The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : This top batsman is a Good Samaritan too

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Saturday, May 24, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

This top batsman is a Good Samaritan too

Vidya Venkat

— PHOTO: A. MURALITHARAN

Stephen Fleming in action at Dr. Ambedkar Nagar in Chennai on Friday.

CHENNAI: Former New Zealand cricket captain Stephen Fleming, now a lead batsman for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, took some time off from his practice sessions on Friday morning to lend support to World Vision, an international non-governmental organisation.

The cricketer listened to success stories scripted by 125 women’s self-help groups (SHGs) promoted by the NGO in Dr. Ambedkar Nagar in Adambakkam. The NGO had formed an association in 1990 to empower over 2,000 families evacuated from along the railway tracks in the city and resettled here.

The SHG members narrated to Fleming how the place got flooded during the rains. Through the association, they campaigned for causes, including better infrastructure.

Fleming said he decided to visit the place as he was impressed with the work done by the NGO in Zimbabwe.

He said he has been sponsoring some programmes for them in New Zealand. “It feels good to bring a smile on to someone’s face,” he said.

And smiles he did bring on to the faces of children who peeped through the windows of the room where Fleming sat. On his way out, the cricketer instantly obliged some of them with autographs. He also played a few shots to loud cheers from every one.

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