Akanksha was born when a group of friends started volunteering on weekends at public hospitals and homes for destitute children and women in Chennai in 1998.

Akanksha Public Charitable Trust was created on July 15, 2000 in Chennai, Tamilnadu and was registered soon after when some of its volunteers decided to devote more time and energy to Akanksha to make it their primary work.

Akanksha works to learn along with and support individuals caught up in life's unfortunate circumstances.

The Chairman of Akanksha Public Charitable Trust, Khodadad Moradian has more than three decades of experience in business and financial consulting. Dr Oswin Thayal, a senior pulmonologist and medical diagnostics entrepreneur is a trustee and was the Chairman of the Trust for a decade since its inception. Prayaag Joshi, currently a teacher and an erstwhile tax advisor is the executive arm of the board of trustees. He works full time on the activities of the trust.

The three trustees work together in a spirit of camaraderie and determine the work of the trust increasingly in consultation with its many beneficiaries who are still very young people.

The trust works with individuals through collaborative initiatives in areas of education, health, livelihoods, culture and ecology especially engaging with the old, the young and women.

Amar Seva Sangram was established to help differently-abled and underprivileged children. Their mission is to empower disabled citizens by rehabilitating them and integrating them into mainstream society. They have a home for rehabilitated physically challenged people that provides free shelter, food, clothing, medical aid, and appliances. Around 50 children with loco-motor disability and associated problems are attended to and provided with special medical care.

The school for specially-abled children, Sangamam, provides free education. In Village-based rehabilitation, differently abled people, as well as communities, are involved in the rehabilitation process. They are organized into Self Help Groups for their development and get access to different government schemes. Early Intervention Center aims to intervene as early as possible and minimize disability so that the child can reach the highest potential. They cater to the needs of the children under 5 years. 30 Special children have been served so far, out of which 8 have been mainstreamed.

Amar Foundation is a trust, with a mission to generate employment for the rural poor and handicapped. They have 65 employees of which around 25 are specially-abled. Sri S. Ramakrishnan, the founder was awarded the Amazing Indians Award for his extraordinary work and selfless devotion.

The vision of the organisation is to work towards empowerment of the less privileged, oppressed and deprived women and children, youth, artisans, landless, unorganized and migrant labourers, and the farming community through a process of organization and participation.

The organisation came into existence with the hard work of like-minded individuals headed by Mr. Joseph Xavier and Mrs. Amala Nayagi who had the passion to render services to the underprivileged, oppressed, women, children and differently abled in the most backward areas of Ponnamaravathi Taluk, Pudukottai District. It is a charitable, non-profit, non-political, non-communal organization, committed to the objectives of Annai Charitable and educational Trust.

Mr. Joseph Xavier is the Founder of this Trust. He has completed his Diploma in Civil Engineering and is a Civil Contractor by profession. He has put all his earnings to promote Annai Charitable and educational Trust to mould the young ones as the modern architects since he believes in the statement of Steven Covey that, "Empowerment is the fire ignited within the person that unleashes their talents, ingenuity, and creativity to do whatever is necessary with the principles agreed upon to accomplish common values, vision and mission."

Stats for 16-17

No. of poor children supplied with educational Materials - 25

No. of poor women/widows provided with clothes - 95

No. of Children provided free education/Scholarship - 42

The primary objective of ASHWINI is to establish a health system that is accessible, acceptable, effective and sustainable. It should be owned and managed by the people themselves. The most important aspect of this health intervention is the strong emphasis on involving the adivasi community and in training adivasi youth to deliver the services.

ASHWINI believe that communities can be empowered by a participatory development process of capacity building and decentralization that culminates in community owned and managed programs and institutions. Ownership of institutions that cater to the mainstream population is a powerful tool in bringing about a change in social equations.

20,000 tribals who are members are the primary beneficiaries of the project. A majority of the tribals live below the poverty line and literacy rates are still very low. Illnesses that are directly related to poverty like malnutrition, tuberculosis, anemia and water borne diseases continue to be a major problem for these communities.

ANEW - Association for Non-traditional Employment for Women, based in Anna Nagar, Chennai, is an NGO committed to the cause of upliftment of underprivileged women.

Young, underprivileged women are selected and trained so that they can become financially independent. They have trained over 9500 candidates since the inception and currently train around 900 candidates per annum.

The training courses include: Auto/Car driving, Home nursing (co-certified by Sundaram Medical Foundation), Basic Computer Applications (co-certified by NIIT Foundation), Basic IT program customised for hearing impaired (co-certified by NIIT Foundation), Desk Top Publishing Applications (co-certified by NIIT Foundation), TALLY & Accounting (co-certified by Veetech software solutions), Web Designing (co-certified by NIIT Foundation), Optometry (co-certified by Sight Care Foundation).

All their courses have mandatory spoken English and counselling classes to improve their scope of employability. Internships are provided whenever there are corporate opportunities available."

Three like-minded friends in the year 2006 related closely to the need for quality education and believed a solution that creates educationally empowered youth capable of active participation and development of the community they belong to will make them self-reliant, and self-sustainable.

Thus, Bhumi – India’‘s largest independent youth volunteering organisation was established in the year 2006 with a vision to help build a more influential, equal and socially conscious society and a mission to drive social change by fostering an environment where young adults & children learn, lead and thrive. Bhumi as a platform enables over 20,000 volunteers in over 12 cities across India for causes like education, environment, animals and community welfare.

With an aim to render quality education, Bhumi provides comprehensive educational support for over 25,000 underprivileged children across India to help them break the cycle of poverty. Bhumi bridges the gaps in formal education and opportunities by providing language and STEAM education, life-skills support and scholarships for higher education:

- through volunteers at orphanages during weekends

- at low-income (private and government) schools with development support for teachers

- education at after-school community centres in urban slums

Most of our volunteers are students or working professionals under the age of 30 and go through mandatory orientation and in return gain immensely through our Leadership programme. Through this platform, the volunteers progress to more leadership roles and responsibility where they switch to education sector from the experiences gained from Bhumi. While holistic education is imparted to the children, Bhumi’‘s young volunteers are also transformed into socially conscious leaders in the education sector.

CARD promotes education, health, livelihood, environment and women development projects. The organisation majorly works with school children, alcohol and drug addicts, poor women and small and marginal farmers.

The educational support to school children was started to help poor rural children meet their educational needs. There is a very good response among the poor parents and students. About 1000 students have benefitted from their initiatives so far. This program has even encouraged the girls to go for secondary and higher secondary education.

DEAN Foundation provides Palliative Care services to the urban poor of Chennai, Coimbatore and Kancheepuram districts. Patients are referred to DEAN Foundation by doctors. They also approach through word of mouth referrals, website and through social media.

Over 80% of the patients are from the lower income group. With no financial means, terminal illnesses like cancer leaves them traumatised both physically and mentally. Cancer patients form about 78% of the total patients treated.

The organisation primarily works in the area of pain relief. Once diagnosed with terminal illness, treatments are gradually stopped and patients are only left with pain management during the rest of their lives. This involves both medicines that are ingested as well as periodic change in dressing of the tumours. The family members of the patients are also trained to nurse the patients and administer the medicines as required.

There are two forms of services - Out-patient services and Home Based Care. Out-patient care is for patients who are able to come to the office or have family members who are mobile. Home Based Care is primarily for patients who are immobile. In addition to this they also work with the Department of health & Family Welfare and State health Society, Govt. of Tamil Nadu actively to provide training and create awareness.

The foundation of EKAM Foundation lies in the belief that every child has the freedom to live and none should be denied the right to healthcare. Thus, they are committed to the healthcare of neonates, children, adolescents, and mothers from underprivileged communities. Their primary focus is on rural health and they aim to achieve this through direct medical support and indirectly through community awareness, empowerment, and participation.

EKAM intervenes to bring a desired positive impact on the overall life-saving scenario by providing support and enhancing their health through several initiatives. They supplement care at primary health centers, district hospitals, and other tertiary care government hospitals by training nurses, helping in maintaining critical equipment, transporting sick infants to the nearest district hospitals, providing lab test support, drugs and medicines in select government hospitals. In addition to this, several camps, training programs, empowerment workshops are organized to create awareness among adolescent girls, expectant mothers, and the community.

Their mission is to complete the government health system and not replace it. As of last year, EKAM has reached out to over 1.08 million children and as many families through its multi-pronged initiatives.

Grace Peter Charitable Trust works largely with local communities on initiatives linked to their social empowerment and livelihood support. The interventions includes, education, child health care, environment protection, health, gender issues and economic empowerment of women. GPCT has been working for more than 17 years and it is currently spread to over to 92 villages forming part of West Madurai Block of Madurai district in Tamil Nadu. So far, 20450 poor people have benefited by GPCT programs.

The organization aims to bring about change in the life of people of rural India. They want to help underprivileged children and widows irrespective of caste, colour, language and religion. Our vision is to help the physically handicapped, blind, and HIV affected people.

Grace and Peter were philanthropists. The organisation followed their footsteps in establishing this NGO and in following their ideals.

No. of women provided with Sewing Machine - 26

No. of women provided with Sarees - 40

No. of Children provided with educational Support and Clothes - 55

No. of children provided with Nutrition food - 50

The Indian Association for the Blind (IAB) is popularly known as the temple for rehabilitation, that affirms its commitment to empower visually challenged people to practice self-reliance by providing comprehensive rehabilitation, education and employment opportunities to them.

Based at Madurai, their special focus on economically disadvantaged visually challenged children and adults has fostered education and rehabilitation to more than 11,000 visually challenged people.

With over 24 projects that enhance the quality and quantity of educational and employment opportunities, their activities have benefited 20% of the visually challenged population of Tamil Nadu.

The long list of awards that this association has been honored with includes the Millennium Award by All India Confederation for the Blind, New Delhi, CSR Award, IBN7 Super Idol Award and the National Award by the President of India. Providing assistance in education, career, and residence, the members of IAB are committed to raise the living standard of visually impaired people and help them travel the road to independence and self-reliance.

Isha Vidhya rural schools have been started in villages (under the umbrella of Isha Education, established in 2005) to provide high-quality school education to underprivileged rural children who cannot otherwise access or afford it. Isha Vidhya’s English-medium schools open the door for rural children to prepare for higher studies and to join the workforce. The holistic, activity-based approach of Isha Vidhya’s educational system, nurtures children’s development beyond just academics, ensuring that students realize their full potential and learn in a joyful manner.

With 10 schools and over 8500 students, the members of Isha Vidya actively support and promote education among female children in the villages as a result of which their schools have seen an increased enrolment of girl children.

60% of our children are first generation school goers and are on scholarship. The on-going pandemic has severely affected the families of our children. This year with CSR funds nearly non-existent, we are entirely dependent on individual donors to contribute for the scholarships of the students. This campaign is to seek your support for these deserving children.

JK MAASS Foundation is a social, health, development and empowerment agency servicing differently abled people from underprivileged communities for the past 16 years.

The Foundation is dedicated to the rehabilitation of the differently abled and works for their upliftment in the urban slums and rural areas of Madurai district. It was started with the aim of providing services like physiotherapy, speech therapy and special education to children affected by Cerebral Palsy and counselling to their parents.

The founder being a professional Physiotherapist has dedicated himself to the well being of Differently Abled persons. He is well known as a professional trainer for identification and rehabilitation of orthopaedic disabilities.

NMCT implements sustainable livelihood development program for remote tribes, care and support for the people and children infected/affected by HIV/AIDS, prevention of HIV/AIDS among industrial migrants, and childhood development through health and nutrition education. Around one thousand families infected by HIV/AIDS have been provided with care and support for treatment services, nutritional food supplements and health care activities in 8 blocks of Coimbatore district.

The health and nutrition education in Anamalai block covering school and community children, adolescents & women has impacted thousands of children, adolescents and women in practicing healthy lifestyle through regular nutritious food. The mission of the organisation is to have sustainable holistic development among the underserved.

During 1986-87 the founder of the organization was a student in the Bharathiar University doing studies on Ethnic Tribes and their traditional practices. The needs of the underserved community and desire to support them as a part of the society was his reason for joining the voluntary sector.

Mr. A. S. Sankaranayaranan, Director of NMCT, formerly a Professor at an Ayurvedic college, met tribal people during his research in the forest area. He found that the Tribes were selling their lands for meager amounts and so he decided to dissuade them by making them economically viable. NMCT also felt the necessity for empowering women and run programmes on childcare, health and hygiene for the needy.

In 2017, Native Medicare Charitable Trust was awarded the Credibility Assurance Team by the Credibility Assurance Team Certificate of Appreciation for Awesomeness and the Guide Star India by the Guide Star India Commitment to Transparency.

Mr. Kathiresan's inspiration to start Ritham Special School for the Mentally Challenged came inadvertently from David, an intellectually challenged child, who had excellent memory but very poor associative skills. Being a former govt school headmaster in Tamil Nadu and having won the Best Teacher award from both the Central and State governments, Mr. Kathiresan was touched by his interaction with David and decided to start a school for children like him.

The school follows the BASIC - MR scale (Behavioural Assessment Scale for Indian Children - Mentally Retarded) to assess each student individually and fix their syllabus accordingly. Students' progress is evaluated on a quarterly basis, following which their syllabus is re-fixed. The teacher-student ratio in the school is 1: 8.

The total number of students in the school is 100, out of which 73 students come from underprivileged backgrounds and require financial assistance. Children who stay far away and cannot afford the transportation cost are given free transportation facility as well.

The Mantra behind Shankara is 'Thamasoma Jyothir Gamaya '- Lead us from darkness to Light

Sankara Eye Foundation is a US-based non-profit organization that works toward eliminating curable blindness in India. Sankara brings quality timely eye care to the doorsteps of rural India through its award-winning Gift of Vision rural outreach program.

Equipped with most modern facilities & knowledgeable dedicated specialists and highly motivated staff, the SEF is committed to clinical excellence, personalized patient care, and best eye care services at all times to all our patients.One of the unique features of the Sankara Eye Hospitals is the self-sustainability model. The hospitals work on 80:20 model where 20% of the paid surgeries fund 80% of the free surgeries. This model ensures that hospitals fund themselves once the self-sufficiency is reached.

Today, Sankara is the largest free eye care provider in the world and has performed over 1.5 million free eye surgeries. SEF's mission is to realize the goal of "Vision 20/20 by the year 2020." - perform 1 million free eye surgeries annually by the year 2010.

Sankara Eye Hospital is an ISO 9001 certified, state of the art multi-specialty eye hospital located at Pammal, a well-developed suburb of Chennai City.

This hospital has been functioning as an exclusive eye care center with a singular vision of providing high-quality care to all segments of society, rich or poor. The Hospital offers nine specialty services (Cataract, Refractive, Cornea, Glaucoma, Retina, Orbit & Oculoplasty, Uvea, Neuro-Ophthal, Pediatric Ophthal) and support services like Contact Lens, Prosthetic eye, and Low Vision Clinic.

This hospital runs a charitable eye care program for the poor under the name 'Kannoli Vision Saver' project. State-of-the-art outpatient facilities exist for examination of all eye disorders and a team of highly skilled Optometry technicians and Ophthalmologists provide personalized and professionally competent care. The three-storied hospital has 140 beds, 20 independent bath-attached rooms, and a modern hygienic kitchen to cater nutritious food for the patients.

The hospital has four sophisticated and fully equipped operation theaters and a team of very highly committed and talented staff apart from 12 senior eye surgeons. The hospital currently carries out an average of 60 surgeries every day and has performed over 250,000 vision-restoring surgeries till now.

Located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Sankara Nethralaya has grown tremendously since its commencement thanks to the unconditional and generous support received from all quarters of society and has gained international excellence for its quality and affordable eye care services.

Its goals include providing quality ophthalmic care at affordable cost to patients, free eye care treatment to indigent patients and teaching and training an army of personnel to combat blindness affecting the population of India.Today, the institute has over 84 eye care professionals examining around 2,600 patients and performing around 200 surgeries every day.

About 50 % of the out-patient department and 35 % of the surgeries are done free of cost to the underprivileged. It offers state-of-the-art facilities and has 32 operation theaters equipped with the latest equipment. Sankara Nethralaya is one of the leading super specialty institutions for ophthalmic care in India. Sankara Nethralaya, meaning "The Temple of the Eye", was founded in 1978 as a unit of Medical Research Foundation.

Sevalaya is a registered charitable Trust and work in poor villages around Tamil Nadu.Their vision is to serve the rural poor and transform them into an equitable, happy and fulfilled society with an improved quality of life.The organization is professionally managed and is governed by a Board of Trustees with a deep commitment to social development, drawn from varied backgrounds.

An advisory committee, consisting of people who have experience in various fields, share their experience and skills with the trustees and employees of Sevalaya, on a regular basis. Sevalaya draws its inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, and Mahakavi Subramania Bharathiyar. Sevalaya's Vision is based the following three mantras: "Educating even one poor child is holier than constructing thousands of temples" - Mahakavi Bharathi,

"India lives in its villages. The country can't be called developed until the last village is developed" - Mahatma Gandhi

"God comes in the form of food for a hungry person. Providing food is more important than teaching religion" Swami Vivekananda

Their longtime goal is to start a free University for the benefit of orphans, the destitute and poor children.

SPPD works among poor, orphaned and underprivileged children, children with HIV and abandoned, deserted women like widows, helpless and resource poor farmers to ensure their rights and development. They also provide relief and rehabilitation to victims of disaster and train them on disaster preparedness.

SPPD envisions a secure & sustainable community with special focus on empowering vulnerable groups through 5 broad thematic areas. education & skill development focuses on providing wholesome education to children and demand-driven skill training to youth. They also prioritise health which is central to human well being.

Providing the children living with HIV/AIDS with monthly nutritional kit is one of other important activities. Their intervention with women groups is through building their capacity to become self reliant. India is primarily an agrarian country and hence SPPD strongly believes in reviving agriculture and making it profitable and sustainable.

This would solve many of the socio-economic issues that the rural population faces. The organization has trained small & marginal farmers in sustainable agriculture and has demonstrated the scope of dry land farming in a semi-arid region by establishing a model farm cum training centre. Yet another major initiative for Organic farming practices of SPPD is the propagation of preserved green fodder among the farmers of these drought prone districts. Disaster relief, rehabilitation, and more importantly training on Disaster Preparedness forms a part of interventions of SPPD.

Today, SPPD has been executing projects in partnership with the state government, central government, corporate, Not-for-profit organizations and individual philanthropists from India & abroad. The organisation has an impeccable track record of executing several projects which has transformed thousands of lives and stands testimony to the organisation's commitment & expertise. The organization has been enlisted by Global Giving - U.S, U.K and GiveIndia, TATA power and Your Cause that demonstrates its credibility, transparency and management.

SWEED was initiated in 1989 by a team of women activists. The vision of the organisation is to Facilitate a casteless, classless, secular, non-party, just and gender equal society.

At first, it concentrated on only 10 villages in Melur block and then extended its work to all 13 blocks in Madurai district. 60 percent of the rural population serviced by SWEED comprised of agriculture labourers, small and marginal farmers. Employment opportunities in these villages were very limited.

education of women remained a distant dream for many. Early marriage and gender exploitation were other problems the people faced. Melur and Kottampatti blocks were high-risk for HIV/AIDS infections.

Mrs. Mabel Pushpam is the head of the organization with nearly 28 years experience in women development activities. She began her career in social development as an evangelical worker and as a volunteer activist in Palmyra Workers Development Society in Kanyakumari district in the early 1980s.

This rich experiences provided her an opportunity to lend her services to DESA in Melur Taluk in Madurai district. Her training and experience in SIRD, helped her to establish SWEED in 1989. They have a team of only 5 people.

Stats for 16-17:

Number of general Medical checkup for children, men and women - 980

Number of SHGs got Milch Animals - 101

Number of kits of Pro health Powder for HIV infected people that were distributed - 76

Sri Arunodayam is a Registered Charitable Trust that was founded to fill the gap of awareness and medical facilities for the marginalized sections of humanity. The organization has built its foundation on humanitarian values that uphold the dignity and right of this much-neglected section of the society and have set out with a vision to ensure that the mentally challenged children remain safe and enjoy equal opportunities.

With a staff of over 50, the organization has worked relentlessly towards providing care and protection to the mentally challenged abandoned children and has promoted the rights of such children along with encouraging the society to integrate them. The organization has provided food, medical care, clothing, physiotherapy, special education and speech therapy to 106 children and restored 77 abandoned Mentally Challenged Children with their parents.

Their honorable work was awarded the World of Children Award by the World of Children Foundation for their Humanitarian service and the Duruva Star Award by the Sudesi Magazine for their service to the Mentally Challenged. With an emphasis on ability rather than disability, their core values reflected in their work include Transparency, Credibility, Equality, Compassion, Dignity, and Inclusion

Founded in 1993, The Tamilnad Kidney Research Foundation was set up primarily to provide financial assistance to underprivileged patients for dialysis, transplantation, investigation and medication costs. The Foundation also aims to encourage organ donation at the time of death. TANKER was started by Dr. Georgi Abraham along with a group of like-minded individuals. From providing financial assistance to needy patients and spreading awareness to providing subsidized and free dialysis, TANKER has taken every effort to live up to its vision. It currently provides services in the following areas:

Dialysis: A person suffering from kidney failure can survive only when he/she undergoes dialysis or a kidney transplantation. Haemodialysis involves the use of an artificial kidney termed "Dialyser", which emulates the functions of a normal kidney. It needs to be done 2-3 times a week and is an expensive process. TANKER Foundation has made dialysis affordable for economically backward sections using their Subsidised Units. Dialysis in a private hospital costs anywhere between Rs 1500 to Rs. 2500. At TANKER, dialysis is offered either free or at a subsidised rate of Rs. 375 to patients. It costs TANKER Rs.1100 for every dialysis. The shortfall of Rs.725 is covered by donations from well wishers. Presently 377 patients benefit from this every month.

Fistula- An A V fistula is essential for dialysis. This is created surgically by joining a vein to an artery in the area of the wrist. Impure blood is first drawn from the fistula on the patient's wrist, passed through the dialyser machine and clean blood is returned to the patient. A Fistula surgery costs between Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 15,000/-, which is beyond what many patients can afford.

Financial Support- The Foundation helps needy patients from all over India by offering them one-time contributions ranging from Rs.1,500/- to Rs.20,000/- towards transplantation, investigation and post-transplantation medication costs.

Research grants- The importance of advances in Kidney research is recognised by TANKER. Funding is provided to research projects for studies in various aspects of kidney disease.

Internships and training- TANKER at its various dialysis units provides training and internship for budding nurses, lab technicians and those looking at Administrative roles. The Foundation is also a training ground for students of Social Work, Public Relations and Sociology.

Organ Donation- TANKER encourages deceased-donor organ donation that can be a boon for not just kidney patients but also for others suffering from life threatening ailments. Deceased-donor organ donation is not very popular in our country and hence the recipient waiting lists are long.

Deceased-donor organ donation consists of removing viable organs from brain dead donors and then transplanting them into a living patient who needs it. Soon after a patient is declared brain dead (the patient is dead but the heart maintains circulation usually with mechanical ventilation support), the organs are harvested. The harvested organs are then kept cold to delay the natural decaying process. These are then transplanted to the needy patient.

TANKER under the Deceased-Donor Transplantation Programme, sponsored a meeting of surgeons and physicians in October, 2005. Their recommendation to the health Secretary resulted in the expansion of the panel of specialists who certify brain-stem death. The TANKER Trustee Doctors were part of the team that performed the first government approved multi organ deceased-donor transplant in December 1995. TANKER also supports MOHAN (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) Foundation in creating awareness about deceased-donor organ donation.

Mental illness and its treatment are still seen as a taboo in our society. While most walk away from this issue, the Banyan made sure it stood up, extended its branches and picked up the fallen leaves to breathe new life into them again.

A handful of people who believed in the cause built the Banyan almost a quarter of a decade ago, with hopes, dreams and very light pockets. Their perseverance has today resulted in reaching out to many benefactors who are helping in taking care of the mentally ill who have no means of fending for themselves.

The programs at the Banyan include sponsoring of doctors and psychiatrists for their in-house patients and providing lunch for the residents. Based out of Tamil Nadu, they have rural as well as urban clinics, rescuing and serving almost 2000 patients with a strength of over 150 volunteers and 200 staff on board.

The Hope House aims to Nurture and empower children to become successful and responsible citizens.

Mr Ruby Nakka, the founder, grew up in a children's home in Andhra Pradesh for 12 years and was helped for 15 years in total. It was his childhood desire to help children like the way he was helped.

Mr. Ruby Nakka was living in the United States with his family that consisted of two adopted girls. It was his girls who reminded him and his wife about the children in need of help in India. It was they who inspired him and his wife to forgo their well paid jobs in the healthcare industry to start The Hope House. He in turn inspired two of his best friends (Manoah and Thomas) to join him and one among the two (Mr. Thomas) has relocated to India now.

Full time staff - 4

Contract staff -16

Volunteers - 2

Total Receipts for 2015-2016 - INR 4545923

Total Payments for 2015-2016 - INR 6005353

Activities and reach for the latest full Financial Year

Children able to read English at the speed of 10 to 15 words per minutes with less than 20 errors - 10

Children supported with ration supplies - 60

Children empowered in financial literacy - 50

Vidyarambam is dedicated to providing enjoyable quality education to all under-privileged pre-primary and primary children to encourage them to successfully continue their education. It started out of a passion for disadvantaged rural children who were not getting a quality education.

Mr. V. Ranganathan, Founder, and President is basically an Automobile Engineer worked in India and the Middle East in Managerial capacity. He is retired and he devotes his time entirely to the Trust. He asks-Can we do not provide enjoyable education to attract children? Can we remove the social injustice of denying them a quality education at the vulnerable age?

Close to 8600 Primary and Middle School children have been served in the lifetime of the foundation. Support classes are conducted for over 1200 junior and senior school children

In 2012, Midtown's was awarded the Best digital Literacy Center by the Vidyarambam Trust Digital Literacy.

The foundation until today has changed 25000 lives directly and indirectly

The vision of the organisation is to strive towards transforming the de-humanized and exploited to

experience and sustain a dignified life.

Being a Dalit, Mrs. Nancy was affected by three dimensions - within the family, being untouchable and having been born as a woman. This phenomenon is common to all Dalit women. This kind of injustice unveiled by the society on the women folk hurt her feelings from childhood. This inner urge and burning desire motivated her to start an organisation for the cause of women, especially Dalit.

The founder's father was a school head master and she always had an inclination towards social service looking at the condition of the people living in remote areas of her village, especially women. Thereafter, she decided to start SHGs and also had offers to join the govt. but decided not to do so as that would mean having to succumb to political pressure. Slowly, the activities gained momentum and she increased the focus areas. She has received a lot of support from her husband. The organization is run by women and works for women beneficiaries from the dalit community (especially scavengers) irrespective of religion.

Mrs. Nancy has 16 years of experience in organizing the unorganized labours like bullock cart workers, farmers, domestic workers, scavengers and rural artisans and development works. She has organized 680 women self help groups. She is a master trainer in Entrepreneur development training and self help group members and leaders.

Vizhuthukal Trust primarily works for landless labourers, agricultural coolies and scavengers in Tirunelveli. Due to modernization and urbanization, agricultural activity has come down narrowly over the years. So women in the village find it very difficult to find any kind of work. The condition of destitute, abandoned and widowed women gets further worsened against this background.

Vizhuthukal Trust runs various development programs for the welfare of the rural community under Tirunelveli Corporation. One of these is their educational program, through which they support play centres. In a survey that the Trust conducted amongst these children, they learnt that many children had expressed that their wish is to celebrate their birthdays with their friends and family. So the organisation has a program for celebrating birthdays of children.

The organization's primary focus is to work for the betterment of children, women and the aged (primarily women). They do this through:

1) Organization of women working as house maids

2) Self-Help Group formation for women

3) education Support for poor children in slums/orphans

4) Support for destitute women who are aged

5) Children's birthday celebration programme

6) Income Generation Programme