A report from Indian Express
Dr.Narayan Iyer (IDF)
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Meenakshi Iyer Posted online: Monday, May 19, 2008 at 0153 hrs IST
A soft-spoken man dressed in a humble white veshti and kurta greets visitors with a childlike smile at his office-cum-residence in Jogeshwari. Quite proudly, he says: "I gave up ties and coats a long time back. I can connect better with the average poor man dressed this way." Meet Dr Ananthan Ramakrishna Pillai, president and founder of Indian Development Foundation (IDF), formerly known as Indian Leprosy Foundation. As the organization turns 25, the octogenarian ARK Pillai is readying to launch 'Project Goodness', an initiative to make available basic education, health and development facilities to all, through the establishment of additional IDF gurukuls, bridge schools for rag-pickers and street children, arranging health camps and blood camps, honouring leprosy cured persons and networking with other NGOs to achieve the mission. Having joined Central Railway as a junior assistant at the age of 20, Pillai quit despite successive promotions. "I found a government job to be very rigid and binding. I was over qualified, so I quit the railways and joined Clarion McCann," he says, simultaneously replying to an email and chatting online with a volunteer. "One makes a lot of money in advertising but when I saw acute poverty around me I felt the need to do something for the underprivileged." Born in Malvelikari near Allepey, Kerala, Pillai belongs to a deeply religious family and has an array of degrees, ranging from a Masters in Sociology to a Diploma in Advertising and Journalism. He successfully completed his LLB degree from Government Law College and also finished a management course from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Mumbai. At age 44, he resigned from his high-paying job and gave up that lifestyle to be able to serve those suffering from leprosy ¿ and the consequent stigma — in India. According to him there were around 4 million leprosy cases in India before 1980. "Due to the social stigma attached to this disease, people used to fear doctors and hence the figures were on a rise," he says. Then, in 1984, he and his wife Shyama started IDF. With its meager resources and sheer hard work, it became one of the few organizations working for leprosy eradication. "My family had declared me insane. No one could believe that I had given up my career for a cause that was at such a nascent stage in those days," Pillai says. He adds: "Indira Gandhi had given a statement in the United Nations that India will be a leprosy-free nation by the year 2000. That's when she urged citizens to work towards this goal." Around the same time, Pillai happened to visit Germany and Switzerland as an honorary member of international NGOs like the German Leprosy Relief Association and Leprosy Work Emmaus in Switzerland. He is still a member of these organizations and has been advising them on various social projects. "During one such visit, while collecting funds for the India project, I was questioned by a young German on why India cannot generate funds independently. I had no answer," he says. That's how the self-reliance principle of IDF was born. Without taking any monetary support either from the government or corporates, Pillai raised an army of volunteers instead, a network of lakhs of them. After deep research, having concluded that nothing much had changed despite the Government of India and a number of doctors being involved with the cause, Pillai had made up his mind that awareness and advocacy were the key to satisfactory results. "Dr Pillai is a media man," says Dr Narayan Iyer, national co-ordinator of IDF. "He has always used mass communication and various media channels to spread the word about the issue. Through street plays and slide shows he attempted to attract the attention of a lot of youngsters from various schools and colleges in Mumbai." Pillai also wanted to put to use his area of expertise — management. Today, IDF has more than 15 schools operational in different states and tribal areas and 10 more in the pipeline. "I wish that my young volunteers take forward the initiative I started 25 years ago and continue with their good work," Pillai signs off, optimistic as ever. | |
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Dr. Narayan B. Iyer, National Co-ordinator
Indian Development Foundation (IDF]
[Formerly Indian Leprosy Foundation]
L 10/ 3 & 4 Jal Ratan Deep
Bangur Nagar, Goregaon (West)
Mumbai 400 104
Tel: 022 - 2876 2008/ 2876 3008
Cell : +91 98 19 13 13 88
Email : idfm...@gmail.com or in...@vsnl.net
IDF - A National NGO dedicated to develop India !
Please visit us at www.idf.org.in
Also visit IDF Blog at http://indiandevelopmentfoundation.blogspot.com
Join IDF Group : http://groups.google.com/group/idfindia
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