Indian youth to spread message of sensitivity in world

A 27-year-old social worker from Chennai, S Iyyappan, will tell the world about the problems children with special needs in India face. He will also ask the world to be sensitive to their needs. And his platform will be a leadership-training programme in the US, which will be organised in November.
   Iyyappan is one of 20 people from across the world that have been awarded the global social entrepreneurship award by the International Youth Foundation. These are the people who have been working in their own respective countries to fight social problems. Now, under this programme, they will be trained to become leaders of change in their own countries. Elaborating on the award, Iyyappan said: “This award has given me an opportunity to interact with people from around the world. So, I would like to make the most of this opportunity by telling the world about the problems children with special needs go through, especially if they are abandoned. And also about what we can do to help them.”
   Iyyappan runs the Sri Arunodayams Charitable Trust, which provides shelter to children with special needs who are abandoned by their families. Elaborating on the trust, he said: “I had a brother who was mentally challenged and he died at the age of 15. This is how I was drawn towards helping others like him. However, I soon realised that while there were many organisations that were taking care of children with special needs, they all charged money. These were accessible only to those who could afford them, but those that couldn’t usually abandoned their children.” So, Iyyappan started providing shelter for such children. “Today, we take care of nearly 90 children who were abandoned at the railway tracks, in the streets or at hospitals,” he said.
   While discussing how would he like to take benefit of the leadership training, he said: “Unfortunately, the problem is only increasing. Last year alone we rescued 23 such children from our city (Chennai). And there are many more who still need to be taken care of. So, I am looking forward to learn about resource mobilisation from this programme. Mobilising funds for the trust is one of the biggest challenges we face, as it isn’t just about providing these children food and shelter. They also need the right medicines, trained psychologists and special educators.”

NATIONAL CONFERENCE


Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management organised a national HR conference — Leveraging Human Potential for Competitive Advantage — on September 27. The session was inaugurated with a film on the life and times of Lal Bahadur Shastri. The chief guest for the occasion was SY Siddiqui, managing executive officer and administration, Maruti Suzuki India. The event was presided by Anil Shastri, former union minister, who emphasised the need for moral accountability in the corporate world. He stressed that the mindset of the managers should change along with the changing markets.

HOSTING HONCHOS


CEOs and top executives of several top tier American companies with Indian investments recently visited Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad, as part of an executive mission from the US India Business Council (USIBC). Ian Thomas, president, Boeing India and Ron Somers, president, USIBC, led the mission. Somers talked about the establishment of the USIBC and its current role.

CORPORATE SET


Sixty-four people from Army, Navy, and Air Force completed a six-month management course of Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon. Sanjay Chandwani, course director, said that passing out officers had already received offers for jobs in various companies while some chose to pursue their own business. The highest salary offered was Rs.20 lakhs per annum. Companies like ABN Amro, L&T, Dell, Reliance, Citibank, TATA Motors, Wipro, Infosys visited campus for placements.