Award recognizes Tad Venkateswarlu
Tad Venkateswarlu is the recipient of the
Windsor St. Clair Rotary Club Humanitarian Award for
2009-2010
.
Dr. Venkateswarlu has a long list of academic achievements, retiring as Librarian Emeritus from the Univer
sit
y of Windsor in 2006.
He was recognized in 2007 with an honorary doctorate from the University of Windsor.
But the Humanitarian Award recognizes his service work in India where in 1992 he founded the
Educational Organization for Orphaned and Handicapped Children in Tenali. The school is located in a community with a population of 200,000. Within 30 miles it is surrounded by 100 villages. Most of the families exist as a result of working as seasonal agricultural labourers.
During the off season, the unemployment rate in the area can reach more than 40 percent with many of the inhabitants living in poverty. To achieve a better standard of living, many people migrate to other places to find work. Often during the migration process, children are abandoned and forced to take care of themselves and eventually become orphans. Tad Venkateswarlu began the school to help the poor, the disabled, single parents and the abandoned children. The school provides education, free books, room and board, health care, uniforms and vocational training.
The school provides vocational and academic training from students in grades one through 10 (equivalent to Grade 12). Dr. Venkateswarlu established the vocational programs to enhance the skills of all children thus enabling them to find employment opportunities after graduation. The vocational courses consist of: carpentry, candle making, tailoring, embroidery, vegetable and fruit growing, chalk manufacturing and honey making.
Tad Venkateswarlu received the award today the weekly Windsor St. Clair Rotary Club meeting.