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Visitors were greeted with a full size painting of Zarathushtra in the entrance lobby of the newly inaugurated World Zoroastrian House in Feltham, London. Over 100 members, families and friends were taken around the three floors by a committee member on the open day on March 17, 2019 "so that they could appreciate the renovation and hard work that had been undertaken. Of course the project is still not complete and it will take another few years…with our scarce resources,” noted WZO (World Zoroastrian Organisation) president Sammy Bhiwandiwalla. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WZO House will be open to all Zoroastrians and their families and to those who shared and believed in the Zoroastrian way of life, stressed WZO chairman Shahpur Captain in his welcome address.  Barely 2.5 km from Heathrow airport, well connected by road, rail, tube and bus, the L-shaped, former Bridge House was previously used as school premises.
Heads dutifully covered, the assembly sat for a jashan performed by Ervads Jimmy Madon, Zubin Writer, Phiroze Motafram and Zal Motafram after which Madon spoke on the significance of the jashan ceremony. The first boi ceremony was performed in the small Setayash Gah (prayer room) which is commemorated in the name of Drs Shirinbanoo and Dasturji Sohrabji Kutar. 
There have been many donors over the years but the purchase of a property in or near London did not materialize because of the steep real estate prices. "Only after the Firuz Madon Foundation (FMF) stepped in with a donation of  £ 1,000,000 (Rs 9,15,81,374) could we expand our horizons,” acknowledged Bhiwandiwalla. The aims and objects of FMF being similar to those of WZO, the donation was made by FMF trustees Dr Parvis Fozooni, Captain and Hosy Madon. According to Bhiwandiwalla, the other major donors were: Dr Abtin and Mehrafzoun Sassanfar who contributed £ 500,000 (Rs 4,57,90,687). The late Abtin was co-founder of the World Zoroastrian Council and the Centre Culturel  Zoroastrien de Paris. Erach and Roshan Sadri Foundation, formed in 2005 to assist the homeless, for education and welfare, and for assisting Zoroastrians in need in India and the UK, gave  £ 150,000 (Rs 1,37,37,206). Former WZO chairman Rumi Sethna and his wife Hilda donated £ 100,001 (Rs 90,21,416). Behram and Rena Baxter whose munificence had earlier funded a WZO senior facility in Navsari extended US$ 100,000 (Rs 68,64,150).
The cost of renovating the old  Bridge House that they converted into World Zoroastrian House worked out to over £ 1,000,000. Additionally they had to provide for installing proper heating and cooling systems as also an elevator to serve the disabled and senior citizens. "In an old building we expected to find problems as we went along. There were cost overruns and we had to alter our plans significantly,” stated Bhiwandiwalla.
Located on the ground floor is the community hall that will be used for seminars/lectures/religious classes/ celebrations like navjotes and weddings plus WZO’s fund-raising functions for multifarious charities. Attached is a kitchen that adds to the convenience. On the first floor is the Setayash Gah with an afringan donated by Sammy’s wife Ursula. There is also a committee/board room and storage space on the same floor. A reference library is also due to come up, conveyed the president. Whilst the World Zoroastrian House has parking facilities for 22 cars, to the rear of the property is an additional prepayment public car park. Those interested in further information on the World Zoroastrian House or WZO activities may write to contact@w-z-o.org
For playing a key role in the development of World Zoroastrian House, Captain specially thanked Bhiwandiwalla and committee members Darayus Motivala, Armaity Engineer and Minoo Mistry. He further lauded Armaity and Benafsha Engineer Mulla for working ceaselessly for the last few weeks to ready the premises for the open day. The refreshments served that day were courtesy Benafsha and her husband Mohammad Mulla.