A home where lives are rebuilt

New Indian Express

13-07-2025

CHENNAI: The wind picks up dust, stirring it into the air as grey clouds hang low, as if carrying the weight of untold stories. Suddenly, the quiet is pierced by the sound of pounding feet — 15 boys, school bags flapping wildly, dash down a narrow lane, their laughter rising like a challenge to the gloom. Books jostle inside, worn soles slap against the wet road, and youthful energy crackles in the air. From behind a rusted iron gate on Kattabomman 6th Street in Kodungaiyur, a voice calls out, half stern, half loving: 'Don't bunk classes!'
The boys live in Magizhvagam, a children's home established by the Street Vision Social and Charitable Trust, founded by R Seetha Devi. Standing behind the gate as she sends off the boys, Devi says, 'These kids were orphans, rescued from the streets, kids whose parents are in prison, or belonging to parents suffering from communicable diseases.'
Believing education is the ultimate solution for societal betterment, Devi runs a children's home, ensuring they receive proper education and care. 'My idea is to make them self-sustainable through education, so that they can establish a future for themselves,' says Devi, remembering how education transformed her life from a street dweller to someone who serves the underprivileged.
Growing up on the streets of Wall Tax Road near Chennai Central Railway station with her five siblings, Devi understood the need for shelter and tools to uplift her life and others. 'My father worked as a porter. He had left home at age six and grew up around the central station,' she says, recalling the brass badge labelled 'Coolie' her father wore. 'My mother, from the streets of Bombay, studied till Class 10. Even though we lived on the streets, my parents prioritised our education.'
The legacy of serving the helpless has been carried on by her grandmother, Amirthavalli. She was a Sri Lankan Tamil and came to Mumbai in the 1950s as a refugee. Being multilingual, she wrote letters for a living while living on a platform. 'My grandmother used to notice girls being sold at red light areas. She would approach them alone, speak to them regardless of language, and write letters to their families for rescue,' says Devi, recalling the stories told by her mother.