|
Sujatha and Komala are young and qualified MBA. But they choose to devote their management and entrepreneurship skills towards changing lives of underprivileged youth in Chennai.
Both Sujatha and Komala are graduated from a premier MBA institute together with a specialized diploma in Social Entrepreneurship to their credit. They had put in confident hands in corporate management for 15 years before heading for self initiated philanthropic work.
The duo, though coming from well-to-do families, had been sensitive about the concerns of the economically poor children and disabled people in the society since they were students. They converted their long cherished dream into a reality in2004 by registering an NGO, “Iniya Udaiyam Charitable Trust” or IUCT in Chennai. The society started off with enabling only 5 children. IUCT was spotted by Smile Foundation as a promising grassroots organisation and currently the number of beneficiaries has risen to more than 100 in just one of the projects meant for employment of underprivileged youth.
Today Sujatha and Komala are successful social entrepreneurs of Smile Foundation under Smile Twin e-Learning Programme [STeP]. The programme provides specialised six months training in skills like English proficiency, computer operations and personality development etc. which are in tandem with job market requirement mainly in retail and service industries. The beneficiaries are youth from the most deserving sections of the society.
Motivating the people of the community and bringing them to the forefront was not an easy job for Sujatha and Komala. However, they were determined to bring about a change in the lives of the slum people.
‘Where there’s a will there’s a way’, the duo of Sujatha and Komala very aptly fits into the saying.
“Our major source was our self-confidence to make the initiative successful. We have always been thinking to do something for the development of youth and to show a right path to them. Smile Foundation’s concept and approach on STeP inspired us for starting the initiative,” says Sujatha.
Subsequent to its partnership with Smile in 2007, IUCT had been able to increase its staff and hence take on new projects in the field of education, healthcare, vocational training etc. The society has made inroads in the villages of Avadi, Muthapet, Pattabiram, Thiruninravur, Thirumbliaivoyan and many more in Tamil Nadu. The students come from families with monthly income less than Rs. 2000/-. Their parents are mostly involved in petty works that includes working as construction workers on daily wages, electricians, bullock cart puller, maisons etc.
Youth from this initiative have got employment in companies like Nokia, Reliance Fresh and regional BPOs, with a minimum monthly income of Rs. 5000/-, which is far too better than their total family income. |
