CHENNAI: A Sunday morning along Marina’s promenade comes alive with joggers and morning walkers, skaters weaving past picnickers unpacking their potlucks, and vendors putting up their stalls. Amidst this, the shore is also dotted by the countless homeless, forgotten souls for whom Marina isn’t a destination but home. However, they aren’t invisible to a group of young volunteers who bring them home-cooked food, biscuits, and water bottles on Sundays. Their effort forms the backbone of Naam Vidhaikalam, an NGO working with Chennai’s vulnerable children and youth.
Housed in the bustling lanes of Old Washermenpet, Naam Vidhaikalam is led by a generation of youth who believe that if you want to bring change, you must first become it. At the heart of this movement is 27-year-old Monisha Balamurugan, the founder of this NGO that has become a lighthouse for the vulnerable children and youth.
She works with a compact team — treasurer Nivithitha, secretary Jawahar, and legal advisor Sowjanya — who coordinate with students and engage with community members.
Monisha’s path into social work took shape long before she completed her post graduation from Stella Maris College, where she specialised in Medical and Psychiatric Social Work. Dusty field visits during her course, particularly camps with rural kids, dismantled her worldview. “Encountering social issues completely changed my perception,” she said. The raw reality of the social gaps she witnessed pulled her into the work long before she had a diploma.
The hardest battles were, however, not in the field but in the confines of home. As the first woman graduate in her middle-class family, Monisha spent her college years walking a tightrope, balancing the weight of family expectations of marrying early with an internal drive to serve the invisible.
Her father’s support steadied that choice. Even during a prolonged illness that kept him hospitalised, he became her loudest advocate to focus on the legacy she wanted to build. Monisha reflects, “I strongly believe that every life on earth has a purpose to create and leave something for coming generations. This journey wouldn’t be possible without my volunteers and supporters.”
Founded in 2019, Naam Vidhaikalam (Our Field of Seeds) set out to address gaps in schooling and mental health across North Chennai. One of its most visible efforts is the 63 Project. Local students set aside 63 from their modest pocket money to fund a dignified meal, a hot plate, fruit, and water for the homeless. What started as a monthly ritual became a lifeline during the pandemic, scaling up to feed thousands every day. It proved a point Monisha has always held dear — you don’t need a massive endowment to fix a gap, but just a community willing to share what little they have.
The organisation runs on a schedule shaped by need. Project Thadam, a community tuition centre, runs daily, where children can find the academic footing their schools might not provide. For local women, the sessions happen when the community asks for them, addressing their legal, financial, or personal hurdles.
A parent whose children attend the community learning centre described the change at home, and said, “Monisha’s community learning centre has become central to our lives. It isn’t only about lessons; it has altered how my daughters see their future. I notice the difference in their confidence, and I am grateful to what the centre offers.”
For Monisha, the work closest to her training is in mental health. Drawing on her specialisation, she launched ‘You Are Not Alone’ and a Youth Support Group. In a culture where mental health is often sidelined, she created a ‘no-judgment’ zone for teenagers navigating the brink of despair. So far, 31 structured sessions have reached over 2,000 students. These programmes function as safe harbours where young people can finally exhale.
Beyond counselling, Naam Vidhaikalam extends its work into environmental and civic awareness. Volunteers once assembled a portrait of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam using 7,000 neem seeds. They also take to the streets with Therukoothu, a traditional folk theatre. Through these plays, they turn the policy talk of plastic-free living and urban greening into a shared community conversation.
The next chapter for Naam Vidhaikalam is about setting up an entrepreneurial programme for local women to learn the tangible skills of the smell of lye in handmade soap, wick-dipping in candle making, and folding of sturdy paper bags. Their goal is to put the means of production into the hands of women who have long been sidelined.
As the sun sets over the city, Monisha’s ‘field of seeds’ remains as grounded as the soil she works with, a team that is not just providing services but is weaving a safety net. They understand that systemic change doesn’t always have to be grand. More often, it looks like a child finally grasping a math problem, or a woman realising she can sustain her family on her own terms.
(Edited by Swarnali Dutta)