The Turning Point

On may 28th 1978, in the prime of his youth, the sudden and shocking demise of Dr.Kurian John Melamparambil`s father, Mr. M.V John due to a Cardiac arrest made him stop, think and realize the value of life. As it was a Sunday his family could not give his father the kind of treatment, which could have perhaps saved his life. He died soon after he had the attack. The dying man`s last words were, `Oh God free me from this pain`. These last words of his father made a lasting impression on his son Dr.Kurian John.

The loss of a father, friend and guiding figure for him was the beginning of the thought process that led to his humanitarian activities. His helplessness in not being able to do anything that could stop his father`s untimely death made him think of ways by which he could help in preventing others from suffering a similar fate or loss. This idea that was born in that tragic moment lingered in his thoughts and laid the foundation for the starting of a noble venture.

The need for a Corpus Fund Divine Intervention

Having decided to embark on his journey of providing free medical treatment to the poor and needy, Dr. Kurian John needed to put together the central corpus fund required to start his noble venture. In this endeavor Dr.kurian John , after his marriage in the year 1981 in order to raise funds decided to enroll himself along with his wife, in a state run Chit fund. To realize the extend of divine intervention behind the source of the initial corpus fund for the noble cause, one has to aware of the manner in which a chit fund worked. In a given chit fund, there would be a group of individuals contributing a fixed sum of money, monthly, for a fixed tenure towards the Chit fund. In this particular instance there was a group of 100 people, each contributing Rs.200/- monthly towards the chit fund for a tenure of 100 months. Every month there would be a draw of lots from amongst the contributors to the fund. One individuals name would emerge from the draw. That individual would be entitled to 70% of the entire groups contribution towards the fund for that month. It is worth mentioning here that just as there is a possibility of emerging victorious in the initial months, there is also every possibility of some individuals have to wait for 100 months to receive this share of the chit fund. In short, the draw of lots in a chit fund was nothing but a mere game of luck

Dr. Kurian John raised a fervent prayer from the depths of his heart to the Almighty for helping him with the much needed monetary assistance for his noble cause. Miraculously, from amongst the Group of one hundered individuals the first name, which emerged from the draw of lots, was that of Dr Kurian John. The very next month, call it a striking coincidence or divine intervention, the name that emerged from the draw was that of his wife Sujatha. Between the two of them in a span of just two months an amount of Rs.28,000/- was available as corpus fund ` definitely Gods plan to help start this noble venture of Dr.Kurian John, for helping the poor and needy patients, in a small way. His involvement in school welfare activities as part of his profession, and his Masters Degree in Social Work helped him towards achieving his aim of starting a Charitable Organization.

On 10 th September 1986 Dr.Kurian John Melamparambil formally started the Melamparambil Vaghese John Memorial Charities (Melam Charities) named after his father, late Sri . M.V. John. The main objective of the organization is to help and support poor and needy patients by providing medical treatment for their ailments. All patients who approached him were given treatment irrespective of caste, creed, religion or any kind of prejudice. He made it a point to ensure that whosoever approached him was given treatment, and eventually made self dependent in their health to the maximum extent possible. The charity extends scholarships to deserving children of the patients, and also housing, clothing, and food to their dependents during the period of treatment if required. With the interest earned from the corpus fund, and contribution from his salary, he expanded his activities without any publicity or fanfare.

The need for more Financial Resources

As the activities of Melam Charities progressed and grew rapidly, Dr. Kurian John felt the constraints of his own resources and realized the need for urgent funds, he strongly felt that these funds should be generated through some venture of his own. This intense feeling coupled with meticulous planning, resulted in the establishment of a small- scale industry named M.V.J foods under the brand name MELAM ` range of food products in the year 1992,giving up his job at the Malayala Manorama. As the business progressed, the income of Dr. Kurian John increased, which was channelized directly to the fund which resulted in the increased activities of Melam Charities.

Dr.Kurian John Melamparambil`s Theory of Charity

Food, clothing and shelter are said to be the basic needs of a human being; but Dr. Kurian John differs in this. According to him, sound health to a person, both physically and mentally is what is primarily required to make him self dependent. Food, clothing and shelter come only next to that. If a person is healthy, he / she will be able to work and satisfy his / her needs. If a society has healthy people there will be self-dependency, and consequently there will also be less number of social problems / evils. So providing health to a person is of primary importance for a better civilized society. Thus `the healthier the society, the higher the self dependency, lesser the social problems / evils / crime, the richer in peace, prosperity and civilization.`

To make this theory a reality Dr. Kurian John advocates and practices that: Almost all are doing business with others money i.e., money from the public either from bank or from share holders depending upon the nature of the business. `Larger the business, higher the dependency on public fund`. Therefore an industrialist or businessman is not only an organizer cum custodian of the business but also the trustee of public money. Therefore the public has the right and he has the obligation to share the profit (depending upon the capacity of the business) he makes with the needy. At present, Dr. Kurian John sets apart more than 50 % of his income from the revenue received from his business. The principle behind the share of contribution of Dr.Kurian John to charity for helping in the treatment of poor and needy patients is `progressive`. As the income from his business increases, his share of contribution also increases ie. just like the principle of progressive taxation. He intends to contribute up to 90 % depending upon his growth of revenue.

In a nut shell, `the income one makes either from business, from employment or from any other source, is to be shared with the sick and the poor, to make them self dependant in their health to the maximum extent possible. So in general, Selfless Service to humanity is the best work of life for a better world order`. In nutshell. `Corporate Social responsibility is humanitarianism, not charity, but Social, moral Obligation`

The identification and selection of patients are being done by the people`s elected representatives. Therefore, the third part has to be filled and signed by local ward member / councilor and countersigned by concerned MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) / MP (Member of Parliament) if he / she is eligible for treatment. In addition to this, the applicant should produce the attested copy of the BPL ration card.

After covering the above said formalities, the applicant through his relative or by himself can submit the application at the office of Melam Charities on any second Saturday from 7.30 a.m.

There, he / his relative will be interviewed personally by Dr.Kurian John who assesses the nature of treatment required and the patient will be referred to the concerned hospital depending upon the nature of the diseases. For e.g., a cancer patient will be sent to an institute like Regional Cancer Center while a psychic patient will be sent to a mental hospital. The patient will be given a letter of sponsorship for a maximum of 75 % of the amount required for his treatment. For e.g., if a psychic patient requires treatment of Rs 1000/- every month he will be provided with a sponsorship letter for Rs. 750/- to the concerned hospital. No cash is given directly to the patient. The hospital authorities after giving the treatment, will send the bill to Dr. Kurian John with 30 days credit and he settles the bill accordingly.

Once a needy patient is identified and selected for treatment he / she will be eligible for free medical treatment on a monthly basis till he / she recovers.

Achievements / Contributions of Dr. Kurian John Melamparambil

A. Unique Philanthropist
Dr. Kurian John Melamparambil has quit a lucrative job and started his own business for the sole purpose of generating funds for charity. He may be the only philanthropist in the country who ventured into the business scenario for generating funds for carrying out charitable activities. Initially, he started the noble act of helping the poor and needy patients in 1981 from his salary. As the number of patients for treatment increased, he realized the need of having more funds of his own at his disposal and that made him start his own small-scale industry in 1982.

B. Self Generated Funds
Normally one does charitable activities of mass involvement from the contributions received from the public or so Dr. Kurian john is an exception to the rule, in the sense that noble act of helping the poor by having provided medical treatment to around one lakh twenty five thousand poor and needy patients by spending around a hundred million Indian rupees, in less than two decades has all been done utilizing only self generated funds.

C. Personal Involvement
All applicants, for medical assistance from the Melam Charities, are personally met and interviewed, before disbursement of any assistance. This is a monthly ritual on every Second Saturday of the month and is organized at Melam Junction, Thiruvalla, kerala, India. Over the years, the number of applicants have increased at a rapid pace and people arrive from all parts of the state and elsewhere. He may be the only humanitarian cum industrialist who sits along with his wife and two daughters to personally meet each and every patient / their relatives, however large the turnout is. He also provides free food on those days to the patients and their relatives.

The method of operation

The application form of Melam Charities is available on every Second Saturday at Melamparambil buildings, Melam Junction, Thiruvalla. The application form is divided into three parts.

The first part has to be filled by the patient, which includes his / her personal details.

The second part has to be filled by the hospital authorities ie, by the concerned doctor who treats the patient and it includes the nature of disease, duration and amount required for treatment.

D. Participation of Peoples Elected Representatives
The approach and methodology followed by Dr. Kurian john and melam Charities is unique and rare as it involves the association of the Elected Peoples Representatives ` Members of the State Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and the Members of the Indian Parliament (MPs). The involvement of these functionaries has now become a movement by itself and is very much an integral function of the assistance disbursement. These functionaries are actively involved in the process if identification and selection of the recipients to whom the assistance is to be granted from within their respective constituencies. This involvement and support from democratically elected leaders gain more significance when one realize that they are involved in a wholly private activity with no Governmental funds or involvement. Besides 21 Mps (both Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha) from the state of Kerala, 140 MLAs out of 137 from the Kerala Legislative Assembly have already participated in the selection process of more than 1,25000 patients.

E. Widespread Recognition
The continuous efforts and perseverance of Dr. Kurian John Melamparambil has resulted in establishing a network of more than 877 renowned hospitals across the State for providing specialized treatment to the sponsored patients with a 30 days credit period for reimbursement from him. This widespresd treatment facility enables the patients to get a specialized treatment for their ailments at the hospital of their convenience. Extension of the credit facilities by over 877 hospitals throughout the sate is testimony to the wide acceptance of the integrity and trustworthiness of Dr. Kurian John Melamparambil.

F. Exemplary Entrepreneur
Dr. Kurian John Melamparambil besides being a humanitarian is an entrepreneur par excellence. He is the founder and chief promoter of `MELAM` group of companies and has been bestowed with numerous awards in recognition of his social work and excellence in the field of business. The Vice Prsident of India honoured him with the National Award for Outstanding Enterpreneur for the year 1997 instituted by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India. The successes of the commercial activities only goes towards strengthening of his social commitments.