GUNTUR: For Chigurupati Vimala, a mother from Unduru village in East Godavari district, grief became a mission. After losing her 20-year-old son Sudheekshan in a tragic road accident in 2006, she transformed her personal loss into a movement that now impacts thousands across Andhra Pradesh.
Within 10 days of his demise, she established the Sudheekshan Foundation in his memory, with a vision to promote road safety and provide emergency care for the victims.
Sudheekshan (20), was returning home on a motorbike when he was hit by a speeding truck. “His life could have been saved if he had received first-aid in time,” recalls Vimala.
Vimala was born into a middle-class agricultural family. She holds a postgraduate degree in Public Administration from Nagarjuna University and completed teacher training in Hyderabad. In 1982, she moved to the Krishna district and started a school in Kankipadu to provide free education to rural children - a service she continued until 2007.
Now, the Sudheekshan Foundation is one of Andhra Pradesh’s well-recognised grassroots organisations working in road safety and accident rehabilitation. A major part of its work has been providing prosthetic limbs to road accident victims for young people who, like her son, suffered life-changing injuries.
Over 5,000 individuals have received prosthetic support through the foundation so far, helping them to regain their dignity. The organisation runs programmes in education, healthcare, and humanitarian support, besides distribution of wheelchairs and the supply of clean drinking water in underserved communities, training single mothers in life skills to make them financially independent.
Vimala’s daughter, Ch Srimukhi, is currently serving as the vice president of the foundation. Settled in the United States, Srimukhi has helped mobilise a wide network of support from the Indian diaspora. With her help, 100 NRIs have contributed to the foundation’s efforts. “My goal is to make sure no mother has to go through what I did,” Vimala told to TNIE. She added, “Accidents may not always be avoidable, but timely care can make the difference between life and death.”
With a focus on youth, the foundation conducts road safety awareness sessions and first-aid training in schools and colleges, especially targeting the high-risk age group of 16 to 40.
Despite its growth, the foundation remains rooted in humility, maintaining her resolve to keep the work service-driven. The foundation is affiliated with the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety (Zurich) and the Indian Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety (New Delhi) for a broader network. Now based in Krishna district.
“I couldn’t save my son, but if this work can save another life, it gives meaning to mine,” She said.