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A zeal for social service
Valliramgopal . --Photo: K.R. Deepak
The seeds of leadership were sown in her right from her college days. Little wonder her name finds a place in most of the committees of various social service, spiritual and sports organisations in the metro.
Meet, Madhiraju Valli Ram Gopal, a teacher, academic administrator and social worker all rolled in one. The child of the late Valluri Kanaka Raju and Chamundeswari, Valli did her graduation from the K.B.R.G. Government College in Kurnool. She was elected the college union secretary in her second year degree and president in the final year.
Soon after completing her graduation in 1970 she joined as a teacher in the Vidya Mandir School at Cuddapah in 1970 and then at the Bharat Matriculation School in Madras.
She married M. Ram Gopal in 1972 and travelled to different States in the country. She worked as an announcer for the Yuva Vani programme of All India Radio, Hyderabad Kendra.
On the transfer of her husband, the couple came to Vizag in 1977 and have been living here ever since. She was the principal of the MVP Public School for 10 years from 1979. Later she served as principal of VVB High School, Seethammadhara, and is currently principal of the Daffodils International School in Marripalem.
She conducted in-house training programmes for teachers wherever she had worked as principal. As the regional coordinator of PEAS (Programme for Environmental Awareness in Schools), she conducted seminars on medicinal plants, vermi compost and other environmental issues in different schools and did her bit to educate children on the need to protect the environment.
As trustee of the Shiridi Sai Spiritual Centre in Seethammadhara, she has been contributing to its development since its inception. The temple is providing `Annadanam' and running a free homoeo clinic every Thursday. Yoga, music and dance classes are also being conducted for a nominal fee on Fridays.
In 1990, she visited the US along with her husband under the group study exchange programme of the Rotary International. "Being an educationist, I visited a lot of schools there and studied their functioning. We were put up with an American family and I used to cook south Indian food for them. I also told them about Indian traditional values and culture which they received with great enthusiasm".
After she took over as president of the Rotary Club of Waltair, the club adopted the Government Visakha Seva Sadan School at Ramnagar. "We have conducted two health camps twice from July this year in which 700 students were examined. A few cases have been identified for ear and eye surgeries and they would be undertaken soon."
In a bid to bring students of Government schools on par with their more fortunate private counterparts, she plans to honour 100 brilliant students from Municipal and Government schools. She regularly visits old age homes, where she spends some time with the senior citizens.
Valli has several awards to her credit. They include the `Best Social Service Award' of the Visakhapatnam chapter of Red Cross Society, the `Ugadi Puraskar' of Vedic Seva Trust, a social service award from the Kameswari Peetham.
She is the vice-president of the Children's Film Society, chartered president of the Vanita Walkers Club and entertainment committee member of the Waltair Club.
As president of the Rotary Club, the major programmes undertaken by her include presentation of 100 wheel chairs to hospitals and individual beneficiaries and inauguration of the Cancer Hospice at Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi Hospital at Zilla Parishad junction. The hospice is meant for terminally ill cancer patients to spend their last days peacefully.
"My major achievement is in being associated with the Shiridi Sai Spiritual Centre right from its inception and involvement in all its major activities," says Valli.
B. Madhu Gopal
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