Charting a success story in schooling

CHENNAI: At age eight, he worked with his parents and 10-year-old brother Dhasarathan in a brick kiln. Twelve years later, Dhanraj Rajaraman is a third year student of Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur, while Dhasarathan is pursuing MBBS in Ukraine. All thanks to Muthuram Narayanaswami and his wife Uma Venkatachalam who run Suyam Charitable Trust in Chennai.When other collegians head home for holidays, Dhanraj intends to spend time teaching children of the trust.
"Our parents used to work near Chennai while we used to stay with our relatives in Villupuram," says Dhanraj. "Later, when they refused us shelter, we began working with our parents in the kiln." Until Uma visited the area to conduct an awareness programme, and got them into Siragu Montessori School in 2005. The school that has classes from LKG to Class XII, established in June 2003 by Suyam Trust, provides quality education to underprivileged children, many of whose lives have been transformed.
Muthuram and Uma, along with friends, founded the trust in 1999 to provide education and medical assistance to the poor. "Education is our priority, as it can change society," says Uma, who came up with the idea of the school in Avadi, after she met families living on the pavements. "We convinced some of them to allow us to enroll their children in private schools, but it was expensive, and that’s why we established our own school," says Muthuram.
Today, 60 children have passed out of the institution. "Many have been rescued from child labour and others are children of single mothers," he adds.
The school shot to limelight a few years ago when Jayavel, who was rescued from the streets went on to study abroad. Today, Jayavel and Arunachalam, who used to beg, are studying in Philippines while a couple of others are pursuing MBBS in Ukraine.
The ones who have managed to pursue their dreams are grateful to their alma mater. M Anandha Vinayagam, for instance, is studying hotel management in IHM, Trichy. After his parents separated, he came to Chennai from Tirunelveli, with his mother and sister, and began working in a bottled water company. "When my mother got to know about Siragu, she took us there," says Vinayagam, whose studies are sponsored by South India Chefs Association, donated a scholarship he won of `20,000 each for three years to Siragu.
His donation helped sponsor Sarath Kumar, pursuing a diploma in fire and safety management, and Priyanka’s BSc. Many who have launched successfully from Suyam are keen to give back to the trust that lit their own future.