Sri Kurumba Educational and Charitable Trust

Sri Kurumba Educational and Charitable Trust is a charitable trust that works with less privileged communities in Palakkad district, Kerala. PNC Menon, founder of SOBHA Limited, and Sobha Menon set it up in 1994 as its Founding Trustees. Menon had committed to giving half of his wealth to charity, and the Trust gave that giving an organised structure. The Trust runs its own philanthropic projects alongside the CSR programmes of SOBHA Limited, with a focus on long-term social development in rural areas. It describes its mission as empowering the less privileged sections of society and creating a better world for everyone. Both founders are signatories of The Giving Pledge.

Headquarters: Vadakkenchery, Palakkad, Kerala, India

Major Areas of Work

• Education: School education and preparation for professional college admission for girls and students from disadvantaged rural families in Palakkad district.

• Women's empowerment: Housing, living allowances, jobs and children's education costs for widows, plus dowry-free weddings for couples from low-income families.

• Healthcare: Free, quality primary healthcare through SOBHA Healthcare for people who cannot afford treatment at private hospitals.

• Elder care and community welfare: Residential care for senior citizens, a free community feeding programme, housing for underprivileged families and help rebuilding flood-damaged homes.

• Environment: Water recycling, groundwater recharge, solar energy and waste management work across parts of Palakkad district.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• SOBHA Academy: A CBSE English-medium school, started in 2007, that each year admits 90 eligible girls from less privileged families in the Vadakkenchery, Kizhakkenchery and Kannambra panchayats.

• SOBHA Icon: A two-year, full-time, on-campus programme in science and commerce that prepares students for professional college admission, with 60 students per stream trained 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, 270 days a year, affiliated to the Kerala State Council for Open and Lifelong Education.

• Young Mother Rehabilitation Programme: Free self-contained flats for young widows and their children, with jobs for the mothers at SOBHA Academy, school places for the children and support if the women wish to remarry.

• Rural Women Empowerment Programme: A monthly living allowance, clothing and medical support for widowed mothers from underprivileged backgrounds, with the Trust also paying for their children's education.

• Dowry-free Social Wedding Program: Weddings without dowry, with marriage counselling, for young couples whose families cannot afford to hold a wedding.

• SOBHA Hermitage: A home for senior citizens with personalised care and round-the-clock medical facilities.

Impact

The Trust states that it has held 667 dowry-free weddings and that its Rural Women Empowerment Programme supports 35 widowed mothers and their 63 children. It reports that 7 of the 18 young widows in its rehabilitation programme have remarried with its help. Its site says SOBHA Academy has over 1,200 students. By its own account, women make up 75% of the Trust's employees.

Leadership

• PNC Menon, Founding Trustee

• Sobha Menon, Founding Trustee

The Trust runs its programmes directly: a school, a college-preparation centre, a healthcare facility, housing for widows and a home for senior citizens. Most of this work is in a small group of panchayats in Palakkad district. Staff get hands-on experience of education, women's welfare, healthcare and elder care in one organisation, and they work closely with the same communities over many years. With SOBHA Limited's CSR programme behind it, the Trust plans its work for the long term. It suits teachers, social workers, healthcare staff and programme managers who want community-based work in rural Kerala.