Tirupati: A female conductor and her husband in Tirupati district in Andhra Pradesh are winning hearts by rehabilitating and educating hundreds of poor and destitute children for the last nearly two decades despite themselves facing financial constraints. Yalla Shyamala hailing from Tarumanchi Kandriga of Naidupeta Mandal of Tirupati district said that when she married Krishna, a shepherd, her studies took a hit as she was preoccupied with household chores.
But as they say that learning is a lifelong process, the marriage did not deter the couple's passion to carry on their studies. "I wanted to study but I couldn't. My husband was a shepherd. He used to lift loads of grain. Whenever the officials come to the village, they greet only the well-dressed. He thought that if we study, we will get that respect. That's why after we got married, he sent me to college and he studied in an open school,” Shyamala recalled.
She said that once they enrolled themselves in the classrooms, they felt that it was not the end of the learning process. The couple soon identified children involved in begging, manual scavenging, work in shops, and orphans and gave them shelter in their rented house. In the meantime, Shyamala got a job as a conductor after her intermediate while Krishna completed his graduation.
Later, they identified fifty more destitute children and started a school for such children, and rented another building. Shyamala said half of her salary was spent on rent even as people used to donate government subsidy rice for the children's meals. The vegetable vendors also provided vegetables for free for the children, she said adding they are working under the Child Welfare Committee.
Every year, 20 to 50 children are provided basic education and enrolled in the Gurukuls, said Shyamala adding a total of 1200 children rehabilitated by them have been enrolled in local schools later. Besides, the couple has their own two children to look after. However, two years ago, there was an unexpected turn in Shyamala's life as she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
But her ailment is not deterring her from carrying on the noble cause. ''We were in a lot of trouble during Covid. We didn't find a way to feed the children. Even though we have sent some of them to their relatives' places, we couldn't send the orphans anywhere. By the time I thought that I had somehow overcome those hardships, I was sick,” she said.
Shyamala said they have sold out their house for her treatment. “So many people said that if we would have saved our earnings, that money could have been used for medical care. But I felt that there is no satisfaction than social service,'' she said.
