During her childhood days, T. Rajasundari spent most of her time after school in the farmland behind her house at Kamalandapuram, a hamlet in Padavedu village near Polur in Tiruvannamalai. She helped her parents cultivate their farmland with bananas, greens, green chillies and groundnuts. Her parents tilled the land; she carried saplings and seeds for them. Her life revolved round the 1.5-hectare farmland before she was identified by Srinivasan Services Trust (SST), a social initiative by TVS Motor Company, for a free higher course and training when she completed Class X at Renukondapuram Government High School in 2014.
She was hesitant. But her mother T. Thilaka, a member of the women self-help group of the SST, persuaded her daughter, the eldest among five siblings, to pursue the course. “Convincing my father R. Thirumurugan was my biggest challenge. Now he is happy for the decision I took. I am not alone but many like me benefited from the initiative,” says Ms. Rajasundari, 23, who works as a quality control engineer in the TVS Group in Chennai. With the training, she got admission to Nachimuthu Vocational Training Institute in Pollachi to pursue her higher studies. She did her bachelor degree in biochemistry, followed by a diploma course in mechanical engineering. After completion of technical courses in 2017, she joined the quality control department of TVS Motors. Hailing from a socially backward area, Ms. Rajasundari showed determination in pursuing her dream. She took the responsibility of her family even while continuing her education. Her younger sister T. Abirami followed in her footsteps, pursuing a higher course conducted by the SST. After completing it, she landed a job. The sustainable initiatives of the SST have helped Ms. Rajasundari and Ms. Abirami not only take care of their family but also achieve their dream through education. They were not alone in benefiting from the initiatives. The SST helps to improve the rural education system through good school infrastructure, mobilising quality teachers and offering career counselling for the rural poor since 1996.
