The Aishwaryam Trust had organized a celebration for World Palliative Care Day on October 9th, 2022, at the Rifle Club near the Race Course Ground in Kpudur, Madurai, which involved school children aged between 5 to 12 years. More than 75 schools were invited to participate in the Mega Kids Marathon, and approximately 1200 school kids, along with their parents, took part in the event starting at 5:30 am.
Several dignitaries graced the occasion, including Dr. S. Aneesh Sekhar IAS, the District Collector of Madurai, Thiru. Simranjeet Singh Kahlon IAS, the Corporation Commissioner of Madurai City, Thiru. T. Senthil Kumar IPS, the Commissioner of Police of Madurai City, and Thirumathi. K. Karthika, the Chief Education Officer of Madurai.
The school kids were given numbers to identify the first 50 slots, and a warm-up session followed by a Zumba dance performance energized the kids before the flag-off at 6:30 am by the District Collector and Corporation Commissioner. The kids ran with great enthusiasm, and the Trust had arranged several first-aid centers, ambulances, water bottles, glucose, and hundreds of volunteers for safety support every 500 meters.
At the finishing line, a videographer was present to identify the first 50 slots.
Thiru. T. Senthil Kumar IPS, the Commissioner of Police of Madurai City, awarded the First Prize of a TAB, the Second Prize of a Bicycle, and the Third Prize of an Electronic Watch to the winners of the marathon. Additionally, the first 50 slots were given trophies by our generous sponsors, including GRT Hotels, Regency Madurai, Fortune Pandiyan Hotel, Harshitha Hospitals, SACS, SVS, and Naachiyars. Our Trust also distributed T-shirts, medals, and certificates to all the participants, aiming to encourage the little school kids.
Throughout the marathon, our volunteers provided essential facilities such as water bottles, first-aid, and glucose, and after finishing the marathon, we distributed refreshments, including sundal. Mannar College, Saurashatra College, and Madurai College were some of the volunteer groups who supported us during the event.
The marathon commenced at 5:30 am and concluded at 8:30 am with extensive support from the public, police, media, and parents who had come with their little ones from all over Madurai, including some distant places. Our Aishwaryam Trust team executed the marathon professionally, which contributed significantly to the event's success. From the outset, the marathon was purely guided by our Managing Trustee Dr. R. Balagurusamy and was well-executed by our team.
The event was an enormous success, and we hope that it will continue to encourage more and more school children to participate in such events and promote a healthy lifestyle.
Our Aishwaryam Trust team played a pivotal role in making this marathon an enormous success. The Managing Trustee, Dr. R. Balagurusamy, provided pure guidance and was supported by an excellent team. G. Ramesh managed the team, Thamenthiran served as the PRO, Barani handled the accounts, Arun was the ward assistant, Satheesh drove the ambulance, and Arulmurugan was the driver. Our Aishwaryam Trust staff nurses also deserve recognition for their behind-the-scenes work in organizing the medals, trophies, first-aid support, certificate writing, and glucose packets.
We received fantastic support from Nethravathi Hospital Kamalesh, Punngai pookal Sankar, and media support in social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram from Karthi's team. Everyone gave their best performance on the day of the event, which resulted in its mega success. The collaborative efforts of our team demonstrate that teamwork always wins.