HYDERABAD: Through Telugu People Foundation, we have been actively supporting financially challenged students from both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. We recently donated `2 lakh to MVS Koteswara Rao Memorial public school in Adavi Takkellapadu near Guntur. Since 2008, we raised about $250,000 and helped around 100 students from remote villages for their higher education in both the states. So far, we reached out to poor students from Warangal, Khammam, Srikakulam, Guntur districts,” says Prasad who started Telugu People foundation in the year 2004 after the Tsunami struck AP. Since then, the foundation has been actively helping Telugu people in various ways. By 2008, the foundation introduced the education programme and got registered as a non-profit in USA in the year 2015. “My interest in starting the foundation is to cater to the needs of Telugu People. Every Telugu person should feel close to this foundation. We have immense support from various other foundations in the USA and I can proudly say that we are growing year by year”.
Despite of many organisations and foundations in USA, Telugu People Foundation has carved a niche in its honesty and integrity in serving the needy. “I owe it Prasanthi Uppalapati and Krishna Kotha who steered this foundation successfully so far. We have an excellent team that strives hard to make justice to each and every penny. I know the value of money, so I make sure it reaches to the right person,” says Prasad who always believed in doing in what he believed.
“From going to school in a car to losing my father in my seventh grade and moving to a different city, my childhood was quite eventful. Since everybody owned businesses in our family, I was also asked to pursue the same interest. My mother was quite supportive of my choices and she made sure we never had to struggle financially. My interest in books led me to open a bookstore, at the age of 17, which I named ‘Students Book Stall’ and had to drop out of college formally. However, I was lucky to continue my education through Open University. But my interest in books and education has doubled since then,” adds Prasad who then authored books on science quiz, astronomy, earth, computers and various science concepts on the request of Pallavi Publications and released them successfully during late 80s. He then moved into the field of journalism to pursue his passion.
“I started working for Andhra Prabha as sub-editor and started computer coding for Indian Express. Thus my journey with media and computer programming went on smoothly in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram and I was fondly called as ‘Computer Prasad’ in media then. I was also instrumental in launching Internet editions for Indian Express in 1998 and built content management system for Andhra Prabha, Kannada Prabha, Dinamani, Malayalam Vaarikha and Indian Express, adds Prasad”. This was the time when Prasad started his own website called Telugupeople.com to cater to the needs of Telugu People across the globe.
“My life changed after that. I came to USA on employment visa and my real life struggles started. It is hard to start from scratch in this country. It was 2001 and I was here in USA, the land of opportunities, fighting hard with the language and culture. There were times, when I thought of calling it quits and going back to India. But I stayed back and continued my passion,” says Prasad who now owns a software company and the foundation to his credits.
“It has been quite a journey for me. There were numerous ups and downs in my life in USA. But I never forgot my roots. My wife, Satyavani and I are lucky to be known among the telugus in USA. We attend the community activities and volunteer at lot of places. We believe in serving and we are teaching the same to our only daughter, Sravya who is now in 6th grade. “I also tell the students in USA to contribute to the Telugu People in India. As immigrants, we can do so much and give back to our society. We are also planning to setup a permanent fund such as an endowment fund and support schools and colleges so that more students can get benefit”, adds Prasad whose advice to the youth is to ‘not to forget home country’.