Srinivasa Trust Chennai

The aim of SST is to change mindsets and act as a catalyst for creation of self reliant village communities. For example, when a school is built, it is left up to the villagers to ensure that it is well maintained. SST however, will conduct periodic checks.

Set up as the social arm of TVS Motor Company and Sundaram–Clayton Ltd in 1996 by Venu Srinivasan, Chairman of TVS Motor Company, the Srinivasan Services Trust (SST) is named after his father. The Trust collaborates with the government to help villagers become self reliant and started off by focusing on economic development. It soon came to realise the truth of the maxim, “Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Today, SST emphasises a holistic and sustainable development approach, targeting the areas of healthcare, education, environment, infrastructure and economic growth. Working in partnership with research organizations, NGOs, financial bodies, Government agencies and local institutions, it has made a difference to the lives of 55740 families in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh. There have been far reaching changes in the rural environment too.

Over 100000 hectares of degraded forests have been reforested. Successful implementation of watershed development programmes has raised the water table and prevented soil erosion in 5800 hectares of land. Together with scientific methods of agriculture, it has helped farmers earn a steady income all year around. SST participates with the government bodies in developing infrastructures such as construction of roads, drinking water facilities, proper sewage and sanitation, improving school, balwadis, health centres and community buildings in cooperation with the local communities.

The challenge lies in sustaining these changes through the active participation of communities, which SST believes are the true agents of change. It fosters a relationship of mutual trust, with project priorities fixed through discussion. Each village has created its own Development Fund. Local communities contribute to this fund and utilise it for maintenance of village infrastructure.

Resource centres engage village children in games, arts, crafts and computers. Robust student-teacher communities have lead to greater literacy levels in SST villages. The number of students passing the board exam has rocketed to 74-78% from the pre-SST era of 27-30%. In some villages, this has reached a high of 94%, sowing the seeds of empowerment in the next generation. SST’s environmental initiatives, such as ‘Wealth from waste’ have had tremendous impact on the natural balance and have indirectly created additional employment and sources of income for villagers. Greening efforts have also lead to increased earnings from tourism, collection of firewood and gathering of forest produce by villagers.

SST’s many pioneering initiatives have been recognised through awards such as the Mother Teresa Award for the Best Corporate Citizen, 2004, the Manimegalai Award 2007 for the Best Self Help Group and the Best SHG Federation for the Padavedu Panchayat in Tiruvannamalai district, Sri Jamshedji Tata Award for Adult education in tribal areas, Golden Award on Readers Digest Pegasus Corporate Social Responsibility Award 2008.

SST villages have an infant mortality rate of 1-2/10000 (against the national average of 69), malnutrition is 4% (state average – 45-50%), morbidity is 12-13% (state average – 40%). Access to water and sanitation, health awareness programmes, workshops and regular visits from doctors have contributed to higher health standards.