HCI - Board Members
Sulo Krishnamurthy, is the founder of Handi-Care Intl. and serves as the President. A graduate with Masters in Chemistry and Microbiology, Sulo worked in pharmaceutical research for 19 years in Canada (1972- 1991). Her family background and her upbringing by her parents, especially her father, shaped her vision and mission in life. She resigned from her job in 1991 and started Handi-Care Intl. (HCI) and got it registered as a charitable organization in Canada in 1992.
Her brother Mr. Sankara Raman CA, who is confined to a wheelchair with muscular dystrophy, is the dynamic person who developed Amar Seva Sangam (ASSA) in rural Tamil Nadu from its grassroots to its current status as a globally recognized, award-winning organization.
Sulo joined the mission with her brother and started supporting Amar Seva Sangam’s (ASSA) initiatives to educate, rehabilitate, train and empower persons with disabilities from poor families. Started with 25 children in 1992, 31 years later HCI is serving the needs of over 15,000 children, and youth with disabilities spread over 3 major districts in Tamil Nadu, covering more than 800 villages in the rural area.
Sulo has been instrumental in envisioning and establishing several projects at ASSA over the last 30 years. She launched the sponsorship of programs that are still very active and supported by donors. In 2005, she initiated a program for children with developmental disabilities and HCI built a ‘Center for Special Education’ which has been successfully operating with an enrollment of more than 100 children annually.
The major initiative came in 2012 when Sulo envisioned the Early Intervention project to start providing therapeutic and rehabilitation services to children as young as 1-year-old, after being diagnosed with a developmental delay. HCI built a center for this at ASSA that could only accommodate about 40 children. Hence with the help of Grand Challenges Canada’s funding, now the project has grown to accommodate 6000 children with various disabilities spread across various districts of Tamil Nadu, as well as other parts of India.
HCI is a major stakeholder in ASSA’s projects and contributed close to 6 million dollars towards their various projects, focusing on Early Intervention, Special education, and Vocational training. Sulo’s vision, mission, and passion are to empower these children and their families with education, training, and values so they can lead respectable lives and earn a living. In 31 years, HCI has hundreds of success stories of children who were trained and are now employed, married with children, and leading a respectable life and are living examples of HCI’s motto: “With strong conviction, any disability can be transformed into ability”.
Sulo has been a volunteer, leading HCI on a full-time basis and she is supported by a volunteer board of like-minded professionals, who support, sustain and develop HCI. Sulo spends 2 to 3 months at ASSA every year to oversee the projects funded by HCI.
Sulo has a loving family of 2 sons and 4 grandchildren who are in full support of her work. When she finds time, Sulo loves to sing and participate in music programs, attends Yoga and spiritual classes, and advocates healthy eating and fitness.