THE ‘RISE’ IN THE ‘EVE’ OF LIFE…SWAPNAKKOODU; BUILT IN MEMORIES…GROWING WITH DREAMS…
SAHYAN R.
Swapnakkoodu is not merely a shelter home but a living memorial of the survival journey of a Social Worker, Dr. Ramani Nair who worked through the profound grief of her loss. It reminds us that life can still hold purpose even in the face of immense loss. Amid her hardships, Dr. Ramani Nair discovered her life’s purpose in social work. Dr. Ramani Nair built a shelter home, ‘Swapnakkoodu’ with the strength of lovable memories of her beloved son who passed away in a bike accident at the age of 21. Today, people who are in the twilight of their lives, realize their dreams with togetherness and happy gatherings in Swapnakkoodu.
Her son’s passing occurred while she was working as a school teacher in a tribal area. Dr Rmani chose philanthropy as a way to heal herself from the wounds of her loss. During the journey through welfare activities, she met a Social Worker, Mr. Haris and this paved the way for the foundation of Swapnakkoodu. With his support, Dr Ramani Nair built a ‘shelter’ for elderly people. There were more struggles behind the scenes to set up such a social service center. When registering Swapnakkoodu, her retirement benefits and some ornaments were the only capital. With her resolve to pursue social work, a new care home was founded in a rented building in Thiruvananthapuram and it was inaugurated by Aswathy Thampuratty, a member of the Travancore royal family.
In the first year of the foundation, it provided refuge to twelve mothers, and today, seventy residents find solace and support in the shadow of Swapnakkoodu. The mission of a shelter home for the elderly isn’t confined to creating a refuge, but also facilitating the psychological transition of its residents from the feeling of loneliness to a sense of social harmony. Through the effective coordination of Dr. Ramani Nair and the vigorous endeavor of the manager, PRO, supervisor, warden, and the entire team, Swapnakkoodu makes a bright heaven for the elderly in the twilight of their lives. They enjoy a sense of companionship with their peers at the care home. This institution doesn’t receive any financial assistance either from the government or from prominent individuals. Despite the lack of external support, Dr Ramani Nair led the institution forward to provide an atmosphere in which every destitute can fill their life with cherished memories.
THE UNWAVERING RESOLVE TO SOCIAL WELFARE
It is not an easy task to run a welfare organization without financial support from outside. However, the firmness of Dr. Rmani Nair’s commitment to charity drives her along the path of social work. Amid all challenges, she ensures Swapnakkoodu runs smoothly even funding it with the monthly salary from her HDFC bank job. Beyond the institutional activities, she also conducts various welfare programs. Now she is organizing a tribal welfare project named ‘Gothrasanchalanam’ to gather study equipment and clothes for poor tribal families. In association with this, she has conducted a ‘Tribal youth cricket league’ program. These initiatives played a crucial role in the rejuvenation of tribal communities.
The increasing number of elderly destitute individuals is one of the major social challenges. To address this issue, Dr. Ramani Nair is striving to establish a new building alongside Swapnakkoodu. Even though the property has been acquired in the capital city for this project, it has remained stagnant for two years. Despite all these crises, Dr. Ramani, as a dedicated social worker, is still optimistic in her visions and hopes to expand the scope of her firm Swapnakkoodu as it could accommodate more destitute. Apart from her doctoral degree, she was awarded the ‘ Iron Lady’ award in honor of her social work. We admire Dr Ramani Nair for her great welfare initiatives amid the grief of personal loss.
