P.N.C. menon, 75, founder, Bengaluru-headquartered realty major Sobha Ltd, is known for his philanthropic initiatives. In 2016, menon and his wife Sobha had joined The Giv-ing Pledge list – a philanthropic Initia-tive started by Warren Buffett, former Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and his wife melinda. menon had, in fact, decided to will 50 per cent of his wealth to charity 40 years ago.
Now, Sri Kurumba Educational and charitable Trust, that was established in 1994 by Menon and his wife to run various philanthropic projects (includ-ing the CSR programmes of Sobha Ltd) has taken a significant stride towards providing secure and safe homes to the rural poor, free of charge. This initiative of Sobha community home Project, ‘Griha Sobha 2024’, provides free hous-ing benefit to 220 women-led under-privileged families in Palakkad district of Kerala, aiming to address the press-ing issue of inadequate housing expe-rienced by underprivileged families in India. menon was born into a middle class family in Palakkad. he founded the trust one year before he entered the realty business, setting up Sobha Ltd.
The trust has adopted Vadak-kencherry, Kizhakkancherry and Kannambra – three graam panchayats (each consisting two villages) in Palak-kad district in 2006. In these adopted villages, the trust has initiated ‘Graa-masobha,’ a unique social development initiative through its diverse programmes for families with low monthly income.
Holistic social development
In a recent inauguration event in Palakkad, the trust celebrated `Griha Sobha 2024’, the keys hand-over for its first set of 100 homes at no cost to the beneficiaries, while foundation stone laying was done for another 120 homes of the promised 1,000 homes to women from resource-limited families. Of these 120 homes where foundation stone lay-ing was done, 13 landless families have been provided with five cents of land each, upon which their homes will be constructed.
The event, graced by dignitaries, including Sobha Menon, trustee, Sri Kurumba Educational & Charitable Trust, and Ravi Menon, chairman, Sobha Ltd (and son of the founder), served as a platform to highlight Sobha CSR’s commitment to holistic social development, with the launch of the Sobha CSR website, showcasing the organisation’s numerous projects and initiatives. “a home is more than just a shelter; it’s a foundation for a better life,” says Menon, founder & chairman, Sri Kurumba Educational & charitable Trust. “at the trust, we are committed to transforming lives through holistic social development, starting with the provision of housing security. We believe that by addressing the basic needs of individuals, we can create a rip-ple effect that positively impacts fami-lies, communities and society at large”.
Under the ‘Graamasobha’ social development initiative, the trust under-takes specially curated programmes in the fields of health care, education for girls, women empowerment, care for the aged and the needy, green initiatives and community housing for the economically weaker sections.
Established in 2007, The Sobha academy in Palakkad is a world-class CBSE English medium school (with nearly 1,200 students capacity), which admits 90 girls from disadvantaged sections of society (from villages under three Panchayats) annually, providing free of cost education, books, food, uniforms, transportation and healthcare.
“I have always felt that the most vulnerable section, particularly where I grew up, was the society of women,” observes menon. “So, my focus has always been on helping women. The schools that we have built are solely for girls to gain education. Young girls are often the most abused and disadvan-taged globally, even in the West”.
Currently, the trust has Sobha her-mitage, which is a home for the elderly, sprawling over 27 acres of green estates. Further, its social rehabilitation scheme for young mothers ensures their safety and security with no costs incurred. Through the Sobha rural Women Empowerment Programme, the trust covers the expenses of 50 widowed mothers of the Kizhakkenchery Pan-chayat. Its vocational training programme enables the less privileged to pursue a vocation of their choice Besides, there is a dedicated healthcare centre, which provides access to health-care for over 2,500 families from the adopted panchayats, the Sobha academy and Sobha hermitage.
Arbind.Gupta
arbind.gupta@businessindiagroup.com