THRISSUR: No one has ever become poor by giving, wrote Anne Frank in her diary. Aiswarya Suresh is living up to that dictum as he goes an extra mile to help the needy around him. Every year, Suresh distributes ‘Onakkodi’ — new dress for Onam — to 2,500 kids.
“When they receive the dresses, their faces light up. That smile becomes my fuel to go forward,” Suresh says. He mainly focuses on tribal children, with other kind-hearted people joining him in providing financial and medical aid.
The 50-year-old from Parlikkad grew up in a financially backward family, with his mother Thankamma struggling to look after him and his three sisters, after the death of his father Viswambharan, who used to run a tea shop. “When my mother needed a surgery, I had to run from door to door for money. I don’t want elderly people to struggle like that,” says Suresh, who has been providing financial aid to 30 senior citizens every month.
Recently, he gave petrol worth Rs 500 autorickshaw drivers hit by the pandemic. “Having been a driver myself, I know how difficult it is to make ends meet,” says Suresh, who added ‘Aiswarya’ to his name after beating odds to rise in life.
When his father died, he had to give up on his education and shoulder the responsibility of his family, ending up as the driver of a vehicle carrying toddy. After hearing his plight, Swami Purushothamananda of Vyasa Thapovanasramam gave him a lorry to transport construction materials, which has made him the successful businessman he is now. His wife Beena, daughter Aiswarya and his mother support him in his charity initiatives.