North South Foundation
14th Annual National Championship Finals,
Evanston,
IL (USA)
August 26-27, 2006
Good morning everyone. It is really an honor to be
here with all of you today. First of all, I thank you
all for your kind support of North South Foundation,
which has been striving hard to help bright and needy
children in India for the last 16 years.
The
reason I wanted to be here today is to show you the
difference you are making in the lives of many
underprivileged children in India by supporting NSF.
You are often told that your contributions to NSF go
to promising candidates. Today, I will show you a
person who was blessed and helped by NSF 16 years ago,
in 1990, a person who is now helping poor students in
his village. This person is none other than myself. I
was a student fortunate enough to receive a NSF
graduation.
At
the time, I had received a state rank in both the 10th
and 12th standards. Unfortunately, free
education ends after the 12th standard in
India.
I also took the Engineering entrance examination and
got one of the top ranks there as well. But that was
not enough to get me into college because I did not
have the $200/yr for tuition fees to join the course.
The $800 it cost for 4 years of course was a very
large amount for my family and I. My father was a
small time tailor who stitched clothes for the people
in my village, and could hardly save any money for my
education. When I approached him for the college fees
he immediately replied, “Are you out of your mind? You
know that I am only a tailor and that your mother
doesn’t work. All I can afford to do is feed you and
your mother, but I can not save $800 for you even if
you give me another 10 years of time. Think about some
alternatives.” I realized then that there was no way
he could ever support my tuition costs.
The
realization was very frustrating and frightening. I
had done so well in my studies, and I had a strong
desire to continue my education. Unfortunately, my
desire was not enough to fund my studies. I spent many
sleepless nights thinking about what I was going to
do. This was the time that NSF came into my life. One
day, by God’s grace, I came across a notification
about NSF in one of the daily newspapers, which
stated, “We offer financial help to poor and bright
students.” I immediately knew that I qualified to
receive such help. I applied for the scholarship and
fortunately, I was selected and offered a scholarship
of $200/yr for all 4 years of my graduation. This was
such an immense and timely help that I received from
NSF. As a result of the scholarship, I was able to
complete my undergraduate degree, get my masters from
IIT, Kharagpur, and settle down as a software
professional working here in USA.
I
am grateful to NSF for literally changing my life, as
it made me what I am today. I attribute all my
successes and achievements to NSF.
If
NSF wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have been here today. I
would not have been able to continue my education and
I would have followed my father to become another
tailor in my village – not knowing about education,
not knowing anything about the world AND probably not
knowing anything about myself.
I
got the lifetime gift of education from NSF. Why do I
say it is a life time gift? We all know the importance
of Education and that’s the reason why we are all here
today. Education offers you many opportunities, and
makes you a complete person. The importance of
Education can be best described by a Chinese proverb –
“If you want to think one year ahead, plant rice
If you want to think ten years ahead, plant trees,
BUT
If you want to think hundred years ahead, give
education to people”
That is the beauty and importance of education. This
is what we at NSF believe in: providing education to
hundreds of deserving students every year with support
from people like you.
Another interesting point that I would like to mention
here is – in addition to monetary help, I also
received something else from NSF – “Giving attitude,
Sense of joy, Joy of giving.” Why a person sitting in
Chicago, USA, wants to help a poor student from a
village in INDIA? What exactly connects them both?
This prompted me to think beyond my textbooks for the
first time in my life. No matter what you do, what you
earn, and where you are, there is always at least one
person in this world who needs you help and support.
It is your responsibility and a God-given opportunity
to help those in need. This was the realization that I
got after knowing and associating with NSF.
This inspirational message motivated me so much that –
4 years ago, I started the
PADALA CHARITABLE TRUST in my district in
INDIA
to try to help poor but bright students each year. All
I am trying to do is “Pay it Forward,” nothing great,
nothing big, just something that I am responsible for.
I find the poorest section of students with the best
academic records and offer financial help for their
higher education. I tell them “don’t worry about the
tuition fee, don’t worry about the uniform and books –
I’ll take care of all those. Just continue your hard
work and go on.”
As
of today, I have managed to give 155 scholarships to
such students. A dozen of the recipients have already
settled in good jobs, successfully supported their
families, and are already on their way to help other
disadvantaged students. Last month, I got a check from
one of my scholars who recently got a job. He sent me
his first salary so that it can be used to help
another poor and bright student. This is the message I
always wanted to pass on to my scholars – “Pay it
forward.” Such philanthropy is like a chain reaction
of “Paying it Forward,” initiated by just one person,
Dr. Chitturi, and supported by a great number of
wonderful donors.
I
am just one example and one little branch of NSF.
There are hundreds of people like me helping and being
helped by NSF each year.
Now
you know what kind of difference you are making by
supporting North South Foundation. Please continue
your support and be proud of yourself. As of today,
NSF has seventeen chapters all over INDIA helping the
poor and needy.
I
promise you that each penny you donate to NSF and each
minute that you volunteer for NSF counts and it
reaches the most deserving in our home country, INDIA.
So, please continue your patronage to NSF. Finally, I
conclude by saying one thing that I always believe in:
“Your Talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with
it, is your Gift back to God.”
THANK YOU.
Suryaprasad Padala
Founder & Chairman
Padala Charitable Trust
http://www.padalacharitabletrust.org
Padalasurya@yahoo.com
Cell: 001-219-308-2760
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