Giant strides for a cause

GANDHI MANDAPAM is where Chennaiites will gather at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 2 for the Fifth Annual Citizen's Run, organised by the Citizen's Run Trust (Ph: 4330164).

Whether they arrive in their Nikes or Reeboks, ordinary tennis shoes or on plain bare feet — the event will see the city's affluent and ordinary folk put their best foot forward for a good cause. This year, the proceeds will go to assist six new initiatives aimed at the socio-economic uplift of the disadvantaged sections.

Three of these — the paper making and re-cycling unit set up by the Exnora Unit V for the welfare of the Narikoravas (ph: 4412200), the Anbu Karangal Home for the Aged and Children, Palavakkam (ph: 4925252) and the Balwadi supported by the NGO, Karnaprayag (ph: 44355182) — have been featured in the Metroplus of August 13, 16 and 20, respectively.

The other three welfare initiatives that the trust proposes to assist are — the Karunai Villa Home for the Mentally Handicapped in Alwarthirunagar (ph: 4864079), the Anjugam Education Trust in Nungambakkam and SPEED, which works for the welfare of slum-dwellers in Gandhi Nagar near the Central Jail.

``Cure by care'' is the motto of the Karunai Villa Home for the Mentally Handicapped.

It's founder, Lizziamma Mathew, has discovered that this is true over the years she has spent raising her own daughter who is mentally challenged. The centre is a home for 54 children who are afflicted by Down's Syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism or mental illness. There are even a few mentally challenged adults who live here. Two rented bungalows serve as a hostel and training and physiotherapy centre, respectively. There is a small library, besides other recreation facilities. Lizziamma now plans to convert part of the hostel into a health care facility for children. So far, she has managed to run the home mostly with personal resources.

Anjugam Illam, a home for orphan girls, hopes to raise the money to build a classroom in its primary school. Janaki Kameswaran, faculty member, Women's Christian College, who has been associated with this institution ever since she became NSS Coordinator in the college, set up a trust to improve the conditions in the Illam. Carnatic vocalist, Sudha Raghunathan and her husband, became members of the trust and gave concerts to raise funds for the school. Their concert in Luxembourg helped mobilise resources to construct a school building and improve the hostel building. The Citizen's Run Trust chipped in with assistance to build a compound wall and clean the well.

The school and hostel are situated on 40 grounds of temple land at Anna Nedum Padai in Gill Nagar, Choolaimedu. However, though the campus is sprawling, it is overgrown with weeds and bushes and is a haunt for anti-social elements. The Illam authorities would like to remove the weeds and use the space as a school playground. For more details Janaki can be contacted on 827641.

The Fifth Run, also aims to raise funds to support yet another unusual project — the Slum People Educational and Economic Development (SPEED), functioning in a slum, comprising 2,600 families, in Gandhi Nagar on the Island Grounds in the heart of the city. Most of the slum-dwellers work as casual labourers on construction sites, while others are rickshaw pullers, auto drivers or coolies at the railway station.

Alcoholism and a host of other social evils are rampant in the slum. Most of the families are often compelled to borrow money at usurious rates of interest from unscrupulous moneylenders.

The slum-dwellers have a well wisher in Phillipe Mallet, a Frenchman, who is committed to improving their lot. He has launched a micro-credit scheme that encourages the women in every household to save a portion of their income.

Small loans are given to persons wanting to pursue income- generating activities or acquire self-employment skills. Vocational training is also provided, to equip the slum-dwellers with skills to start income-generating ventures or find employment.

Phillipe now plans to help with the marketing of the various products made by the slum-dwellers by setting up a cooperative. Chennaiites wishing to help any of these initiatives can do so by participating in the run, which starts from Gandhi Mandapam and ends at the Gandhi Statue on the Marina. As a mark of support, all participants will wear a T-shirt, costing Rs.100 that has been specially designed by artist and author Manjula Padmanabhan. The T-shirts are on sale at Alliance Francaise, Amethyst, Karnaprayag Trust and all along the route.

V. R. DEVIKA

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