CHENNAI: In 1999, a woman lay in the wreckage of an accident that had taken away her mobility, her work and, almost, her will to live. Dependent on others even for her daily needs, she watched her world shrink to the four walls of suffering. The pain had become a long, dark tunnel with no visible exit, and she prayed to God to take her away. Then, in the silence of that despair, came a voice that did not offer sympathy, but a command.
“Suddenly, I heard a loud voice telling me, ‘You should live for others.’ I did not know where the voice came from. At that moment, I decided to extend a helping hand to the poor and the needy,” she says.
It was a strange prescription for a woman like Prema who was fighting to survive. That moment did not merely pull her back from the brink; it gave her pain a purpose. Although she had been involved in social service from a young age, the accident became the compass that redirected her life.
Determined to stand beside vulnerable women, Prema began working under the banner of Leading Light, focusing on the empowerment of single women — widows, divorcees, separated women, unmarried women and those abandoned by their families. With a desire to widen her reach and hold more hands in distress, she founded and registered Nesam, a charitable trust, in 2001.
Valli, a 49-year-old cancer patient and widow living in Chennai, is among those who have found shelter in that light. Having lived abroad with her husband, she returned to India after his death. With no relatives willing to care for her, she found herself struggling to cope with both her illness and the demands of treatment.“Whenever I went to the hospital, doctors asked who would accompany me and take care of me. Members of Nesam came forward to help me,” she says.
For 56-year-old P Sasi, Prema’s intervention came at a time when she had almost nowhere to turn. About a decade ago, Sasi was subjected to physical and mental abuse by her husband, leaving her uncertain about how to rebuild her life.“I had no place to go and did not know where to seek shelter. I will never forget the support Prema gave me at that difficult moment. She encouraged me to survive and face life. Today, things have improved. My children are married,” she said.
Having experienced the impact of timely support herself, Sasi is now one of the key members of Prema’s team. She helps rescue abandoned women and children and extends assistance to others facing distress.
Nesam’s activities go beyond individual assistance. Under Prema’s leadership, the trust has organised health check-up camps, blood donation drives, eye check-up and eye donation camps, besides maintaining a network of emergency blood donors to help patients in need. Organising summer camps every May in low-income neighbourhoods and among fishing communities has been one of the trust’s activities over the past 26 years.
Through Leading Light, Prema also works towards helping women become financially independent. Meetings are organised every two months, providing a platform for women to discuss their problems and find solutions collectively. To support these efforts, community centres offering vocational training are functioning in Valasaravakkam, Saligramam, Kodambakkam, Tambaram and Royapuram.
Explaining her future plans, Prema said, “We are looking for a place to provide free accommodation to patients who come to Chennai for treatment.” She also urged the state government to establish hospitals for cancer patients with all necessary facilities in every district and provide free treatment.
For the women who arrive at Nesam with nowhere to go, and for patients who fear that illness will leave them alone, Prema’s work offers something more enduring than charity — the assurance that they have not been forgotten. More than two decades after that voice spoke to her in the depths of despair, Prema has built a quiet army of hope, one patient at a time.
(Edited by Divya Ramkumar)