CHENNAI : ‘All over the world today in our work and in our play
All over the world today in what we do and what we say….
Kindness is the way….’
These lyrics from The Kindness Song resonate well with the Change a Life Trust; a trust that believes that kindness takes “people a long way and is one of the most important and appreciated traits of humankind.” Started by a group of passionate women to help stray animals, and recognise those who lend their love and care to support the voiceless, the trust bestows The Kindness Awards by awarding acts of kindness.
The award is instituted in memory of late A Vijaykumar Reddy, former managing director of Savera Hotel, who loved animals and believed that people should treat them with kindness. “I did not know what to do after his demise, how to remember him in meaningful ways. I knew I wanted to start a shelter and my friends stood by me. That is when the trust was formed and the awards were installed,” shared Nina Reddy, joint managing director of Savera Hotel.
From cooking in big vessels to starving and serving spoonsful of curd rice or bowls full of chicken, Chennaiites never fail to show compassion towards their furry friends. Be it rescuing stray animals from a three-foot well and adopting them or performing Animal Birth Control (ABC) procedures, no stone is left unturned by animal lovers in the city. To honour their noble work, Change a Life Trust recognised eight individuals and five animal shelters at an event on Thursday.
Kalavathy Ashok, trustee and curator of the event, said, “We see the amazing work done by citizens. We engage with auto annas to transport animals to shelter homes or vet appointments. After that one trip, we see the auto drivers developing attachments with the pet and they go beyond their call of duty by regularly feeding them, following up on their health etc.”
From helping one pet a day to protecting an animal till its last days, the awardees share a common thread of affection and warmth towards animals. “In this world, there are only a few who help animals. Coming here makes me happy because I know I am not alone in this journey and meeting fellow activists who strive for animal welfare,” said one of the awardees, Sai Vignesh, an animal welfare activist and founder of Almighty Animal Care Trust. He added that recognitions like The Kindness Awards motivate them to work more. “We are given cash awards as well. The amount given will cover the medical and food expenses of the pets at my shelter for
the next three to four days,” he said.
Another awardee, Kyana Iyer, an animal lover, stressed that our approach towards animal welfare should change. “Animal welfare has been a struggle for decades. We should focus more on children now. We should teach them to connect with pets and desensitise their fears. If focussed on children, then animal welfare becomes a breeze which will help humanity and our society,” said Kyana.
The other awardees were Uma Akka, Dinesh BaBa, Prabhavathy Venugopal, Aditya Venkatraman, Kalai Selvi, Athmaram, Rajeev, Murali Kannan, Manikandan, Senthil Kumar, and KarthickU.
Witnessing the motivational work performed and inspirational speeches delivered by the awardees, the participants made a silent vow to step forward and aid the cats and dogs in their streets.