Viveka always dreamed of working in health care. Today, she’s the head nurse at an intensive care unit in her hometown of Vizag, India.
Growing up in Vizag, Viveka found her tenacious drive to succeed wasn’t always enough. With many other teenagers in the area finding no alternative after Grade 10 but to take on menial jobs or get married, she never wanted to find herself trapped in that cycle.
When Viveka connected with visiting Lisa Heel in 2002, inspiring Heel with her dream of becoming a nurse, an idea was planted. Heel started the North Vancouver-based Huggs Canada, a registered charity offering strong educational support to Vizag families in need, shortly thereafter. Years later, that support from Huggs helped Viveka set her sights high and achieve her goals.
On the eve of Huggs 15th anniversary celebration, those involved in the organization are set to take a look back at the work the organization has done to empower youth during the previous decade and a half.
“Realizing that these kids honestly would have virtually no option in terms of developing careers, having the dignity of being educated – we just had to put them onto a level playing field with the others. That is huge for them,” says Marilyn Gullison, one of Huggs’ founding directors and the current chair of the organization. “The gratitude of the parents is overwhelming because a lot of these kids are what we call first-learners.”
Huggs, which stands for Helping Underprivileged Girls and Guys Study, takes a direct approach in helping youth succeed in school.
Its methods are simple: the organization is currently sponsoring 50 students, selected based on such criteria as academic standing and financial need, to help them complete their secondary and post-secondary education. One-hundred students have been assisted by Huggs Canada during the last 15 years, notes Gullison.
“They’ve done extraordinarily well,” she says, reflecting that: “We had a wonderful organization that helped us get registered and then in 2003 we started for one girl – and then Viveka, six years later, was a graduate nurse and today she’s working as a head nurse at an ICU in Vizag.”
Huggs’ philosophy has been to provide educational support for students while still allowing them to stay integrated in their homes and communities, Gullison says.
“There were two things: we want the students to be living at home and, secondly, we don’t want to change their lifestyle, we want them to go to the schools that are good schools but they’re local schools,” she says.
However, as the number of students receiving support from Huggs increased they realized: “We just had to have a centre for the students.”
In 2011, the Huggs Study Centre opened its doors to serve as a place for students to congregate, study in peace, and receive support from tutors. It was also the year the organization added Madhulatha Ganireddi to its roster as a full-time educational co-ordinator and individual that could shepherd the organization’s initiatives in India.
Ganireddi will also be a special guest at Huggs’ celebration, Gullison adds.
“(She) received the Leadership Award from an organization called the British Columbia Council for International Cooperation, and because she received that award last year she is being brought to Vancouver by BCCIC and she will be the speaker at our 15th anniversary dinner.”
On a personal note, Gullison explains how her family first moved to India, settling by the Bay of Bengal, in 1896. She grew up there when she was born years later, and, while she lives in North Vancouver now, the associations with the country for her, and her family, remain strong.
“India gave me a lot,” she says. “It’s a little way of giving back to a country that’s done a lot for me.”
Huggs Canada’s 15th Anniversary Celebration is taking place Sept. 15 at The View on Lonsdale starting at 5:30 p.m., featuring a buffet dinner, entertainment, silent auction, cash bar and a special presentation by Madhulatha Ganireddi. Tickets: $75. Visit huggscanada.org for more information or to purchase tickets.
