The VAO with a golden heart

Meet Durai Prithiviraj, a village administrative officer, from Virudhanagar district in Tamil Nadu. Based out of Aruppukottai, this official started out with his mother’s blessings, stringent warnings and more significantly an ideology that he should work towards doing away with the practice of bribe and help those who are suffering.

At a time when corruption is rampant and the world is plagued with this deadly disease, there are still some beacons of hope which keep the world going and make it a better place.

Incidents of malpractice in the sector witnessed by a father who was a government employee, only strengthened the moral grounds of  a son who later grew up to be a more responsible human being, rising above family conditions.

Prithiviraj has given greater dimension to his work by pushing himself to the maximum extent as he managed to create a network of like-minded individuals who have been working together towards the same goal and setting new goals with their joint efforts every day.  

There are at least 101 government officials with him from across districts working towards ending corruption and they call themselves Nermaikku thunai, a network aiming at public welfare.

Among the yeoman services that Prithiviraj has rendered so far in the last 11 years, his free ambulance service which he started 2 years ago with his six year salary in government service is what will make his name etched in hearts and minds for years to come.

But what made him take up this noble cause? Prithiviraj’s younger  brother Rajesh met with an accident in 2011 and he did not survive as he did not get any ambulance service. That incident drove Prithiviraj to start a trust - Rajesh Udhavum Karangal - to which contributions came pouring in.   

Today, he has his ambulance service which comes to rescue of lives, and in case of unavailability, he arranges one. Alongside ambulance service, Prithiviraj has done a significant work in another life saving mission. His blood donation service has nurtured hundreds of volunteers in and around Aruppukottai who are taking forward his noble mission.  

Prithiviraj spreads the good word around through speeches in schools and colleges from where he gets a significant response. If any of them is unable to pay their fee, Prithiviraj arranges it if they reach out to him. If Prithiviraj is approached for help, it never goes in vain. He uses social media as a tool to let others know the urgent monetary needs for the person in distress, generous people send in the contribution to his trust from where he gives it away to the person.

Prithiviraj has surely come a long way as a human as he has given dignified burials to unclaimed bodies. As the list of his good service goes on, what cannot be missed out is his effort towards ensuring no surplus food from an event venue lands in a bin. He arranges vehicles to carry the surplus food from those venues to needy people and orphanages and old age homes in the town.

The VAO also bags a lot of blessings as he brings pensions under government social security schemes to the doorstep of those tired of their struggle for existence and have no one to turn to. Today Prithiviraj lives with one dream - to have his own centre of learning which he wants to name Kalam Dream House to  teach children discipline and personality development. He can be reached at 9842122046.