions to the province."

Other awards
Rajah was named a Rotary Foundation Paul Harris Fellow in 2004 and was one of the fifty Champions of Change finalists for the CBC and Outpost Magazine in 2010.

Honorary Doctor of Laws degree
In May 2014, Andrews University in Michigan conferred the honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree on Rajah in recognition of his "lifelong, exemplary and admirable commitment to the betterment of life for many disadvantaged children and young people around the world." He was also the commencement speaker for two of the university's graduation ceremonies.