CHENNAI: When a desperate mother answered an unexpected phone call nearly a decade ago, she had little reason to believe that hope still existed beyond the endless hospital corridors she had walked through for years. Her daughter, a medical student battling serious illness, had pushed the family into a relentless cycle of mounting medical bills, uncertainty, and emotional exhaustion. On the other end of the line was M Surendren, a Southern Railway employee who had read about the girl’s condition in a newspaper and felt compelled to act.
The 67-year-old did not know the family personally. Yet, with conviction, he assured the distraught mother that she would not have to fight the battle alone. What began as a small gesture of financial help soon grew into years of unwavering support and compassion. For Surendren, humanity was never measured by the size of one’s income, but by the willingness to stand beside someone in their darkest hour.
In 1989, Surendren contributed Rs 100 to help a kidney patient after reading an appeal in a Tamil daily. This gesture slowly transformed into a sustained humanitarian effort that has touched thousands of lives today.
Recalling how the journey began, Surendren said, “I saw an appeal in a Tamil daily about a man suffering from kidney failure. I immediately decided to contribute Rs 100 from my salary. My colleagues also gave Rs 10 each. That was our first contribution.”
Though the amount was small, the gesture marked the beginning of a larger initiative. Over time, Surendren’s colleagues, friends, and well-wishers began contributing regularly to help poor patients, particularly those suffering from cancer and kidney-related diseases.
“Initially, everyone contributed whatever they could afford. Later, after the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission, railway employees received better salaries, and many increased their monthly contribution from Rs 10 to Rs 1,000 and even Rs 2,000,” he recalls.
In the early 2000s, Surendren decided to establish a proper organisation, the ‘Forum of Railway Staff for Social Cause’, to coordinate their efforts more effectively. The support network steadily expanded, eventually reaching thousands of families in need. Surendren, along with his associates S Krishnakumar, R Baskaran, and Veeraraghavan, has so far extended assistance to 3,765 patients by distributing nearly Rs 80 lakh collected through contributions.
Over the years, Surendren has witnessed several heartbreaking incidents that continue to stay in his memory. One such incident involved a woman from Coimbatore who approached him seeking help for her young son suffering from cancer. “A few years ago, I received a call from a woman who said her 10-year-old son was undergoing cancer treatment in a private hospital. She told me there were more than 30 children admitted there for cancer treatment and requested financial support along with blood donors,” he recalled.
Although he could only provide limited financial assistance at the time, Surendren advised the woman to create a network of blood donors and stay connected with them. Years later, Surendren contacted the woman again and learnt that she had successfully created a blood donor network and managed to arrange blood not only for her son but also for several other children undergoing treatment in the hospital.
Even today, Surendren continues to support people battling serious illness. Recently, he helped E Muralidharan, a security guard employed in a private company, by extending financial assistance for the dialysis treatment of his 30-year-old son.
According to Surendren, many poor families continue to struggle silently due to a lack of awareness, delayed medical support, and financial constraints. He believes stronger intervention from both the state and central governments is necessary to ensure timely assistance reaches vulnerable families. Today, Surendren is a retired employee from the Southern Railways. Standing on the terrace of his house, watching trains carrying millions toward their destinations, he knows that his life has a destination of its own — one guided by an enduring commitment to humanity.
(Edited by Srestha Choudhury)