Bringing hope to the poorest: Bengaluru’s real-life Swades couple Bringing hope to the poorest: Bengaluru’s real-life Swades couple

Swades was an iconic Bollywood film with a touching story of an NRI returning to his roots to work for the upliftment of his countrymen. Meet the couple who are doing exactly the same thing in real life.

Vijaya and Venkat Iyer left their comfortable lives abroad to give back to their homeland. Today, thanks to them, excess food from software companies in Bengaluru that would otherwise be headed to the trash, is used to feed thousands of slum-dwellers in Rajendra Nagar – one of the IT city’s largest slums.

That’s not all they do. Venkat says that their work started with the decision to bring up girl children of mothers who had been deserted by their husbands. In the year 2000, they registered their charitable trust ‘Swabhimaan’ and adopted 15 girl children. This was just the beginning.

Through their work, Vijaya and Venkat noticed over 15,000 families living in dire conditions in Rajendra Nagar. They decided to take action. Firstly, by providing the women with Rs. 10,000 each through interest-free micro-lending, with the intent of empowering them to generate income from home. In the 17-18 years since, over 600 women in Rajendra Nagar have benefitted.

The couple also started charitable clinics where people could get both consultation and medicines for just Rs. 10 , making healthcare accessible to all. At the same time, they introduced scholarships to address the rise in school dropouts and keep children in classrooms. The results are visible in the community today. Rajendra Nagar is now home to doctors, engineers and chartered accountants, inspiring more parents to prioritise education.

“Millions in India are struggling. Each of you have a special skill… if you are a good teacher, please come join us and teach our kids. The important thing is to empower India to become a self-sufficient country and not depend on the support of others forever.”, says the couple. A humble request from the selfless patriots to us all.

Aditya Birla Group is happy to partner The Better India to amplify positive stories of people acting as #AForceForGood.