Padala Charitable Trust (PCT)
Educational Scholarships for Poor & Community  Development

North South Foundation

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 10^th and 12^th standards. Unfortunately, free education ends after the 12^th 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 –

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.

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give"
                                                                            - Winston Churchill