“Do not call this a slum. This is a colony now,” says Shanthi proudly as she shows us around Annai Sathya Nagar in Jaffarkhanpet. Shanthi is one among the many beneficiaries of the integrated development project initiated and supported by the Chennai Willingdon Corporate Foundation.

Yesterday... ... & Today

The driving force behind the Annai Sathya Nagar project is V. Narayanan, the chairman of the Foundation. As the nonagenarian talks about his pet project, his passion and dedication are evident.

Annai Sathya Nagar was chosen because it was one of the few slums which had a legal status and “so, moving things would have been easier.” In a city where nearly 30 per cent of its population lives in slums, such a project is quite an uphill task. The process involves the co-operation of various State Government departments, such as the Corporation, the Slum Development Board, the Water Supply Board, the Health Department and even the Legal Department. “We were very lucky as we got the valuable assistance of Shantha Sheela Nair, the then Secretary of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, and her team, who speeded up many a process for us,” recalls Naraya­nan.

The task facing the Foundation was forbidding. Like any typical slum, this one too had the same problems – no water supply, open drains, no roads, very poor sanitation due to lack of toilets, high incidence of diseases such as TB and malaria, alcoholism and drug abuse, and garbage everywhere. To top it all, the Willingdon team faced resistance from the slum dwellers. Not many were willing to help out with the project.

After a baseline survey, a budget of Rs. 50 lakh was allotted for the project. The first step towards the cleansing process was removal and disposal of garbage. A Corporation employee was appointed to collect garbage from each house every day and a tricycle box was provided by the Trust for the purpose. Then the drains were cleaned and covered. The next thing was to get a toilet for every home and a hand pump. Here the locals pitched in. A small area of the 12’ x 12’ living space was converted into a toilet and taps and hand pumps were installed and running water was provided. Meanwhile, the Corporation concreted the roads and made it easy to keep clean.

Slowly, the Annai Sathya Nagar slum was beginning to look cleaner and the people were looking happier. What’s more, they were even paying their taxes properly!

But there was lot more to be done. The biggest problem was healthcare. The Foundation got ample help from the TTK Hospital which tackled the rampant alcoholism. The Sri Rama­chandra Medical College and Research Institute holds health clinics two Saturdays a month. The St. John’s Ambulance Services trained some willing young residents in first aid. Many adults attended spoken English classes. And ANEW (the Association for Nontraditional Employment for Women) offered the women vocational training in tailoring, home nursing and computer programming. Says Shanthi, “Today, we earn money by stitching blouses and salwar kameez sets. It has helped us in improving our lifestyle.”

Besides all this, a community hall, complete with a computer, was built adjacent to the local temple. This hall is now used for various family and public functions. As many improved their houses, made them pucca and regularised ownership, thatched roofs in many homes were ­replaced by concrete ones.

The project, which began in June 2001, was officially completed in March 2007. After that, it was left to the residents of Annai Sathya Nagar to carry on the work initiated by the Chennai Willingdon Foundation. Has it been successful? Shanthi answers optimistically, “To some extent, yes. The garbage is cleared regularly, the general cleanliness has improved and the water supply is good. But we still have to tackle issues like alcoholism and drug abuse. We think the move made by the Trust will bear fruit in the future when the next generation takes over. They are now aware of the importance of clean and healthy living. I think they will make a difference.”

It’s on that positive note that we leave the colony.

“The project would not have been possible without the support of the various presidents of the Rotary Club of Madras East, Sukanya who is the general manager of the Foundation, and, most important of all, the Foundation’s Honorary Co-Ordinator N. Byravan. He was the one who did all the leg work and ensured that things moved,” says Narayanan.

Note: The Annai Sathya Nagar project is but one of the many such initiatives spearheaded by the Foundation that was formed in 1998 with the proceeds from the sale of the Lady Willingdon Hospital to Sankara Nethralaya. With 52 industrial houses of Chennai as the chief promoters, this non-profit organisation uses the annual interest of nearly Rs. 1.5 crore to fund various social causes such as medical research, healthcare, old age homes, education for poor children, and rehabilitation of physically and mentally challenged children.