PALAKKAD: The first time he ran away from home, S Hariharan was 12. He returned after a day. At 14, he went to Mumbai and Pune for 11 days. When he slipped out of home for a third time, aged 17, his stay in Chennai lasted over a year, until his family members managed to convince him to come back and complete his BCom course left midway. While out on his own, he wandered on the streets and worked in tea shops, workshops, bakeries and as a cleaner in lorries, with just two pairs of clothes. On all occasions, Hariharan felt he was being scolded for “minor” aberrations. Later, he realised his parents were right. But the experiences served to instil in him a steely resolve.
In 1985, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the Government Victoria College in Palakkad. He went to Pune again, to earn an MBA in marketing and finance. Working his way up, Hariharan set up a BPO in Mumbai on a small scale in 1989.“I expanded it step by step as I wanted to be successful and make money. In due course, the company registered a turnover of Rs 100 crore. And now, it has 3,500 employees,” Hariharan says.
His life took a turn towards philanthropy one fine day when he was driving in Mumbai. “At a signal, I saw the outstretched palm of a child. I rolled down my window and handed him the sandwich that I had picked up for lunch. Beyond the little boy was the railway station, and sleeping among the rotting bags of trash were three more children. A few minutes later, I turned to see that the boy was sharing the sandwich with the others. The sight really moved me, bringing back painful memories of myself being a runaway child,” recalls the 56-year-old.
Thus the Children Reunited Foundation took shape. The NGO identifies, rescues and rehabilitates runaway children before reuniting them with their families. “We have so far rescued more than 28,000 children from the streets of Mumbai,” Hariharan says.Two months ago, his foundation opened the Aswas Clinic at Ayyapuram to examine and provide free medicines to children from BPL families. “The clinic has the services of a paediatrician and a nurse. We plan to set up Aswas Clinics in all six taluks of the district,” says M Devarajan, project director, Children Reunited.
Nearly 500 students from the Pandit Mothilal Government Model HSS -- Hariharan’s alma mater -- are also being given an annual scholarship of Rs 2,000 each. “Last year, 108 bicycles were given to girl students from BPL families in the high school. In May this year, 60 bicycles were given. We are also planning to provide a monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 each to 108 endosulfan-affected children from Kasaragod,” Devarajan says.
Hariharan has also authored a book ‘Runaway Children’, an interesting tale of childhood memories and the hardships he faced. The Children Reunited Foundation is also producing a film ‘Otta’, the first directorial venture of Resul Pookutty, based on the book. His wife, Harneet, and two children, Karan and Aayushi, lend their support to Hariharan in bringing smiles to children’s faces.