Thursday, June 25, 2009

A Beam of Hope

Tomorrow is an important day in my life. The importance is not by virtue of me having done anything worthy or of having achieved anything great. The reason for this feeling of importance is being provided by my nephew Krishnan Variyath Sethumadhavan. He by his benevolent act would make me stand apart at the Annual General Body meeting of the Women’s Christian College Alumni Association. He has worked over the last one year with his school and community in Lake Mary, Florida and has raised a sum of US $ 500/- which I would be handing over to the President of the Alumni Association. This money is his humble contribution towards the betterment of the Mc Dougall Nursery School which is run by the Alumni Association. Since he is not in Chennai tomorrow I would as the proud Aunt do it on his behalf. How I wish he was here as I would have loved to introduce him to my friends.

It had all started in 2007 when my sister Geetha and her children were on vacation in Chennai. As a routine, I had prepared some lunch for the children of the Mc Dougall School and while going there, asked Krishnan and his sister Kaavya if they would like to accompany me. Both of them willingly agreed and the three of us set out to the School. Now Mc Dougall School is a nursery which has children of the age group 3 and 4. It is a school meant for the children of the economically weaker section. It has a lower and an upper kindergarten and there are about 45 children in each. The school has a small play ground and a building of its own. The college alumni provide nutritious mid day meal and a snack to the children. It takes a lot of effort on the part of the alumni to raise funds for this 24x7 activity. The school has 2 teachers whose salaries are met by the government. However the salaries of the ayah and the watchman have to be met by the alumni association and so also the administrative and infrastructure cost. Since the association is not the richest body when it comes to finance, careful planning alone helps it to make ends meet. Any form of help in kind or cash from the community is always welcome.

Although I am an alumnus of Women’s Christian College, I am ashamed to say that it was only after joining the Inner Wheel Club of Madras Midtown that I got to know about this school. The manner in which the school was run had an instantaneous impact on me and ever since, I have tried to contribute to the best of my abilities. The impact felt by Krishnan matched with mine, and thus he took a decision that he would work for the betterment of the school and the children. He wanted them to enjoy the hours spent in the school. As a first measure to this resolution, at the end of his vacation in 2007, he handed over the little money that he had received from relatives and requested me to buy toys and other play equipments. I did so without fail. On going back to the US, he spread the word around both in his community and in his school. His school was very appreciative of his sincerity to the project and they willingly agreed to make a contribution. He is the student of the Markham Middle School in Lake Mary. This is a public school were they are dependant on Government funding for their survival and it is from this fund that he managed to get half the amount. They have promised him more in the years to come. The remaining amount was from the various cash prizes and gifts that he received. Last week we met the school correspondent and the alumni president and discussed all that had to be done. He has asked for collapsible wooden benches, chairs for all the children, a coat of paint for the classrooms, good wooden play equipments, wash basins and many other small things that will make a big change in the lives of the children. Since he would leave in another 3 weeks time, the onus is on me to see that his vision is fulfilled.


He hopes to do more for the school in the years to come. His dream is to provide them with an audio visual room which would also serve as a play room. This needs a lot of money but he is very confident that he would be able to raise the same. I was surprised by his unstinting faith in his own abilities. I realized that my little boy had grown and that in the near future I would be talking to a matured and focused young adult. When we lose all hope and see the bedlam around us, it is youngsters like him who repose our faith in humanity and leave us with the pleasant thought that all is not lost in this world and that there are caring and safe hands to carry the good work forward.

At 14 years of age, if Krishnan could provide me with an opportunity like the one I will experience tomorrow, I have absolutely no doubt as to how proud he would make us feel in the future. I pray for his success in all his endeavours and I thank God for giving me my Krishnan.

4 comments:

  1. To think and act in the way Krishnan is doing at such a young age is quite amazing. As a fellow human being we must all be thankful to Krishnan for making the world of those underprivileged children a better place.....And Usha Chechi you are lucky to have a nephew like Krishnan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Valiamma,
    Thank you so much for this beautiful blog. I do not deserve all of the credit however, because it was you who took me to the school and got me started on my efforts. It was your kindness that inspired me to help these children. Thank you for everything.
    Love,
    Krishnan

    ReplyDelete
  3. Usha, I can only think of your mother when I read this. Her trips to feed those children in the slum school were just one of the few facets of her generosity and largeness. Why am I not surprised at her daughter and grandson?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice job, Krish! I wish I had visited the school to see what you had done. Keep up the good work!
    Love,
    Preetha Chechi

    ReplyDelete