Kochi auto driver on mission to rescue orphans

GOD'S MESSENGER: Himself an orphan, Murugan has pursued the noble cause for the last eight years.

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Kochi: For some, social service is another job, but for some others it’s a mission they carry out despite all odds in life.

23-year-old Murugan — father figure for thousands of orphans of Kochi — is one such person.

About 2000 children who were left unwanted on the streets and were saved from falling prey to begging consider Murugan their father.

An auto-rickshaw driver in Kochi, he has pursued this noble cause for the past eight years. Himself an orphan, Murugan is a tireless worker.

“Whenever I get a call on my cell phone from anywhere, I rush to rescue the child. So far I have rescued 2000 — a lot of them from beggars. I have only studied till Class IV but the first child I saved is now studying in VIII. Whatever money I get from my auto, I spend it on these children,” he says.

Murugan’s mission has been well supported by orphanages like Sandhwanam. Everyday as he sets off to work, he is also on the lookout for children in distress. He picks them up from streets and sends them to these orphanages in quick time. He pays for the kids from his pocket all this while. He even works overnight to pump in extra money.

“Whenever Murugan gets a child from the street he brings him here to our organisation. He is our true inspiration,” Chairperson Sandhwanam Radha Menon says.

Not the one to let monetary constraints come in the way of his mission, Murugan is planning to organise a photo exhibition to raise money for the kids.

Photography is Murugan's hobby but he doesn't want to stop at that. In the hope to spread the message, he now wants to write a book on his experiences with street kids.

“He is a messenger of God,” High Court advocate Joseph Mathew says.

Certainly, the message is there for all to see.

(With inputs from Naveen Nair in Thiruvananthapuram)