ADITHALAM (in Tamil- அடித்தளம், pronounced as ADI-THA-LA-MM), literally translate to
“foundation” in Tamil language, is our foundational program aimed at providing sustainable support
to kids through various platforms with diverse focus aimed at improving their mind & body, and to
keep them away from negative distractions with a steadfast focus on the child’s future as well as a
‘ray of hope’ for their families & communities.

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Our trust since it’s existence from 8 th of Feb 2006 has been focusing on promoting Education, Fine-
arts & Culture among rural students belonging to the poor, the under-privileged and the
marginalized sections living in & around Ayikudy (Kadayanallur Taluk in southern Tamil Nadu).
Ayikudy is quaint little town at the foot-hills of western-ghats near historic temple town, Tenkasi.
Known for its abundance of natural beauty, soothing breeze through-out the year & ofcourse clean
air to breathe, the town is predominately inhabited by families whose livelihood is humble daily-
wage odd jobs & beedi-rolling with little (or) no means to stress the need for education leave alone
sports, cultural-training in a systematically professional manner.

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Thus, our ADITHALAM program started with a sole aim of Positive Impact on LIVEs… through
systematic empowerment of children from heartlands in the field of Academic / Cultural / Sports
Excellence. We are proud to state that an increased focus on all mentioned above has featured in
the Sustainable Development Goals (ie. SDG) as adopted by United Nations in 2015.

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Quality education & staying rooted to your culture directly contributes to…
… eradicating poverty (SDG-1)
… promoting gender equality (SDG-5)
… ensuring good health & well-being (SDG-3)
… reducing inequalities among nations (SDG-10)
… fostering sustainable economic growth with decent work opportunities for all (SDG-8)
… encouraging innovation & building resilient infrastructure (SDG-9)
… promoting sustainable consumption & production practices in harmony with nature (SDG-12)
… addressing urgent action on climate change (SDG-13)
… and above all fostering peaceful & inclusive society where inequality slowly starts to fade (SDG-16)

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With a reiteration that we are indeed moving in the right direction & thrust, we started designing
our ADITHALAM program with the following 3 core focus for positive impact:
 

1. General Scholastics (“After-school Academic Excellence Program” for employability)
2. Fine-Arts & Culture (“After-school Cultural Excellence Program” for clarity of mind &
positive distraction)
3. Grass-root Talent Spotting in Sports & Physical Improvement (“After-school Sports
Excellence Program” for fitness & rejuvenation of mind & body, our attempt to )

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After-School Academic Excellence: Our own space built specifically for imparting after-school
scholastic & fine-arts training in Melagramam, Ayikudy is a 10,500 sq. ft. facility which becomes a
tuition-centre accommodating 200+ students on a daily basis. Besides we have a neighbourhood-
reach concept where another 200+ students of various classes in 8 (approx.) make-shift centres with
tutors employed by the trust dedicated to imparting Academic-study help operate in & around
Ayikudy like in the villages of Surandai, Bala-Arunachalapuram etc. Last year, our ‘After-school
Academic Excellence’ initiative in Tuticorin & Balamarthandapuram centres was benefited by 30+
students from Class-2 to Class-8. Our centres become places for the students from Class-2 to Class-
10 to assemble, do their homework and revise their daily learnings from school, clarify doubts from
our teachers between 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm on all week days except Saturdays and 10 am to 1:30 pm
on Sundays and Holidays.

Lot at times the house the children hail from do not provide necessary ambience for studies, are
very very small, not equipped enough (with power supply & power backups etc.) not suitable for
these children to sit & study. We at the trust aim to bridge this gap.
Besides tuition support, we organize special lectures on a regular basis by eminent persons in order
to provide motivation to the children in areas of Moral-strength, Health-care, General-Knowledge.
We provide them with healthy snacks on occasions specified by our donors, dress-materials on
important festivals & occasions, school-uniforms, educational aids (like note-books, dictionary,
geometry boxes, pen-pencils etc.).

The great stumbling block for the rural students in pursuing higher studies is their economic
condition. With Ayikudy neighbourhood families’ prime source of employment is meagre daily-wage
work & beedi-rolling… to keep up their kid’s aspirations into academic-excellence from high-school
into college, we have devised sponsorship program for promoting these children’s higher-studies. In
the last 2 years alone, we have been fortunate to assist over 120 students from our neighbourhood
in their pursuit of college degree.

Motivating children to study & not lose focus on academics is in itself a herculean task but task when
managed right will no doubt groom them into proud residents of their community & country.

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