Coimbatore Institute of Technology Alumni 1976

The article that appeared in Gulf Today about Jayaraman
is furnished below. I personally wish him good luck in his
new venture for the service to society.

Regards,
Narayan

He has an engineering degree in electronics and communication and even when in college he was selected for the Indian Navy as sub-lieutenant. He went on to hold several senior corporate roles, working as a consultant on diverse projects. He was editor for a news tabloid for a while, he continues to be a radio presenter with All India Radio Bangalore and produced the first game show with celebrities titled Chataki for Television - Bangalore. But for S Jayaraman from Rotary District 3190, the core of his existence is his deep-rooted passion for humanitarian service and his emphatic urge to draw in as many people as possible into the social service mode.

He says: "This feature is not about me, but about the various causes in Bangalore and other parts of India that are crying for attention from well-meaning, altruistic individuals. Through the media, I would like to issue a clarion call for more people to participate in ameliorating the lives of those who are less fortunate than us.

"In a world plagued by problems of day to day living, what should motivate an individual to involve himself in humanitarian work? This is a question I am often asked, but then, the world has always had problems and will continue to have them. This is merely a mindset. What is needed is the commitment. If I am committed to cricket, I will surely find time to watch every match on TV. I would be willing to walk miles to get the autograph of a cricketing celebrity. All I am asking is for people to exhibit similar passion for community service too.

"A family emergency required blood for my friend's dying mother-in-law. He soon realised that unless donated by selfless volunteers, blood will not be available when critically needed. He is now actively involved in blood donation and motivating other donors. Another friend has dedicated his life to helping visually challenged people, with the firm logic, `I could easily have been one of them. God has spared me, probably to help them.' And with similar zeal there are individuals who are doing commendable social work and deriving ethereal peace from the change they can bring about in the world around them.''

Jayaraman mentions a few charity organisations like Azim Premji Foundation, Gandiva Infotech, Akshyapatra, Sri Ramana Free Clinic Trust, Sukrupa, International Children's Peace Council (ICPC-India branch), Vishranthi, Sankya, Amar Seva Sangam Tenkasi, Ashraya Home for the Mentally Challenged, Sumangali Sevashram, HEAD ­ Computer Centre for the disabled to earn a living and The Rotary Club are some of the outfits he closely works with on a daily basis.

Azim Premji Foundation, for instance, works towards universalisation of elementary education, Akshyapatra is a "kids for kids'' initiative that raises funds for feeding mid-day meals to 50,000 children on a daily basis. Sri Ramanna Free Clinic Trust works towards free health and education for the economically backward sections. Children of Sukrupa are from impoverished backgrounds seeking respite from deprivation, poverty and emotional trauma in their homes. The objective of ICPC is to inculcate in children from a very early age, the need to feel compassion, to share and care and bring about lasting peace in the society we live in. While Vishranthi is a senior citizen's home, Sankya is a path-breaking effort to enhance learning through technology in education, to bridge the digital divide in government and rural schools.

"Once you embark on the soul-enriching path of community service, it will become like an addiction. My mother used to observe my eldest brother's death anniversary by making breakfast for poor children and distributing it generously. She thus seized an opportunity available to her in her sheltered life. Now there are multitude causes crying for attention. The Government of Karnataka announced a mid day meal program and this presented me with an opportunity to create a kitchen by raising Rs 10 lakhs (AED10,000 approx) and we are now able to feed 11,000 government school children every day. In addition, the kitchen feeds 1000 senior citizens every Sunday.''

From 2001 Jayaraman has started the practice of feeding 40 leprosy patients who gather in his house every Friday morning. While none can dispute the need for financial resources to fund projects, the need of the hour is participation from people says Jayaraman. ``If hundreds of energetic, intelligent minds got together and worked on worthy projects, it will lead to huge benefits to those in dire need.''

Certain times, it is the simple projects that bring forth astounding results. For example, ICPC's project called Fistful of Rice reaches out to affluent schools, giving each child a small jute bag and requesting them to put in a fistful of rice every day into the bag. And while doing this they have to count their blessings and thank God for all the good things in their lives. At the end of each month they bring the bag to school and the bags are donated to NGOs who in turn donate it to those in need. This brings about a remarkable change in the minds of the impressionable youngsters asserts Jayaraman.

Jayaraman who is currently in Dubai on a visit, has his sights very clearly set for the future. "2.5 million people in India need eye sight. Every year 30,000 are added to this list. In India, 10 million people die every year. But with 450 eye banks all over the country, we are able to get only 20,000 pairs of eyes as donation from the dead. Rest, are either burnt or buried. I have decided to focus on this issue and through innovative ways would like to create awareness and enable activities to increase the number of donors," he says, adding, "it is not a moment too soon to embark on community service. The tranquility derived out of this cannot be equaled by enviable bank balances or other material possessions.''