KANNUR: Owner of a construction company in Riyadh, and running business enterprises across the globe, Sooraj Panayil is living a dream. That of serving his homeland -- Azhikode. The 49-year-old’s life is an inspiring tale of determination, hard work and a consideration for those around him. “I spend around Rs 2 crore every year to help the people of Azhikode. What’s the point of excess money in your pocket, if you don’t want to spend it for the good of others?” Sooraj asks.
For him, it is ‘mission possible’ in Azhikode, with eyes firmly set on the future. “I can’t dream this alone. I see that the people are with me too,” he said. His passion to serve was such that he longed to become an army man as a child.
Though he fulfilled that dream in 1990, after his return to Kannur, he ended up flying out to Saudi Arabia to join Badan Landscape as a surveyor with a salary of around Rs 7,000. Soon, he was promoted as project engineer. Later, at the start of the millennium, he found that one of his schoolmates -- brilliant in studies -- had to discontinue studies because of financial crisis and was working as a fisherman.“On that day, I thought about starting a trust to help financially backward students to continue their studies. I also planned to give a small monthly pension to deserving people in my village,” Sooraj said.
Realising that he would need a lot of money for charity work, he decided to set up his own company. When he started Riyadh Villas in Saudi, people discouraged him. But Sooraj held firm and is now one of the leading builders in the UAE. After starting his own company in 2007, he formed the Daya Charitable Trust in Azhikode.
“The trust gives a monthly pension of Rs 1,000 to 150 persons in Azhikode,” he said.Till a few years ago, Azhikode was known for political violence and clashes between youths. “The main problem was unemployment. I gave jobs to around 60 youths from the region and sent them to the Gulf,” he said.
Sooraj wants to cooperate with government programmes too. During the Covid peak, Daya Charitable trust distributed food kits worth Rs 75 lakh.
The trust -- with the support of Azhikode panchayat, health department and the police -- is running the ‘Ente veedum, Ente nadum’ project to ensure cleanliness in the region.Among Sooraj’s activities, the project to bring the children of Azhikode together and give them training in various sports disciplines has now caught the attention of the entire district. “When virtual learning began through mobile phones, many children got addicted to games and other entertainment and parents became helpless,” he said.
So he bought two acres near his house and started a sports academy. He laid an artificial turf imported from Holland spending Rs 2 crore, and also brought in coaches in football, basketball, volleyball, boxing and table tennis. The playground is open for children in the area and they can practice for free. “Now, no parent in Azhikode complains about children using mobile phones excessively,” Sooraj.
While around 350 children are receiving training there, around 900 students are awaiting their turn, he said. A few months ago, some of his friends pointed out that the local people do not have a road to enter the beach. Soon, Sooraj bought 22 cents of land which had hindered attempts to build a road in the area, and build the path with his own money and opened it for everyone.