Meet Mariamma-one of the 25 Granny supported by LSN Trust!

I met Mariamma, now 67 years old, during our “Adopt a Granny Project” when I visited the DJ Halli slum in Bangalore, to distribute food to 25 grannys. I was shocked to see her looking so worn out and depleted. Yet, she had a warm smile and a hug for me! I just had to know her story! We got chatting.

Mariamma’s problems started when she lost both of her parents at the age of 10. No one to look after her and provide her food, she started cleaning people’s homes in the city of Madurai, for a paltry salary and some food. In those days there was no law in India against child labour and she is thankful for that. When she was 20 years old, she met a man (then 40 years old) and married him. He worked in a shop, and kept her happy. They had 4 children who attended school. Soon her husband died. With 4 young children to support, she had no choice but to pull them out of school and send them all to work. They worked in a factory to make match boxes. This continued for years and she was able to get all the children married. The factory where they worked, assisted her with some finances to perform the weddings. One daughter was married to a man in Bangalore and Mariamma moved from Madurai to Bangalore to live with her. The daughter to started work as a tailor earning Rs 2000.00 per month. Her husband worked at a construction site earning Rs 2300.00 per month.

Mariamma met a non-for- profit organization working in the DJ Halli slum, where they lived. She started to supplement the family income by working as a cleaner. In return for her services and in addition to a small salary, the organization looked after her medical issues that which had developed, such as Blood Pressure, and knee joint wear and tear.

Presently, Mariamma cannot earn much due to ill health and cannot do much manual work. Being uneducated, she cannot take on a desk job or work in an office. She is happy to live in a community where the not- for-profit organization helps her earn a little money by giving her a job of cleaning one of their two room offices.But that is not enough to run a family. She has to rely on people/organizations who for help.

LSN Trust provides her with some groceries every month, for which she is grateful. Her daughter has provided  a roof over her head. While they are very poor and the family income is very little, Mariamma says she is happy to live with her daughter, and is grateful to God for the not- for-profit organizations that help her.

Mariamma has a warm hug and a smile for me each time I go there to meet my “grannys”. It is such a warm feeling to see how with so little and with so many problems she encountered, she is at peace with herself and the society, and so appreciative of all that is done for her. A rare quality indeed!

The young face of the Lalitha Subbarao Nanjundayya Memorial Trust, Niska is a dynamic well-travelled advertising professional with a post graduate degree from London, UK. She grew up with the social ethics that her parents and grandparents believed in and even as a young child, used to accompany her mother to the various 4S Foundation projects. As gen next of Lalitha Subbarao Nanjundayya Memorial Trust with a forward thinking global perspective, she is looking to expand the reach of the Foundation into new areas. She feels especially passionately about new-age projects like alternative energy for villages, eco friendly industries and sustainability programmes.

A very successful corporate Image Consultant, who lived in Africa and the Middle East. A personal tragedy, the loss of her surgeon husband, forced her to step out of her secure comfort zone and become a financially independent woman, capable of providing her three children with a secure future. A dynamic Rotarian and Founder Director of The Lalitha Subbarao Nanjundayya Memorial Trust, her goal is to enable young women to fend for themselves and become productive members of society. In a world where so many urgent social problems need tackling, she believes that pooling resources, partnering with like-minded, influential individuals and involving them in social change projects is really the smart way forward.

Subbarao, a highly successful corporate head, also wore many different hats over the course of his illustrious life and career. He was many things to many people. Influential CEO of a multinational company, caring husband and father, Sai baba devotee, composer of popular hymns and bhajans, author of a devotional book and co founder of the 4S Foundation which was later renamed Lalitha Subbarao Nanjundayya Memorial Trust. He passed away in the mid-2000’s but the work he started in collaboration with his wife and daughter lives on.

Lalitha Subbarao is the inspiration behind the Lalitha Subbarao Nanjundayya Memorial Trust. Armed with a strong social conscience and a broad based global education (Masters from Ohio State University, USA) plus a deep desire to help disadvantaged women, her dream is now being realized through the efforts of the Lalitha Subbarao Nanjundayya Memorial Trust. Lalitha was a woman of substance who worked quietly and steadily towards the betterment of those around her. Besides being a role model to her children, she authored and published two books–Nanu Mattu America in Kannada (America and I) describing her student life there in the mid 1950’s and a comprehensive book – Festivals of India. She rightly believed that women must be educated, empowered and financially independent. An educated wife and mother would in turn be a strong positive influence in the family and society at large, just as she was. Her legacy is carried on by the Lalitha Subbarao Nanjundayya Memorial Trust.