Background
The Petralthan Pillaiya Trust was formally established in November 2011, however
its efforts started from 2009 under Project Connect, a USAID funded programme of
Population Services International (PSI). The initial focus of the Petralthan Pillaiya
Trust was to provide medical insurance for children living with HIV.
The campaign was run in partnership with iconic actor Kamal Haasan and popular radio
station Hello FM. From an initial target of raising funds for 500 children, the
campaign went on to raise funds through the public to support over 2500 children
in 2009 – 2010 and again in 2010 – 2011.
With funding for Project Connect coming to an end, the founding partners Kamal Haasan
and Rajeev Nambiar of Hello FM, who had partnered this effort, chose to take continuing
responsibility for these children covered under the campaign, thus leading to the
establishment of the Trust.
Today, the Trust has expanded its support to the children from not just medical
insurance, but also education, counselling and mentoring, thus providing a more
holistic approach to the care of these vulnerable children.
The Trust is registered under Section 12AA of Income Tax Act 1961 vide DIT(E)No:2(767) 11-12 dt.22-Jun-2012 with effect from 04-Jan-2012.
Trustees
Kamal Haasan
Padmabushan Dr. Kamal Haasan, made his film debut as a 4-year-old child artiste,
in the film Kalathur Kannamma. He is the most decorated actor in terms of awards
in the history of Indian cinema and holds the record for the most National Film
Awards.
He has always been socially inclined, and even converted his fan club into a social
service organization. In this capacity he has been involved in voluntary blood donation
for over three decades and his fan club has been among the pioneering groups in
breaking the hold of paid donors.
He is also one of the nine celebrities roped in by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
as a part of his Swachh Bharath initiative to spread awareness on cleanliness and
work towards a cleaner India.
Kamal Haasan supported Richard Gere in setting up the Heroes Project – a media and
communication response to HIV/AIDS in India. He was instrumental in helping to organize
an entertainment extravaganza with participation from leading film stars of the
three southern states all coming together to break stigma and dispel myths on HIV/AIDS.
In addition, he has worked on a campaign to protect the rights of people with HIV.
This mass media campaign was kicked off with him taking a pledge to support these
rights. The “Let’s make it Right” campaign was echoed across Tamilnadu by thousands
of people and across a variety of media.
Rajeev Nambiar
A graduate from the University of Madras, Rajeev Nambiar began his career in media
with the Times of India in 1989 before moving to Jain TV for a brief stint. After
this came his tenure with Raj Television Network for a whole decade. He joined Malar
Publications Ltd. in 2006, to head its foray into FM Radio, and as the President
and CEO has headed the operations across 7 stations to build the single largest
private Tamil FM radio network in Tamil Nadu. He is also instrumental in Hello FM
managing Dubai’s first Tamil and Telugu station, thus reaching out to a global audience.
Over the years he has assumed leadership of various divisions and verticals of the
Daily Thanthi Group.
In his personal capacity, Rajeev Nambiar has always believed in reaching out to
help those in need. He also believes that media houses should be known for more
than just information and entertainment. It is the strength of these beliefs and
commitments that had him join hands with Kamal Haasan to establish the Petralthan
Pillaiya Trust and provide guidance and direction to it.