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31st anniversary function of the Sivakumar
Educational Trust was held today at
the Film Chamber office in Anna Salai
in Chennai. The trust that was started
30 years ago by the veteran actor with
a very small capital has now grown into
a big organization supporting numerous
students from various sections of the
society in their education. The trust
is now jointly run by Sivakumar and
sons Suriya and Karthi.
Today’s function was held in
order to distribute financial aid
to 55 students drawn from different
parts of the state. They consisted
of students from remote areas who
were unable to continue their education
for lack of funds, differently-abled
students, Tamil refugees from Sri
Lanka and top rankers who required
financial aid for further studies.
Speaking at the function, Sivakumar
recalled his childhood struggles.
He said that his sister had to drop
out of primary school because of hardships
in the family. He too would have struggled
to go to college had his uncle not
provided timely assistance. He asked
all the beneficiaries of the trust
to make use of the aid to the fullest
and achieve big things in life. He
said that the most important things
in life were honesty and discipline.
He advised all youngsters to stay
away from all kinds of addictions
and said that this was the only way
to have a long and successful life.
He also added that the teenage years
were the most crucial period of one’s
life and it was important to guard
oneself against distractions during
this time.
Suriya said that this function was
not organized for the sake of publicity.
Many people give up their struggle
for education without being aware
of the many avenues of help that were
available. This function was organized
only to let more and more people know
about such an opportunity so that
they could avail it. He also said
that there were many others in society
who were doing great services. There
needs to be more awareness about such
services so that no needy person is
left empty handed.
The most touching part of the function
was when some students came forward
to speak about their lives. The words
of some of the refugee students touched
everyone’s hearts. A student
said that he did not even know whether
his father was still alive and that
he had no place else to go or no one
to approach; this aid is nothing less
than a boon to him. Another student
said that even in spite of scoring
very high marks, those from refugee
camps were being turned down by colleges
for unknown reasons. But, this financial
assistance may help them overcome
that.
Another beneficiary of the trust
said that she was inspired by this
assistance and wanted to make it big
in life so that she can provide similar
help to those who are struggling for
a good education.
Equally inspiring was the story of
one of the state’s top rankers
from the refugee camp at Otthankottai
in Dharmapuri district. This student
was unable to secure admission in
spite of his marks due to extreme
financial crisis and refugee status.
After applying through the Agaram
foundation run by Suriya he is now
an MBBS student in SRM Medical College.
Four other students with high marks
were given admission to the SRM Engineering
College. All their educational expenses
will be borne by the institution itself.
The function also saw the launch
of the English version of Sivakumar’s
book ‘Idhu Rajapattai Alla’.
The book has been translated into
English by popular journalist Malathy
Rangarajan who was also present at
the function. Speaking about the book,
Suriya said that it reflected all
the struggles that his father had
faced in life.
Everyone present was left emotional
and inspired at the end of the function.
It was a day when the plight of many
deserving students was brought to
light, but it was also evident that
all that is required is a helping
hand, not too much, for them to rise
above circumstances and achieve great
things. The helping hand could come
from anywhere; today it was the Sivakumar
Educational Trust that lent it to
55 students. We wish the bearers of
the trust the very best and pray that
their endeavors and services reach
out to even more people in the future.
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