Aerial view of the aquatic plant centre at the Hortus Malabaricus Botanical Garden
Community

Community programmes

Beyond research, SGRF funds programmes that bring education and health care to people who would otherwise miss out.

EducationCompleted

Vidyajalakam: laptops for school children

When schools in Kerala moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic, many children could not attend classes because their families could not afford a computer. Vidyajalakam, promoted by SGRF and the Saraswathy Nair Memorial Trust from October 2020, gave laptops with an internet connection to students in classes 9 to 12 who did not have the means to buy one.

The project worked through local libraries and schools, which chose deserving students, gave priority to financially challenged children, and provided technical support and monitored how the laptops were used. In all, the project distributed 120 laptops to students and donated five servers and printers to the participating libraries and schools.

Visit vidyajalakam.org ↗

HealthCompleted

Affordable genetic testing for retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eye caused by loss of the RB1 gene, is the most common eye tumour in children. India sees about 1,500 new cases a year, yet RB1 testing abroad cost USD 2,000–4,000, beyond the reach of most families. Children were often diagnosed late, sometimes needing an eye removed to save their lives.

From 2014, SGRF worked with Narayana Nethralaya, an eye hospital in Bangalore, and MedGenome to offer RB1 testing in India at a fraction of the cost, with donor funds supporting families who needed help. The programme's study of 50 children, published in 2021, found inherited RB1 mutations in most children with cancer in both eyes and showed that genetic results guide treatment and follow-up.

See the research