Sevalaya Murali, Founder and Managing Trustee, was awarded the,”For the Sake of
Honour Award” by the Rotary Club of Chennai Velachery.
The Chief Guest, Rtn PDG Dr. Olivannan Gopalakrishnan, CEO of Emerald Publishers,
presented the highest recognition award to Sevalaya Murali at a function held at Trendz
‘N’ Trendies in Velachery on 26th May 2024.
The award was presented to V Muralidharan for his exemplary services to the
underprivileged in the fields of health, education, rural development since 1988.
Speaking to the gathering, Rtn PDG Dr. Olivannan Gopalakrishnan, Past District
Governor for the Rotary Club, stated that the award was rightly given to Sevalaya
Muralidharan for his exceptional contribution to society. He praised the services
provided by Sevalaya, highlighting its growth. He also acknowledged Bhuvaneswari
Muralidharan for being the backbone of Sevalaya. He requested Rotarians to support
Sevalaya in the long term projects.
Sevalaya Murali in his speech, recounted the beginnings of Sevalaya, which started with
merely five children in a modest hut, with a cook and providing them with the education.
This initiative soon expanded to accommodate 30 children and then to 2200+ students
at present. Sevalaya Murali also observed that, Sevalaya is entering its 37th year of
service on 29th May 2024 and has so far transformed 8,00,000+ lives in the areas of
education, health and rural development. He also noted that the first visitor to Sevalaya
was a member of the Rotary Club. Murali extended an invitation to all members of the
Rotary Club, as well as the general public, to visit Kasuva and other Sevalaya locations
in South India.
Rtn. A Mohan, President, Rtn. D Balachandar, Secretary, Rtn. V Sriram, and Rtn. K
Gopalakrishnan, from the Awards Committee, attended the function.
Murali’s vision for Sevalaya is rooted in the principles of Mahatma Gandhi, Swami
Vivekananda, and Mahakavi Bharathiyar, aiming to create a society free of inequality
and poverty.
After 36 years, Sevalaya has expanded its operations to encompass various programs,
including school education, community colleges, old age homes, rural development,
medical centres, and environmental development, spanning Andhra Pradesh, Kerala,
and Karnataka. These efforts have benefited over 800,000 underprivileged lives and
continue to do so.
