Over 25 years ago, a group of professionals took an oath to repay their debt to society by opening doors for underprivileged boys. Chitra Ramaswamy discovers some amazing success stories
Venkatesh oozes confidence as he alights from his bike and shakes off his helmet. The 25 year-old former Infosys employee is a budding entrepreneur and his Bengaluru based web design company is going great guns with franchises overseas. Yogesh, who completed his post graduation in biochemistry, is pursuing a full-scholarship PhD in clean energy from Carnegie Mellon University in the US. Ramesh, an artist and sports person, who routinely participates and wins various marathons across the country, is a brand ambassador for an international sporting goods company. While these achievements may seem ordinary, there is one fundamental difference: these young men started with a handicap that could have scripted a very different fate for each one of them. But thanks to Bengaluru-based Snehalaya Homes, they, and many others like them, are part of the mainstream and live each day with a smile.
“I was one of the first kids to be admitted to Snehalaya, when I was just four years old; that was 26 years ago,” says Raghavendra, an associate consultant with Mindtree in Bengaluru. “I got the best of everything—an education, house mothers, a big family with whom I share a strong bond and, above all, a strong value system.”
Indeed, Snehalaya is more than just a residential facility for destitute boys. It was set up in 1991 under MILT or the McGrath Institute of Leadership Training Charitable Trust, by internationally acclaimed management guru and trainer Aporesh Acharya, former faculty at Dale Carnegie Associates in the US.
This story is from the February 2017 edition of Harmony - Celebrate Age.
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This story is from the February 2017 edition of Harmony - Celebrate Age.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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