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AID Jeevansathi, Balaji Sampath's service in India has been showcased on CNN-IBN. The following is a reproduction of the article on CNN-IBN that accompanies a video that captures the essence of Balaji's work.
Rohini Mohan CNN-IBN THE HOMECOMING: Many of Tamil Nadu's NRIs are returning to take up careers in their home state. The history of south India can be traced back to over 2,000 years. However, it was only 50 years ago when the four southern states were created along linguistic lines. CNN-IBN unveils the changing face of south India and celebrates the Dravidian spirit in a special series The Golden South. Chennai: Almost every Tamilian family has an NRI relative, someone who went abroad for education and then stayed on. But today, it looks like many NRI Tamilians are returning to turn investors, social workers, or even politicians. This is the story of an ex-student of IIT-Madras, Balaji Sampath. It took Sampath six years in the US to realise that he belonged to India. Today he is a full-time volunteer with the NGO AID India and spends his time teaching government school children, celebrating little significant victories with them, like reading a full sentence. "My initial idea was okay, I'll go back later. But later always never comes. At one point, It was just a decision I had to make-ok. I'm going to go back and try. Really, if you work, you can make a difference. I think that's what has been sustaining me," says Sampath. Balaji brings simple, activity-based teaching methods to government school children, improving their reading ability by 88 per cent. This method is now followed in over 7,300 government schools across Tamil Nadu. That means at least five lakh children are happy Balaji came back home. Though it still has the second highest emigration levels, Tamil Nadu is of late also witnessing a return of the emigrants. "When you get out of the country, you love the country more. You miss it more," says a local politician, 'Americai' Narayanan. Narayanan was a businessman for 13 years in the US and then he came back to be, of all things, a politician. In true patriotic style, his house is named 'India' but, the America tag stuck to his name. "The strong fundamentals mixed with the opportunities you get and the way you look at things, makes you a better person with a significant leverage when you come back to make a difference," Narayanan. But how many of today's outward-bound youngsters want to come back? "It's like we know there's a world out there, let's go out and once you have that experience, come back and work here," says a student of IIT-Madras. Many of them are of the same opinion. "It maybe more difficult to do it here than doing it abroad, but i would like to do something for my country, and would enjoy the challenge," says another student. In Tamil Nadu, NRIs are jokingly called Non Returning Indians. But with most of them actually defying the stereotype to return home, there’s still hope from the global Indian going local. Courtesy: Harsha To access the CNN-IBN Video Link that captures Balaji Sampath at work, please visit: http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/25321/tns-non-returning-indians-return.html |
