Actor Sivakumar’s Trust honours underprivileged students

It does not matter where you are born, says veteran actor Sivakumar, “but it’s the will to succeed that transforms lives”.

Sivakumar was addressing students at Sivakumar Educational and Charitable Trust’s (SECT) annual award ceremony in Chennai on June 12.

Referring to achievers such as V.S. Srinivasa Sastri (son of a poor temple priest who became known as the silver-tongued orator of the British Empire) and the late Dr Abdul Kalam, former president of India, who did not let their humble backgrounds hinder their dreams, Sivakumar told students “nothing is impossible to achieve.”

SECT started in 1979 with Rs25,000 (Dh1,362) and is now in its 37th year.

When it opened in 1979, it rewarded three meritorious students who graduated from grade 12. The trust has grown to accommodate many more. This year, 20 students from modest economic backgrounds received a cash prize of Rs10,000. Three of them were visually challenged girls.

Actor Karthi, Sivakumar’s youngest son, remembered celebrating the annual event as a child as a family occasion that was held on their rooftop.

Sivakumar lost his father as a child but with the support of his uncle he pursued studies and began his career in Chennai with a salary of Rs80, Karthi said.

“In my father’s village, the men either grazed goats or worked in mills. But appa [dad] chose to study. And that transformed his life,” he continued.

When Sivakumar completed his 100th film, he felt the need to give back to society. Thus was born SECT, to encourage meritorious students, especially those wrestling with poverty.

In 2006, Sivakumar’s oldest son, actor Suriya, was inspired by his father and started Agaram Foundation, an extension of SECT, an initiative that supports college education of poor children.

Agaram Foundation has mentored more than 1,300 students, all of whom are from government schools in rural Tamil Nadu.

Surya presented Rs250,000 to Thai Tamil Thodakkapalli, an educational institution providing free education to poor children.

The Singham star said that the Foundation’s beneficiaries included many first-generation learners who today are doctors, engineers, teachers and paramedics.