ABOUT US

Karunai Ullangal Trust is a fully charitable, secular, social and apolitical NGO, founded in the year 2017, to deal with the tragedy of the old age people & mentally challenged wandering the streets of Tamilnadu, India, wherein all the services are provided free of charge.

We aim to devote all our resources to that segment of the homeless roadside people who are invariably ignored and shunned by people, are unfed, unclothed, uncared for and separated from their families, because of the family or in spite of them. It is painful to come across a large number of old age people and mentally challenged people on roads. Often they have been observed eating from stinking garbage, having had no bath for years, no shelter to live in and walking bare feet with torn or even no clothes on their body. As on date, we have found and rescued more than 1700 of these patients who were aimlessly wandering in Chennai, Thiruvallore, Madurai, Trichy, Salem and Vellore.

We have a core team of 50 members and over 400 flowing dedicated Volunteers. Over the past 5 years, we have been able to procure 5 Rescue Vans and 1 Ambulance to better serve these “invisible individuals” all over Tamilnadu. We average 30-50 rescues a month, which costs upward of Rupees 1 Lakh. Our monetary support is due mainly to the awesome support of our Donors.

Our Vision

Devote all resources to that segment of the homeless roadside people who are invariably ignored and shunned by people, are unfed, unclothed, uncared for and separated from their families.

Our Mission

  • Devote all our resources to the segment of the homeless mentally unstable roadside destitutes
  • Reuniting individuals with their families who have long thought of them as lost or even dead and entrusting their care with the ones who love these individuals
  • Food distribution of excess food from any occasion and food distribution to roadside helpless people in underprivileged areas, orphanages
  • Provide support to public when national disasters like the virus epidemic, floods strike

Our Objectives

  • Rescue maximum number of homeless roadside people
  • Provide free shelter, food and psychiatric treatment to the Rescued Destitutes
  • Trace past addresses of the Destitute and reunite them with their families in any part of TamilNadu
  • Collaborate with other NGOs and Govt. Mental Hospitals in order to generate collective ideas, resources & efforts
  • Organise special events to encourage & motivate the talents of under privileged kids on Dance, Visual Art, Musical instruments, Defensive Martial Arts and Theatre activities
  • Educate children on the importance of family, facilitate spoken English classes, sponsor an underprivileged student’s educational fee, free tuition centres.

Our Thoughts

We believed when we started the Trust and we believe even today, that if there exists one category of road-side destitutes which need help, it is the mentally insane; their agony is wrought on their mud-caked faces, their story written on their tangled hair, their plea reflected in the fear seen in their eyes, their misery in the nakedness of their being. Blazing heat, torrential rains and chilly winters see them through, year in & year out. The searing starkness of their existence pounded on our consciousness to reach out for them, which we did, which we have & which we will.

From the day when our Trust was formally formed, we have often been asked, “Why do you do this”? Among the many thousands of destitutes on the streets, how will treating a few make any difference? How do you cope with the requirements of food, clothing, medicines, shelter and the difficulties involved in rescuing and returning the patient to his native place or placing them in rehabilitation? These are soul searching questions to which we do not have definite answers. Being human, we are incomplete, imperfect and fallible, but we will put in all our efforts.

Difficulties we face

  • The most common one - we are usually suspected as agents for human trafficking for organ transplant.
  • Picking up destitutes at the convenience of public calling – restricting issues such as distance covered to reach the destitute, availability of time, volunteers, vehicle etc.
  • Plenty of calls for Geriatric and Medically-challenged destitutes.
  • Lack of public support during pick up, as at times the mentally challenged destitute become very aggressive / psychiatrically disturbed.
  • Pick up destitutes from difficult, risky locations eg: highways amid traffic, railway stations, on the rail tracks, roadside platforms, bus stops etc

Rescue Center

Karunai Ullangal takes care of abandoned-homeless women, some of whom were victims of rape and sexual abuse in their past. For such deprived women, all the facilities are completely free of charge. They are empowered to also get job opportunities along with a monthly stipend from our institution. You are welcome to enroll such women in case you happen to find women or children who need help.