SECOND LIFE
Follow your heart
ARCHANA SUBRAMANIAN
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By helping first generation learners complete their education, actor Suriya continues his heroics off the screen as well.
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Giving Back: Suriya’s focus is on education.
A boy looked up to his father and drew inspiration from him. All he knew and believed was that some day, when he made it big, he should give back to society. And this man did become famous and he did do what he had envisioned. He is actor Suriya…
The foundation that his father pioneered nearly three decades ago identified top ranking poor students and rewarded them for their hard work. When this was passed on to Suriya, he decided to call it the Suriya Charitable Trust.
Passion to help
He started initially by donating money to people in need but as his funds melted away, he realised that his passion to help needed to be more organised. Suriya admits, “It was never easy. Juggling films, family and my organisation was difficult but I knew I had to make a difference.”
After talking and consulting with people, he finally decided to focus on education, as education remains the only tool with which one can change oneself and society. And this is when the Agaram Trust was born. Agaram stands for the first letter in Tamil and Suriya’s mission was to concentrate and empower the first generation learners.
He began with adopting a school near Kancheepuram. And this is only the beginning. Suriya aims to start a role model school that will educate your kid along with a kid sponsored by you. He is also trying to identify schools that have no facilities and lack infrastructure and try to fill the gap. “I want Agaram to adopt the school and help all the children in truly becoming better-equipped adults of tomorrow.”
Creating awareness
Agaram Trust uses campaigns as an effective tool to create awareness. His “Herova Zerova” was one such crusade. Various individuals and organisations have been approached to help. Suriya has also set up a website that has a list of pre-identified children who need financial aid to complete education.
“Another portal has individuals who are seeking jobs,” adds Suriya. At present there are 12 learning centres, with dedicated teachers who find time to help children pursue their dreams. Several other volunteers assist in getting a school back into shape by giving it proper infrastructure and other facilities.
Suriya is happy with doing this much. His movies are an expression of his talent and his work is celebrated in Kollywood today. He is probably one of the finest examples we have of people who make a difference by just following their heart!
This column features little-known aspects of well-known personalities.
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