Introducing the Gnanam Foundation
In 2010, Allirajah Subaskaran joined forces with his wife Prema Subaskaran and mother Gnanambikai Allirajah, launching their own charity. The Gnanam Foundation, which is named after Allirajah Subashkaran’s mother, was established to improve lives in underserved communities around the world, helping people on an individual, family and community-wide level.
Operating under a ‘teach a man to fish’ model, the Gnanam Foundation emphasises long-term stability over temporary fixes, providing communities with safety, shelter and medical care and helping local people to develop their skills to increase their employability, improving their prospects and opportunities and helping them to escape poverty.
The Gnanam Foundation recognises that for those in dire need, access to basic necessities like clean water and medical treatment can make a huge difference in terms of avoiding tragedies that steal childhoods and ruin lives.
Clean drinking water and basic healthcare are basic human needs, yet it is sadly the case that, for a growing number of people globally, these life-changing and life-enhancing necessities remain just out of reach.
The Gnanam Foundation invests in education, recognising learning as an integral component in breaking the cycle of poverty. The charity and its founders understand that literacy, numeracy and skills-based learning are vital, helping future generations to build bridges and saving lives in communities that may otherwise remain trapped due to the cyclic nature of poverty. The Gnanam Foundation supports vocational training, establishing frameworks in local communities that enable local people to support and maintain themselves, helping to build pride in communities and inspire local people to believe that a brighter future is theirs for the taking.
A home is about more than just safe shelter and protecting families from the elements. In addition to offering physical protection, the home should also be a place of emotional safety.
To that end, the Gnanam Foundation launched the Lyca Village Development in Sinnadampan Vavuniya North, Sri Lanka, in 2015. During his visit, Allirajah Subaskaran announced the foundation’s ambitious intentions to construct 150 new homes for relocation of people living at Poonthoddam IDP camp, providing not just physical shelter for displaced individuals but an opportunity to put down roots. To achieve this, the Gnanam Foundation entered into agreements with the Ministry of Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs, as well as the District Secretariat of Vavuniya. In August 2015, a foundation stone laying ceremony was staged at the Lyca Village development site, with the Honourable Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in attendance, along with many other distinguished guests.
The Gnanam Foundation has completed numerous successful projects across Sri Lanka to date, including funding 585 orphans, providing the children with safe and secure housing as well as an education — recognising the imperative to provide them with the opportunity to excel and have high ambitions for the future.
Across Sri Lanka, the Gnanam Foundation has provided underprivileged families with livelihood assistance, distributing computers, agricultural equipment and fishing nets and helping them to be self-sustaining in the long term. In addition, the Gnanam Foundation also sponsored scholarships at Canagaratnam Madya Maha Vidyalayam School in Jaffna, providing financial assistance to the boarding school and its 100 students. The school specialises in supporting gifted children, providing the appropriate training to help them progress to higher learning institutions and realise the huge potential they possess.
In 2014, the Gnanam Foundation joined forces with Muslim Aid, funding construction of a well in Sudan to help hundreds of local families. In developing nations, there remains a considerable lack of access to clean water and sanitation for many. Recognising this, the Gnanam Foundation was determined to help. The foundation proudly partnered with Muslim Aid, the latter charity pinpointing regions of Sudan in particular need and hiring members of the local community to oversee the well’s construction.
The Gnanam Foundation collaborated with the Damilola Taylor Trust in 2014, funding construction of a new library in Nigeria. The library was situated near a primary school, enabling thousands of children to benefit from access to numerous resources to help broaden their knowledge. The project was launched with the goal of overcoming the problem of a lack of reading space and materials for young people living in the Isashi area, the impact of which limited their education possibilities. In Isashi, lack of access to books was a huge problem, impairing the ability of students to study outside of school hours. As the Gnanam Foundation’s first project in Nigeria, the initiative was created with the vision of expanding the organisation’s work across more global regions.
The Gnanam Foundation was established in 2010 with the vision of providing people living in poverty with opportunities to attain their own independence and economic stability by providing medical care, shelter, and educational and training opportunities. By helping people to develop their skill sets, the Gnanam Foundation lays the foundations for long-term economic prosperity, helping people, families and entire communities to escape poverty.
