Pudiyador... Urappakkam

Birth of the idea...
Swami Vivekananda once said, "So long as the millions die in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor, who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them". Were we those traitors that he was referring to? We were all well placed final year students, happy and contented with what life had offered us on a golden platter. We asked ourselves - Does life treat everyone so well? The answer came immediately - "NO". We looked around and saw so much being desired right next door. Right next door, was an impoverished community of our own brothers, who barely earned a living, barely sent their children to school, barely lived life as we know it... We wanted to ring in change... Bring about a difference... But how? Where? Whom to approach?

Sparks...
It all started with a spark... A small ray of hope... A Sudar...We started out at our own college with the child workers and servers in the college hostel mess and canteens. We helped them study and pass the tenth standard. We breathed new life to the Social Service Club of Crescent Engineering College, woke it from being a dormant, namesake society and metamorphosed into a dream factory. And this is where our biggest dream took shape.... Our Own PUDIYADOR…

Pudiyador - Ramapuram
Pudiyador a non profit organisation was started by Prof. Narayanan in 2000 at Ramapuram, Chennai. Their aim is to provide equal opportunity to every child, regardless of background, gender, financial status. Here at Pudiyador, the children from the nearby slums get trained in things that only a privileged few can dream of - Bharathanatyam, Carnatic music, Yoga, art, craft, theatre, instrumental music and a plethora of other interesting and engaging activities. A few of our college guys were involved in the summer camps conducted by Pudiyador…

Inspiration!
We drew inspiration from Pudiyador.. We modeled our Pudiyador Urappakkam based on this.. We sowed the seeds of 'Pudiyador... Urappakkam' on the 19th of May, 2005. The objective close to Pudiyador's heart is to inculcate among these children the much-needed self-confidence and faith in their own capabilities, which is quintessential for survival in today's world. We identify the strengths and weaknesses of every child. We work on developing their talents and seek to provide solutions for their problem areas. Learning, which is a slow process, is made enjoyable and the child starts loving it. The children are made to think and act independently; they are made to understand what they want and what they do not want; they are encouraged to take their own decisions; they learn what is useful and what is not. Along with this, they are also helped with their academics, which make them perform well at school. The child then gains self-confidence. The child realizes that s/he is capable of doing wondrous things. Wonders will follow.

Our Dream Blossoms..
Our distant dream for Pudiyador slowly turned into a compelling reality. One can visibly notice several changes in the children at Urappakkam Pudiyador today - be it in their discipline, studies or in their behavior in general. Their exposure to arenas that they previously did not dream of has changed their perspective towards a lot of things. The children have started to dream of better things in life. When asked to write five sentences in English describing themselves, Seenu wrote, "One day, I will be a great doctor." On another occasion Kannagi was seen teaching Carnatic music to her friends in school by one of her teachers who then asked her to teach the others during a 40-minute period. These are but a few examples.

Passing the Baton
This story is not just about a bunch of people somewhere, unrelated to you trying to make the world a better place. We were also just like you. We had the aspirations and dreams to help and give back to the society what we got from it, And did not know where to start, how to do it and whom to help. We found our calling with Pudiyador... You can find yours too. You only need to wish to.