S. Ramakrishnan developed a 20-building campus in India committed to train and teach the disabled. Photo: Palani Mohan/ Getty Images for CNN
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN), November 27, 2007:
When S. Ramakrishnan was a fourth-year mechanical engineering student and aspiring naval candidate, he fell from a rope during a physical fitness test and severed his spinal cord.
When he woke up from a coma, he found himself paralyzed from the neck down, and for 32 years he has been dependent upon caretakers. Twenty months in recovery gave Ramakrishnan ample opportunity for introspection, and he decided to build a haven for severely disabled children and adults in India instead of becoming an engineer.
Named after one of Ramakrishnan's doctors, Amar Seva Sangam has become one of India's largest centers for disabled people and serves thousands of people in 330 villages in Tamil Nadu.
The program occupies a 20-building campus on 40 acres with a mission to help disabled people of all ages live more meaningful lives. The program empowers the disabled through vocational training, operates a school for hundreds of disabled children and offers another specialized school for children with cerebral palsy and mental retardation.
Click to see earlier news report from CNN
Source: CNN
____________________________________________________________________
Related Report
CHENNAI (Chennaitv.blogspot.com), November 28, 2007:
S. Ramakrishnan of Ayikudy, India, a quadriplegic man who runs one of that nation’s largest centers for the disabled has been chosen as one of the 18 finalists of “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” which celebrates ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things.
The show, hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour will air live globally on CNN/U.S., CNN International and CNN en Espanol on Dec. 6 at 9 p.m.
The 18 honorees, each of whom have already been bestowed with a $10,000 cash prize, will be saluted at the December 6 gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City that will include performances from Grammy Award winners Mary J. Blige and Sheryl Crow and a duet by Grammy Award winner Norah Jones and acclaimed performer-producer Wyclef Jean.
Revealed during the telecast, the winner in each of the six categories will be awarded an additional $25,000.
Ramakrishnan is paralysed from the neck down. He can only sit up for four hours a day. For the rest of the time he lies on a bed unable to move. Even basic needs like wiping his nose have to be carried out by a nurse who rarely leaves his side.
Day to day living is a huge challenge for him, yet he has transformed the lives of thousands of disabled people in the towns and villages of Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu.
In 1975 Ramakrishnan was a promising engineering student. While travelling to an interview for naval officer selection, he met with an accident that changed his life for ever. As he lay paralysed in a hospital bed despairing for his future, his doctor talked about the work he might do to help other disabled people. When he returned home, Ramakrishnan decided to do just that.
The Amar Seva Sangam (named after the doctor) was established in 1981 but it was ten years later, when Ramakrishnan met chartered accountant Sankara Raman, that the project really took off. They put together a financial proposal and with Raman's contacts attracted both national and international funding to build a centre for the disabled on a 30-acre site on the edge of Ramakrishnan's village, Ayikudy.
The institution Amar Seva Sangam has received numerous awards from the state and central governments and various NGOs. The most noteworthy award came in 2002 -- the 'Best Institution in the service of the disabled and uplift of rural poor' -- which was given by President A P J Abdul Kalam.
See www.amarseva.org
Posted by vj at 4:43 AM on chennaitv.blogspot.com
http://chennaitv.blogspot.com/2007/11/s.html
