The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Lighting up the lives of children for nearly 100 years

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Thursday, Jan 17, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Lighting up the lives of children for nearly 100 years

R. Sujatha

— Photo: R. Ragu

Eager learning: Children at the orphanage run by the Madras Society for the Protection of Children attend a tailoring class at Tondiarpet.

CHENNAI: It is 4.30 p.m. and tea time at Varadappa Naidu’s orphanage. The children, aged five to 13, fold their hands, close their eyes and say their prayers as staff members place a banana and a plate with jilebi and vada on it.

Fifteen minutes later, by when the distribution is over, a senior staffer announces the donor’s name and asks them to thank the family for its generosity. The children say in chorus ‘thank you sir’ before sitting down for their snacks.

Located in an area of around 70 grounds, donated by V.Varadappa Naidu, the orphanage run by the Madras Society for the Protection of Children (MSPC) has lit up the lives of hundreds of children since 1908. The Society, which will be celebrating its centenary this year, was established on April 24, 1908, with the then Governor of Madras as its president. It is a tradition that continues; the Tamil Nadu Governor remains its president.

The Society laid the foundation stone for development of welfare schemes for childcare in the State. Before the enactment of the first Madras Children Act, the then government referred the Bill to the Society for its views. Later, the government sought its views on amendments to the Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code with special reference to wrongs to children, recalls T. Ramakrishna, the Society’s honorary secretary.

His parents were donors of the institution. Despite holding a regular job, he has been associated with the orphanage for 51 years now and held several positions.

A long list of people who made a mark in various fields, including Annie Besant, P. Theagaraya Chetty, V.V. Srinivasa Iyengar, Alladi Krishnaswami, P.S. Sivaswami Iyer, S. Muthulakshmi Reddy, Mary Clubwala Jadav and Lady Venkatasubba Rao besides retired judges of the Supreme Court and Madras High Court have been in the Society’s committee.

The Society now runs a children’s home under the Juvenile Justice Act and a destitute home under the integrated child welfare scheme. Currently there are over 200 children, who are assured of a roof over their head and three meals a day.

Thanks to generous donations from the Jain and Marwari families nearby, there is no dearth of funds, say staff members.

The meagre government grant, donations in the form of food, clothes and books from the community and organisations such as Round Table have helped sustain the Society.

The children have been picked up from the street, from single-parent households and from poor families that have too many mouths to feed.

The youngsters go to Lady Stoke’s school. They learn tailoring and can sew buttons and operate a sewing machine. The old age home on the campus offers the children the much needed bonding with adults.

The orphanage has produced lawyers and businessmen. Some are employed in Central government institutions, Mr. Ramakrishna says. “Some of them acknowledge that they were with us. But many of them would not because of the stigma attached to living in an orphanage,” he points out.

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