He turned his own darkness into light for 1000s of Indian children

For scientist Dr Chandrasekhar Sankurathri, life consisted of working as a visiting faculty for the Ministry of Fisheries in Canada and an evaluator for Canada's Ministry of Health was balanced with enjoying the love of his young wife and two children. Tragedy struck however when his entire family was killed in the Air India Flight 182 bombing on 23 June 1985. Disillusioned, Chandrasekhar spent years after that trying to find a purpose in life. 

“I still remember seeing off my wife, son and daughter at Montreal airport. They were so happy … that’s the image I still have of them. Lively, happy people … that is what I still remember.”

Finally, in 1988, he resigned and returned to India with a new set of goals. He was determined to make his remaining years fruitful to those less privileged in his home town of Andhra Pradesh (present Telengana). 

After setting up the Manjari Sankurathri Memorial Foundation (named after his late wife) in Canada and the Sankurathri Foundation as an non-profit organization in India, Dr Chandrasekhar focused on three goals - education, healthcare and disaster management. Situated between rural settlements and paddy fields in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, the huge campus he built over years embodies all these three goals. 

Sarada Vidyalayam

Named after his late daughter, is a high school that opened in 1992 and provides free education and vocational training. This is in addition to providing all the children lunch, uniforms, shoes, books, bags, transportation and medicines.

SriKiran Institute of Ophthalmology 

Named after his late son who spoke of being an 'eye doctor for children when he grew up', opened in 1993 and offers affordable eye care including specialty surgeries. In addition to free eye camps, the hospital provides free transportation, accommodation, food, surgery and lenses.

Spandana

A disaster relief program, started in 1998 and is aimed at providing basic necessities to those displaced by natural disasters, common to the region situated near the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

In 2008, Dr Chandrasekhar Sankurathri became the first Indian to win the CNN Hero award by CNN International.

35 years from the day the love and light of his eyes were taken away from him, Dr Chandrasekhar Sankurathri's philanthropic work continues to bring light to the minds and eyes of thousands of children in India.

Heroes of Kindness:

Since 2017, every year, I take up the #BlogchatterA2Z & #AtoZChallenge and focus on showcasing lovely real-life heroes from around the world. The aim is to remind you that there is still plenty of good human beings all around you... to inspire you to smile once more.

You can follow my 2020 Edition of Heroes of Kindness here.

Want more stories of compassion? I have Hundreds of 'Heroes of Kindness' to brighten your day here:

2017 edition (Articles - 40, Heroes - 67)

2018 edition (Articles - 34, Heroes - 52)
2019 edition (Articles - 31, Heroes - 42)

Heroes of Kindness - Indian edition
Heroes of Kindness - My Interviews