The Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, Coimbatore, run with the support from Mahalingam Mariammal Manivizha Charitable Trust, celebrated the 156th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi's wife, Kasturba Gandhi, on Friday as Campus Day.

The celebration was presided over by M. Manickam, Chairman of the Sakthi Group. Muthaiah, Editor of Namadhu Nambikai magazine, participated as the special guest.

Mahatma Gandhi founded the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust in 1945 in memory of his wife, with the aim of empowering women in rural parts of the country in education, health, employment, and the economy. A branch of this Trust was established in Coimbatore in 1953 at Kamarajar Road, Varadharajapuram. While it functioned well initially, it faced an operational slowdown over the years.

When Arutchelvar N. Mahalingam, a devoted Gandhian and visionary leader from western Tamil Nadu, learned about its condition, he took measures to support the institution under his Mahalingam Mariammal Manivizha Charitable Trust in 1992. Since then, the campus has housed a Siddha hospital, a de-addiction centre, a school for deaf and mute children, a skill training centre for visually challenged women, and, more recently, the Mirakle Integrated Treatment Clinic.

It is noteworthy that the de-addiction centre, which was started in 1993, has helped improve the lives of over 19,000 individuals. Similarly, the Kasturba Gandhi School for the Deaf and Mute Children, started in 1996, has trained 300–350 children with hearing impairments to speak, in addition to providing them with an education.

Children as young as two years old are admitted to the school, which offers classes from Pre-KG to 10th Standard under the State Board syllabus. The school charges only Rs.150 as fees, which is waived for those who cannot afford it. Special training is provided to help children learn to speak.

Ranjith was one such child who received speech training from this school. His mother, Amirtha, learned about the school and enrolled him when he was just two years old. With the training provided and her continued support, Ranjith gradually began to speak.

As his speaking abilities improved, he moved to a regular school to complete his higher secondary education. Though he studied in Tamil medium, when he joined PSG Tech to pursue Mechanical Engineering, he was required to learn English. He overcame the language barrier with help from his friends and eventually became proficient in English. Despite this, many employers underestimated his potential when he began looking for a job.

One of the companies under the Manickam-led Sakthi Group hired him for a year. It was during this time that Ranjith became interested in civil services. He cleared the UPSC prelims and successfully passed the interview to become an IAS officer on his first attempt.

"My son is doing great service to the country today. If not for the Kasturba Gandhi School for the Deaf and Mute Children, neither my son nor I would be where we are today," said an emotional Amirtha during the celebration.

Manickam, Chairman of the Sakthi Group, who spoke next, said, "Our society is filled with challenges, but what we choose to do to bring about change for others is what truly matters."

On the occasion, 13 staff members of the Mahalingam Mariammal Manivizha Charitable Trust and 8 staff members of the Sakthi Group who had completed 15 years of service were honoured. A book about alcohol addiction and rehabilitation was released during the event by Manickam along with the special guest Muthaiah, and the first copy was received by Chandrasekhar, MD, N.Mahalingam & Company.

Mahendiran, Manager of the Mahalingam Mariammal Manivizha Charitable Trust, made all the arrangements for the event.