Mr. N. R. Swamy migrated from a small village in South India to Bombay, in search of a job in 1929, at the beginning of the Great Depression. He was just 16 years old and had recently finished high school. He began as a stenographer/typist, educated himself, and rose fast to a senior and responsible position in a large dominant multinational chemical company, till he headed the global Venture Trading section by 1938. He and his brother Mr. N. S. Iyengar (Rajan), who had joined him in the company, were nominated to manage these large operations in India, during the difficult war years. Toward the end of 1944, with his brother, he started a distribution/agency company Chemidye, with the initial branches in the United Kingdom, Bombay, and then war-torn Germany. He was a Founder and MD of Ultramarine and Pigments Ltd and Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd. He was the Founder and President of prominent industry associations, including the Chemical and Alkali Merchants Association which he led for 20 years. All his life, he was passionate about education and learning, and felt great empathy for the poor and deprived. With his brother Rajan, he was a Founder and Trustee of Thirumalai Charity Trust (TCT) and for a long time he served on the governing council of the South India Welfare Society (SIWS). His concern for the poor, his belief in education, and his personal experience of the power of individuals and families to "raise" themselves through education and enterprise lives in our mission and in all our efforts, as well as in our basic model: to educate all our stakeholders and manage all our programmes through the power of personal and group efforts, in volunteerism, and personal initiative.

Mr. N. S. Iyengar was the principal Founder and Managing Trustee of the Thirumalai Charity Trust (TCT) from 1970 to 1997. He was extremely capable and ambitious from an early age. He drove himself relentlessly, and motivated all around him to aspire and work to excellence, personal growth and to public service. He was an institution builder and leader; the Ultramarine & Pigments Ltd, the Thirumalai Chemicals Limited, the Thirumalai Charity Trust, the South India Welfare Association (SIWS) Schools and Colleges, the Ahobila Math Temple in Bombay, and many others, all his life. He moved to Bombay in 1931 as a young man, following his brothers, in search of employment, at a very difficult period. He grew rapidly in his company (a large multinational) along with his beloved brother to the very top by 1939; a rare Indian among hundreds of Germans and Czechs in Bombay. He and his brother managed this large company all through the 2nd World War. Ever an entrepreneur, in 1944, he set up a Trading and Agency enterprise, with his brother and other partners, and immediately moved to war torn Europe, when the war had barely come to a close. He had to be in difficult, sometimes terrible times and places. While successfully building a Distribution Company and then two significant manufacturing companies (UPL and TCL), he was ever active in public service, for instance, the SIWS Schools and Colleges, the Chemical and Alkali Merchants Association, and many other Industry Associations. He loved children and the young. As early as his college days in 1928, he was among people, who were active in girls education; and women’s empowerment, a taboo subject in an orthodox, conservative society. These left a deep mark on him for life. He once said he worked like a capitalist, and felt and behaved like a communist. He was a pragmatic liberal, far ahead of his times. With his brother, he started the Thirumalai Charity Trust (TCT) in 1970 to specifically work on and support Education and to support quality HealthCare in the community. These are the core objectives of the TCT and its sister organization, the Akshaya Vidya Trust / Vedavalli Vidyalaya. He strongly believed in the responsibility of all, particularly the well to do and the educated, to work for Social and Public causes. He was convinced that only motivated individuals and small activist groups could drive improvements society, through united action and sustained work. He was active in encouraging us, indeed pushing us to set up the Vedavalli Vidyalaya Schools, and strongly supported our Director Mrs. Bhooma Parthasarathy in all her activities in the TCT till his end in 1997. His interest in these were deep and penetrating. At the end of his long and very successful life as a Businessman and Entrepreneur, he would say, that long after his Businesses and Companies, were forgotten, the effects of the SIWS and Vedavalli Schools and Colleges, and of the TCT: in Education, Health and Women’s empowerment would "live on" in many Communities. His passionate spirit and his hopes, his trust in the energy of people to improve and better themselves, indeed "Live on" in the TCT. Mr. S. Santhanam has been in the business of trading and manufacturing chemicals all through his career. He is a former Managing Director of Ultramarine and Pigments Ltd. and Director of Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd. He has been actively involved in various social development projects. He is a committed member of the International Humanist Movement and believes in voluntary action to bring about social change. Being an ardent supporter of neighbourhood promotion, he was responsible for mobilizing the community at Wadala, Mumbai for greening the neighbourhood. He is the President of the Managing Committee of South Indian Welfare Society that manages a High School, N. R. Swamy College of Commerce and Thirumalai College of Science. He is a diploma holder in printing Technology. He is a Founder – Trustee of Thirumalai Charity Trust.

Mr. S. Santhanam has been in the business of trading and manufacturing chemicals all through his career. He is a former Managing Director of Ultramarine and Pigments Ltd. and Director of Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd. He has been actively involved in various social development projects. He is a committed member of the International Humanist Movement and believes in voluntary action to bring about social change. Being an ardent supporter of neighbourhood promotion, he was responsible for mobilizing the community at Wadala, Mumbai for greening the neighbourhood. He is the President of the Managing Committee of South Indian Welfare Society that manages a High School, N. R. Swamy College of Commerce, and Thirumalai College of Science. He is a diploma holder in printing Technology. He is a founder – Trustee of the Thirumalai Charity Trust.

"We try to make a difference in as many ways as possible for those in dire in need. I am happy to see the ripple effect on the community as a whole." Mr. D. K. Srinivasan is the Secretary of the Hindu Mission Hospital, Tambaram, on the outskirts of Chennai. Since his young days, he has been passionate about public service and he has been associated with several voluntary organisations in Chennai. He gave up his lucrative business to focus all his energies to build up and nurture the Hindu Mission Hospital to its current size of 220 beds. The hospital offers much more affordable caring service even in cardiac surgery and haemo dialysis. He is highly regarded for his extensive services to a large number of communities in Chennai and the neighbouring districts. The extension services from the hospital to the rural areas include school health, eye care, gynaecological, and paediatric care programmes. He is the correspondent and Secretary of the three Valluvar Gurukulam Schools for children from underprivileged backgrounds in Tambaram. These schools have over 3,000 children. He is active in cultural and religious activities besides his social service. He is a recipient of the prestigious ‘Padma Sri’ and several awards in recognition of his outstanding work. He was associated with TCT as a trustee for nearly two decades and has helped TCT evolve and develop the Thirumalai Mission Hospital.

"It is heartening to see disabled people help themselves and access Government schemes. I am glad TCT is enabling this process". Mr. C. Antony Samy has devoted his life to the education, training, and employment of persons with disabilities, and enable them to achieve dignity and independence. He retired as a Trustee and Managing Director of WORTH Trust, which he was instrumental in building. An engineer, his early exposure to those disabled and cast out of their communities by Leprosy, prompted him to do pioneering work for the cause of the disabled in the country. Under the guidance of the Swedish Red Cross and later the WORTH Board, he was instrumental in organizing rehabilitation programmes for leprosy affected persons and persons with other disabilities in the early 60’s & 70’s. In the next 2 decades, With the eradication of leprosy, WORTH extended its rehab services to children with Orthopaedicdisabilities. He set up three technical training centres, two transitional schools for disabled children, and a number of production workshops and factories making plastic products, brailler machines, auto components, wheelchairs, tricycles, and other mobility aids. The WORTH Trust is now well established in Pondicherry, Trichy, Katpadi, Chinglepet and Chennai with over 600 disabled persons as students, trainees and workers. Many thousands of persons with disabilities have been educated, trained by the WORTH and placed in regular employment, in leading companies of South India. Mr. C. Antony Samy’s pioneering work for disabled people has been widely recognized nationally and internationally. He also served as a Consultant and Resource person to many national and international organizations working on disability issues. He has also served as Chief Technical Advisor for six years for the UNDP-ILO project in Kenya for five years and for short terms in Indonesia, Sudan, Vietnam, Mongolia, etc. He is a Charter Trustee of National Society for Equal Opportunity of Handicapped, Mumbai. He is a Trustee of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for disabled people. He served as an Executive Committee Member, Asia Pacific Network of Work Centres for Disabled Persons. He has also served as a Board Member for Workability International. He was involved with TCT as a trustee for nearly two decades and helped TCT conceive and enable the programme for the welfare of differently abled people.

"I believe if women are helped, families and communities benefit a great deal. I see this happening in TCT." Dr. Shanthi Ranganathan has a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Social Work. She is the Founder-Secretary and former Director of the TTK Hospital at Chennai that provides comprehensive treatment to alcoholics and drug addicts. She has done pioneering work in this field for the past 3 decades. Her contribution to popularizing the concept that ‘alcoholism is a treatable disease’ is highly respected and now widely used elsewhere. Over 30,000 families have directly benefited from her services. Her sympathy for rural alcoholics and empathy for their families prompted her to set up community based de-addiction programmes which now provide an alternative model for treatment in remote areas. An international authority on de-addiction and counseling, she offers her advice and consulting services to several Indian and several international bodies. In the early stages of her career, she popularized voluntary blood donation in Madras and helped set up the Madras Voluntary Blood Bank, in the mid seventies. She is currently very active in Swami Dayananda Higher Secondary School, in Manjakudi, Thiruvarur district, Tamil Nadu. She is transforming the village in many programmes through the school. She is the Secretary and Correspondent of the School and the Padma Narasimhan Industrial Training institute. She is associated with several voluntary organizations and educational institutions. She has received the prestigious ‘Padma Sri’ from the Government of India. She is the first Recipient of the U.N. Award for her outstanding work in rehabilitating addicts. The Tamilnadu Government has honoured her with the ‘Avvaiyar award’.

"TCT taught me about people’s participation and development processes. I am proud to be part of TCT". Mr. K. Thirumalai is a Chemical Engineer from Annamalai University. In his working career of over 40 years he has held important management positions in several large companies. His expertise is in Project Management and manufacturing. He retired from Industry in 2004 to pursue his interests in Community development. He has been an Advisor to TCL Group of Companies, and an active social worker. As an old student of Ramakrishna Mission Students Home, Mylapore, Chennai, he has always wanted to serve the School, and he has helped the School in many ways including a novel water recycling plant. For the past six years, he has been a member of the 'Managing Committee of the Ramakrishna Boys' Home, and serves in honorary roles in various activities of the Home. Through his Family Foundation, he is now organizing several health, education, and cultural activities at Sundararajanpatti near Madurai. On behalf of TCT, Mr. Thirumalai set up drinking water systems based on seawater desalination, at 6 locations in the Tsunami affected Nagai District and managed the plants, working with the fishing communities and the District Administration of Nagai to provide clean drinking water. He has set up four more such units near Chennai in water starved communities. Mr. Thirumalai is well known for his habit of personally helping anyone who approaches him in need.

Hello there "Ordinary people can do extraordinary things" – Our programmes are a manifestation of this belief. "We have mobilized thousands of village women volunteers in grassroots functions to empower the communities." Dr. Bhooma Parthasarathy has a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Social Work. She, is the director of the Thirumalai Charity Trust. She has been primarily responsible for setting up and managing the rural programmes of the Trust since 1983. She along with her friends and family set up the Thirumalai Mission Hospital as a unique model hospital for primary and secondary healthcare. She was instrumental in setting up the three Vedavalli Vidyalaya Schools since 1994, which she helps manage till date. These schools have over 2600 children. She has been associated with several voluntary groups and associations. She is the recipient of several awards for her service to poor communities and rural women.

Ms. Vidya is an artist and graphic designer. She did her B.A. and M.A. in Fine Arts from Stella Maris College, Chennai. She also completed a diploma course in Graphic Design at Penta Media Graphics. After ten years of working as an arist and graphic designer, she pursued her passion to become a teacher and teacher educator. She obtained a Diploma in Teacher Training from Cambridge University. She is currently the Dean and Director of the three ‘VedavalliVidyalaya’ schools in Ranipet-Walajapet and is also the Secretary of the ‘The Akshaya Vidya Trust’ that manages them. She manages these institutions with a focus on child centred education, and has spearheaded many new initiatives to make learning easy, exciting and meaningful in the last few years. She has also conducted teacher training diploma courses for young graduates to prepare them to teach in schools in the locality. She has introduced the rarely pursued subjects such as Sociology, Geography, Home Science, and Fashion Studies for the plus two course in the school to give children a wider exposure. There are 2300 students, 150 teaching and 75 admin and support staff in these institutions. The schools have a reputation in the locality for their teaching methods and holistic development of students.

"Providing high quality health care for all requires enormous support from the Government and NGOs. Thirumalai Charity Trust is at the forefront of this noble endeavour." "With a robust rural outreach programme and an ever improving base hospital, the Doctors, Nursing staff and administrators of the hospital are continually striving for clinical excellence." Dr. D. K. Sriram is the Medical Director and Head, Department of Diabetology at Hindu Mission Hospital – A state of the art 220 bed, Multi-specialty Tertiary care hospital. He is also a Consultant Diabetologist at the Apollo Hospital, Greams Road, Chennai. After attaining his Bachelor’s degree in Medicine, Dr. D. K. Sriram trained and worked in the US and UK for over 17 years. He is a member of the Royal College of Physicians UK (MRCP UK) and also has an MRCP in Endocrinology & Diabetesas well as a Masters degree in Diabetes from Warwick University UK. Dr. D. K. Sriram is passionate about enhancing health awareness among the people and regularly makes presentations across the country towards this end. In addition, he is a keen proponent of implementing current international guidelines so that patients benefit from the best quality of medical care.

"I think TCT has had an immense impact on the people and practices here, especially on the role of women in decision making in the family and other social institutions. I am honored to be a part of it now, and look forward to working with the trust for the benefit of our community here." Ms. Tara Parthasarathy serves as a Joint Managing Director at Ultramarine and Pigments limited, which manufactures inorganic pigments and surfactants. She has a Master’s in Environmental Management from Yale University, and a B.Tech. from Anna University. Prior to joining UPL, she worked at the World Resources Institute to develop the Green Power Market Development Group, a platform designed to help large industrial and commercial companies invest in and procure renewable energy. She has also worked for the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation in Delhi, where she managed the Buildings Efficiency and Appliance Efficiency portfolios. She is interested in gender justice and sustainable development.