Rajesh Thiruvalla from Kerala is one of the many kindness heroes whose struggles have transformed the lives of many! He runs the Mahatma Janasevana Kendram, a safe shelter for the elderly and abandoned individuals in Kerala.
Kindness for Rajesh comes through making sure that he can save as many abandoned individuals as he can from the struggles and tribulations. He did not get the gift of a childhood that every kid wishes for. At a tender age he can’t even remember, Rajesh and his mother were abandoned by their father and the rest of his childhood was spent on his relative’s mercy.
Life ahead had many more challenges for Rajesh. He faced multiple incidents of verbal abuse, physical violence and financial challenges. While he was in Class 6, he set up a lemonade and candies shop near a public sports ground with only Rs. 5. He used to earn a profit of Rs. 3 per day. He also remembers the customers as kind hearted people paying double and triple for the articles.
He also got associated with a charity club during the same time. This club used to help the underprivileged communities with various activities and Rajesh decided to become a part of it. They helped students with clothes, food and study material. This was just a start for Rajesh’s journey to make the world kinder!
However, problems didn’t end for him. At the age of 15, his mother remarried and left him at his relative’s house. He later travelled to multiple cities in search of a job and this went on for 14 years. After deciding to settle down in Kerala after all this, he met the old team again.
After looking at the increasing numbers of abandoned individuals and the elderly, he decided to form the Mahatma Janasevana Kendram in Adoor, Pathanamthitta, Kerala with his wife in 2013.
What started as a shelter home for senior citizens now has three different centers across the state. Rajesh runs this shelter for the past 9 years for the elderly and abandoned, poor individuals. This shelter has a total of 300 adults and 10 children. Around 60 people are employed in these homes as nurses, accountants, security, and cleaning staff. There are many vocational training initiatives that the Janasevana Kendram operates like candle making, agriculture and farming activities etc.
He is providing a home to more and more elderly and helpless people each day. Rajesh is constantly on his mission to make a difference and the inmates at the Mahatma Janseva Kendram are living a transformed life under his aegis.
Here is to celebrating more kindness warriors like Rajesh and their will to change the world.
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Stay kind and spread smiles.
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