CHENNAI: Ayodhyakuppam, a fishing colony near Marina beach, was once known for its criminals, particularly with gangster Veeramani's writ running large in the area. But after his death in a police encounter on the Marina sands in 2003, the 1,050 families in the colony have come under the spell of a do-gooder, a man with a vision called Sasi Kumar.As president of the Ayodhyakuppam Welfare Association, Sasi Kumar has not only ensured that the dropout rate of children from the colony has come down to zero but has also admitted 102 students in school, some of them top-notch institutions where Chennai's affluent class send their children. Earlier, Sasi Kumar says, children from the colony attended the nearby government and aided schools and the dropout rate was almost 50 per cent.In the colony that has about 100 graduates there is not a single professional college graduate, he says and pins his hopes on Mahesh, now a Plus One student of Hindu Senior Secondary School, who will be joining an engineering college. Sasi Kumar has already identified a sponsor to support the fisherman's son in his pursuit of his engineering degree provided he scores 1,100 marks out of 1,200 in the higher secondary examination and expresses a desire to help others when he grows up. Mahesh is a bright student and will score more than 1,100, says Sasi Kumar.Sasi Kumar, now 38 years old, started the work in his colony 10 years back with a view to bringing about a change in the lives of the fishermen. "People here were living like savages and children rarely attended school as education was last on their priority list," says Sasi Kumar, who graduated from New College. The fishermen were exploited by the educated and wealthy class, who denied them remunerative prices for their catch and paid low wages for work done by them. So Sasi Kumar decided to catch them young and prepare them for a prosperous future. Since it has to start with education, he roped in his friends from outside the colony and found wellwishers and sponsors to support the education of the children of the colony. Using his influence he got admission for the children in premier schools like Rosary Matriculation, Hindu Senior Secondary, Washington Matriculation, Rex Matriculation, Sacred Heart (Church Park Convent), Children's Garden, Guru Vidhyalalya. Christ Church Matriculation and Monfort.The high fees charged by some of these schools, the books and the uniforms were taken care of through sponsorship, while Sasi Kumar arranged for evening tuition and computer coaching inside the colony, which even has a small library for school children.He promoted sports by providing the children with equipment and special coaching in volleyball, football and swimming. One of the girls from the colony, Ragavi, represented India in the Commonwealth Games.“Talent, potential and aspirations are high among our children, especially the girls. Given an opportunity they will excel,” says Sasi Kumar, who says he just needs generous sponsors.
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