Founder & President
Dr. Raj Aluri is the founder and President of the International Friendship Ministries and the Columbia International Festival. He is also the founder and president of the Agape English Language Institute for Internationals, USA.
Dr. Aluri was born and grew up in Hyderabad, India. He founded International Friendship Ministries in 1981 with the encouragement of several churches. Knowing firsthand the difficulties immigrants and refugees face in the area of communication when they first arrive in the United States, Dr. Aluri founded the Agape English Language Institute for Internationals, Inc., (AELI), in 1993. Now, as a U.S. Government Department of Homeland Security approved school, that institute provides instruction in English-as-a-Second Language to internationals in Columbia and Greenville, South Carolina.
Dr. Aluri is married to Kathy from Windsor, Ontario, Canada. They have six children: Lydia, James, Paul, Lilian, John, and Mark.