Inspiration
For this Vijayawada girl, Education is her lifelong mission
Swathi Sriram motto in life is ‘save humanity’. She believes that humanity can be saved through education so this NRI spent the last 6 weeks in the 2 states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh establishing libraries called Vidya Centers in schools. She has so far established 19 in Andhra Pradesh and 11
Swathi Sriram’s is an ordinary girl with an extraordinary motto in life ‘save humanity’. In fact, all her emails and messages end with these signature words. She believes that the best way to save humanity is through education so this NRI spent the last 6 weeks in the 2 states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh establishing libraries called Vidya Centers in schools.
“The project is the brainchild of my husband Sriram Tatavarthi (a techie in New Jersey) and me. It all started for one project a few months ago when I raised funds for 2 libraries in Telangana. I made sure the libraries had furniture. But what about books? We need books to reach the public. My faculty in Rutgers University helped me conceptualise my vision and mission. I stumbled upon the story of Pradeep Lokhande who established libraries in rural villages in Maharashtra. I called him and he told me to focus on books. Suresh Kosaraju from Manchi Pustakam in Tarnaka helped me finalise the book list. I designed a leadership programme and prepared manuals for the students. It was really ambitious as I made all the arrangements from US. I made phone calls, arranged for the books, delivered them and lined up 30 schools. I landed in India and within a week, I finished the AP tour. Hence, Vidya Center inculcates both education and leadership in the students.”
She has so far established 19 in Andhra Pradesh (Krishna, Godavari (east and west), Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam) and 11 in Telangana (Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam). Each Vidya Center is equipped with 128 books, a mix of science, language, biographies, classics etc.
Sharing about her journey, Swathi says that it was easier for her to arrange for funds than schools who wanted to participate. A couple of schools said they were not equipped to maintain the centers. Every single school is sponsored and it costs $100 per school. She hasn’t set a growth target for this year but hopes to open 20 Vidya Centers in every district of the 2 states by 2020.
Usually Indians living in the US feel cut off from the Indian realities. How did she manage to stay grounded and yet give back to the society? She turns the argument on its head by saying, “I disagree with the statement. NRIs like me miss the motherland so much that we make sure, we keep our bonds strong.”
Being in the US has given her a clearer outsider’s perspective, hence it was easy for her to identify certain issues to work and focus on.
Speaking about herself, she says she has been a part of Toastmasters International for the past 3 years in New Jersey (NJ) and currently serves as the PR manager for District 83 Toastmasters International in the state. “Besides doing their PR and social media activities, I also volunteer at a prison in NJ. We hold the sessions inside the prison for the inmates and the whole experience changed my life. I realised how privileged we are in life.”