Two school dropouts and their vision for  Kannagi Nagar children

Uma and Vasudevan run a free tuition centre at the resettlement colony to ensure youngsters take up college education

Four students who passed the recent Class XII examinations are in the spotlight at KS Welfare Trust in Kannagi Nagar with its core team sparing no efforts to get the four into arts and science colleges in Chennai.

“Getting a seat under the government-aided stream is not always easy for these students as they either had a break in their schooling or have just scraped through in their Class XII exams. As they are first-generation college education seekers and economically disadvantaged, we make a plea to the college authorities to accommodate them. Where the college would not agree to concessions in fee, the Trust chips in for the student with the help of donors,” says V. Uma Maheshwari.

Uma and Vasudevan D. decided to start B.R. Ambedkar Free Evening Educational Training Centre in Kannagi Nagar in 2006, as the resettlement colony is replete with stories of children abandoning studies midway. The fact that they are school dropouts contributed in no small measure to this decision.

Functioning under the registered non-profit K.S. Welfare Trust, the tuition centre does not stop with teaching school subjects, but organises training in art, music and sports.

The resources to run these initiatives come from donors and a steadily growing pool of volunteers, which includes those like Vidhya K., a beneficiary who has returned to the NGO as volunteer.

A student of Guru Nanak College in Velachery, Vidhya says: “My parents could not afford an English medium school education for me. Uma ma’am continues to help me financially even today.” Vidhya teaches various subjects to children at the tuition centre. The Trust’s website (https://kswelfaretrust.com) was designed by volunteers. The founders dream of constructing a free school in Kannagi Nagar or Cheyyur.

For details, call 9840 484 487.