There is a say that ‘Where There Is A Will, There Is A Way’ and is made true by this guy. Meet Mr. Jayavel, who shaped his own success story by firmly choosing to make studies his priority, thereby making a wonderful rags-to-riches narrative for people who are searching for the shine in their lives.

A Rocky Start:

Jayavel’s family is from Nellore, Andhra Pradesh where a failed crop season made them move and take to the streets of Chennai for livelihood. Jayavel was forced into begging by his parents. Even though strangers offered their generosity to the young boy, Jayavel’s earnings were used to feed his mother’s drinking who became an addict after her husband’s death.

“We used to sleep on one such pavement. If it would rain, we would try to find another shelter in any nearby shop until the cops came and chased us out of there.”

U-Turn In Life:

Uma Muthuraman and her husband took Jayavel under their wing. The couple wanted to make a documentary on Chennai’s street kids named “Pavement Flower”. Later, Jayavel’s view changed after seeing Uma’s genuine concern for helping the children.

“My people actually didn’t like them. We even tried to hurt them as we had so many people approaching us under the pretext of helping. But they only used our name to get government funds,” recalled Jayavel.

In 1999, through their Suyam Charitable Trust, the couple had offered Jayavel a proper education.

“Everyone in the school knew about me and my family. As we used to live right on the corner of the school on the pavement but that didn’t make any difference to me. Though I hated to study in the beginning and only wished to play, my attitude changed as I began to see the difference in the life of other people and mine and how Uma and Muthuraman were struggling to educate me,” said Jayavel.

Big Break:

Unbelievably, Jayavel passed in 12^th standard which eventually earned him donors and funded his higher education. This pushed and encouraged Jayavel forward to acquire a seat in Cambridge University Entrance Exam; he got enrolled in Glyndwr University, Wales where he studied ‘Performance Car Enhancement Technology Engineering’. He is now on his way to the University of Turin, Italy for further studies.

Lack of Government Support:

For every such story, the lacking government support continues to reduce things for the Suyam Charitable Trust. Uma Muthuraman borrowed 17 lakh to fund Jayavel’s education in London. Now they have to borrow another 8 lakh for his Italy stay. Few officers came forward to help but it never came close to being enough. Educating children by taking them off the streets depends on many aspects like funds and government’s help and support, rather the government only creates roadblocks.

Goal:

Jayavel wants to come back to India after he has finished his studies. He wants to help the couple run their trust and repay them for their generous contributions that made him the man he is today.