“A mentally-ill person rescued, rehabilitated & reunited with his family in just one day”
The Udavum Karangal, a forty-two-year-old, non-profit NGO in Tamil Nadu, strives to help the underprivileged by giving them meaningful education and good health and to the destitute a dignity of life by rescuing, rehabilitating, and reuniting them with their respective families.
On 7th November 2025, Udavum Karangal social workers Mr. Jacob, Mr. Shanawaaz and Mr. Ambresh were on their usual rounds. They noticed a mentally ill person wandering in the streets of Thirumullaivoyal-Ambattur, Chennai, with poor selfcare. The mentally-ill person was rescued and brought to our Home for further management. He was given sumptuous food, followed by a shave and bath, and also good clothes to wear. Later part of the day a thorough medical check-up was also conducted by a physician to assess his health and provide necessary treatment.
On the same day, 7th November 2025, Mr. Srinivasa Rao (9940188012) a senior social worker of Udavum Karangal counseled him and collected the personal and native details of a man named Surya, who appeared to be lost and without clear identification. During their interaction, Surya revealed that he was from Karnataka and mentioned to us that he has two sisters and four elder brothers. After a medical checkup and some conversations, Mr. Srinivasa Rao gathered more information and contacted people from Surya’s native place to verify his background.
Through this process, Mr. Srinivasa Rao successfully identified Surya and reached out to his family members. Later, he received a call from Mrs. Anjali, Surya’s second sister, who lives in Kelambakkam, Chennai. She confirmed that her brother Surya had been missing for the past three years, and despite filing a police complaint, the family had been unable to trace him. His sister was interested in taking him back home.
On November 8, 2025, Mrs. Anjali and her husband came to receive him Mr. Srinivasa interacted with Mrs. Anjali shared some of the information and history of Surya’s past. And finally we restored Surya to Mrs. Anjali on November 8th, 2025. It was a tearful reunion; she was overwhelmed with joy to see her brother after such a long time. At the time of restoration Mr.Surya was given free medicines for a week and was advised to follow up on the given medicines; Mrs. Anjali was educated about the nature of the disease and the importance of periodical checkups. She promised to take care of him. Finally, they thanked Mr. Vidyaakar, founder of Udavum Karangal and the organization for their humble work.
