“I was offered financial assistance for education as a child. Now, I support seven children. This is the way I want to give back to the society that made me what I’m today,” J.D. Sharma, president of Indian Overseas Bank Officers’ Association, said at the 14 year celebrations of Udhavum Ullangal at Sri Ramakrishna Mission Hr. Sec. School on Sunday.
Mr. Sharma recounted his struggle when the financial assistance was disrupted briefly. Soon after he got it back, he went on a studying spree. “Today, I have completed M.Com., MBA, law and will submit my thesis for PhD. soon,” said Mr. Sharma.
Udhavum Ullangal, which started off in a humble way, now supports more than 10,000. Sudha, a third-year commerce student at a college here, spoke of how motivational programmes offered by the organisation helped her perform better in academics.
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“When they started supporting me from class VII, I was just an average student. But with their mentoring programmes, I performed well in the public examination in class X and XII, and got admissions in a reputed college,” she said.
On Sunday, several students were felicitated for their outstanding performance in examinations.
Additional director general of police K. Radhakrishnan, senior principal of Bala Vidya Mandir R. Srinivasa Raghavan, and vice-president of Royal Bank of Scotland Prasanth Rajappa also spoke.
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