Vanmathi’s Story: Skills are the Key to Success

Emerging from formal education at the age of 22, Vanmathi found herself struggling to find employment. Vanmathi was a bright girl and not uneducated; after finishing 12th Standard at a girls’ government school in Ambattur, she completed a 4-year BE course at Veltech College, Avadi. Despite this, Vanmathi struggled to access the job market as she lacked practical skills and experience. Her father works as a driver and her mother is a housewife, while her older brother works for a small company in Chennai. Her family’s financial situation meant that skills training courses were out of reach for Vanmathi.

By sheer fortune, a friend came to Vanmathi’s aid by recommending Sevalaya’s Community College in Ambattur. Vanmathi’s friend had recently completed a Tally course there, and conveyed Sevalaya’s provision of free practical skills training to her. Soon enough, by November 2017, Vanmathi herself had enrolled onto Sevalaya’s 4.5 month E-publishing course. Sevalaya’s Community College equipped her not only with publishing skills, but with a chance to take Spoken English and yoga classes alongside other young people in a similar position. Speaking of her experience at the Community College, Vanmathi expressed that ‘it became like a family to me’.

Now, having started an internship at Flatirons Jouve in Chennai, Vanmathi has secured her place in the job market. This internship, organised by Sevalaya’s Community College, is the start of a prosperous working life for her – one that she hopes will fulfil her lifelong ambition of being able to support her family. Vanmathi’s story is a perfect example of how practical skills training can transform a life – Sevalaya is immensely proud to have supported Vanmathi and wishes her all the best for the future.

Sangeetha's Story: an empowered entrepreneur

Sangeetha lives with her mother, father and her younger sister. She dreamt of a career in the fashion industry but, when her father had an accident, she had to drop out of her BBA beacause of financial difficulty. The family were forced to sell many of their possessions to send their youngest daughter to College, because, as a young woman in the workplace, many were attempting to exploit her.

Sangeetha took a year out, then did a short fashion design course, but was unsure where to go next; she knew she would need practical skills, not just a degree, to get her into a decent job. Her father’s physiotherapist recommended Sevelaya Community College in Ambattur. Here, she was able to join a free course in Tally, which were previously not an option for Sangeetha as Tally courses can costs between Rs. 25 to 30 thousand. Armed with her new skills, she is now in her final year of BBA correspondance and has a CCO role at LE Service Centre.

When speaking of her 4 months at Sevalaya, the 21 year old expressed how it was so much more than a Tally course. Students are taught typing, spoken English and yoga, as well as the practical training; Sangeetha explains this made her feel a much more confident in herself. In her own words: ‘I wouldn’t even mind coming to class on Sundays!’ She still aspires to get involved with business and fashion, ultimately opening her own boutique. Sevalaya wishes Sangeetha every success and is excited to see what else the future holds for this talented young woman.

Alumni: Manickam's Story

As a child P Manickam (name changed) was brought to Swami Vivekananda Boys Home in May 2015, after being referred by District Child Protection Officer, M S Syed Rawoof. He enrolled in Sevalaya’s Mahakavi Bharathiyar Community College, and was trained in A/C and refrigeration.

A Std IX drop-out and in conflict with law, P Manickam came from a broken home and his mother was the sole bread winner. When he came to Sevalaya he was an addict of paan and other tobacco products. It was difficult to handle his tantrums in the hostel, as he was finding it difficult to get rid of his habits. He would get into altercations with his room-mates, and his personality was very different from other boys. Care was taken to ensure that his habits did not spread to other boys staying in the hostel; the matrons in the hostel monitored his well-being throughout the day. Regular counselling was given to him by a professional at the hostel, which thankfully made a great impact in his life. Constant monitoring and mentoring worked wonders for P Manickam, who was then sent for a one month intern-ship in Control Engineering, Guindy. After completing his intern-ship he was placed in a public sector undertaking, where he is now a trainee service engineer.

Sevalaya has turned Manickam’s life around for the better. We wish Manickam all the best in life.

Manickam's story is one of the many success stories from Sevalaya alumni who continue to highly achieve in their lives and various pursuits after leaving, all while keeping a close bond with Sevalaya and its community.

Alumni: Narmatha's Story

Narmatha Inbaraj gained a medical degree from Davao Medical School Foundation Philippines in 2017, making her the first Sevalaya alumnus to become a doctor. She completed her schooling at Sevalaya in 2012. She sat the FMG exam conducted by the Medical Council of India and waited to complete a year’s practical training before embarking on her dream career of being a doctor. This is no mean feat considering her underprivileged background - her mother worked as a vegetable vendor but always determined that her daughter would succeed as a doctor. Narmatha, though bright, could not secure a medical seat after completing XII and instead went to the Philippines to study medicine. Stepping out from a village background to a different place where she could communicate only in English was a big challenge. “The exposure I got at Sevalaya and the participation in various extra-curricular activities helped me. Whenever I felt down, the words of Vivekananda installed through the years in school helped me to regain confidence and overcome all obstacles”, she observed. Before starting her practical training, she volunteered to teach biology to students of
the Higher Secondary classes at Sevalaya and share her experiences. After a year-long training period, she has agreed to serve as a doctor in Sevalaya’s Medical Centre.

Narmatha's story is one of the many success stories from Sevalaya alumni who continue to highly achieve in their lives and various pursuits after leaving, all while keeping a close bond with Sevalaya and its community.

Alumni: G Kavitha's Story

G Kavitha, a Std XII student, was declared district champion with three golds – in 200 Metre sprint, Long jump and Triple jump. Previously she had been interested in sports, but she never realized her potential untill the Sevalaya sports department and Physical Instructor spotted her talents. Subsequently, Sevalaya staff motivated Kavitha by encouraging her to follow a strict exercise regime, and showing her videos of famous Indian and International sports stars and their achievements. Kavitha’s commitment to her training resulted in a succession of medals in 2016 - she won a medal for every event in which she competed. She was later declared the champion in her age category at the Sports Development Authority of Tamilnadu (SDAT) tournament in Thiruvallur. Now, Kavitha has set her eyes on a sub 24 second 200 metre race.

Apart from the training regimen of a minimum of two hours per day, Sevalaya provides her with nutritious food, and sports gear with spikes and jerseys. Coming from an underprivileged background has not limited Kavitha’s success, thanks to the complete backing of her parents and support from the training staff at Sevalaya.

G Kavitha's story is one of the many success stories from Sevalaya alumni who continue to highly achieve in their lives and various pursuits after leaving, all while keeping a close bond with Sevalaya and its community.

Alumni: Ashok's Story

Ashok Shankar was born in a poor agriculture coolie family in a village near Sevalaya. His parents didn’t have the means to send him to school and educate him. Without the timely intervention of Sevalaya, Ashok would have ended up as a child labourer. However he took Std X and Std XII Board exams at Sevalaya School and scored very high marks. He achieved second position in the school in 12th grade, scoring 1098 out of 1200. His Maths teacher, who in spite of being sick, came to school and took classes so that his students didn’t suffer, inspired Ashook to be a dedicated student and aim high - thus he scored 199 out of 200 in Maths. This impressive score enabled him to get a place in Anna University in the merit list to study electronics and communication engineering.
Ashok was deeply moved by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings and started reading more about him in Sevalaya’s library. He understood the power of meditation and he says that helped him in developing a good memory.

He did well in Anna University, completing the course with good scores. He got his first job in Lionbridge technologies and started making small contributions to Sevalaya, while taking an active part in Alumni association. After a year, he got an offer from Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS). When he got his first salary, he donated the entire amount to Sevalaya. Part of his generous donation will support the education of children who are facing the same position he did. A inspiring instance of what goes around comes around.

Ashok's story is one of the many success stories from Sevalaya alumni who continue to highly achieve in their lives and various pursuits after leaving, all while keeping a close bond with Sevalaya and its community.

Alumni: Devi's Story

Rare are the people who come from impoverished families, yet manage to always find hope, gather strength, and overcome their difficult circumstances. In Sevalaya, we find many such children who have grown successfully and inspired others to do the same.

One such person is R. Devi, a daughter of migrant construction labourers. Joining the police force has been her dream ever since childhood. Devi came to Sevalaya School in Std. III; she was a quiet, determined and a hard-working girl with a flair for mathematics. She passed class X with 80%, scoring 100 in Mathematics. Devi went on to choose bio maths and passed Std XII securing 77%. Through Sevalaya she gained a scholarship in Murugappa polytechnic college and completed her diploma in Computer Science. This helped her get a job in a leading BPO. Furthermore, having a great passion for sports, Ms Devi has won several prizes. She never gave up on her dream of becoming a police officer, in fact this ambition became stronger every day. She filled the required forms from the Central Reserve Police Force and vigorously practiced for the physical fitness tests. She took the tests in 2011, however was unable to attain a merit seat. But she never gave up. Persistently, she tried again and finally got through in 2013. Once a shy girl, who struggled with communication, Devi can now speak three languages, Tamil, English and Hindi.

R. Devi's story is one of the many success stories from Sevalaya alumni who continue to highly achieve in their lives and various pursuits after leaving, all while keeping a close bond with Sevalaya and its community.