Snehapoorvam is a compassionate educational support initiative founded by T.N. Prathapan during his tenure as MLA of Kodungallur (2011–2016). The project emerged from a deeply personal realization that the pain of losing educational opportunities due to poverty should never be repeated in the lives of vulnerable children.

The turning point came in 2013, when an orphan girl approached him seeking help to continue her schooling. Moved by her struggle and reminded of his own difficult childhood, he initiated a comprehensive survey across schools in the constituency to identify children who had lost one or both parents. The survey revealed a staggering number: 676 orphaned students in need of immediate educational support.

Rather than treating the issue as charity, Snehapoorvam was designed as a structured and transparent system. Each school appointed teacher coordinators, students were grouped into academic clusters (Lower Primary, Upper Primary, and High School/Higher Secondary), and financial assistance was transferred directly to guardians’ bank accounts to ensure accountability and continuity.

The project was fully supported through CSR funding from Craft Hospital, Kodungallur, under the leadership of Dr. Ashraf. The initiative was inaugurated in 2014 by actor Mammootty, and its success later inspired the Government of Kerala to introduce a statewide scheme under the same name.

Today, Snehapoorvam continues as an educational trust led by teachers and well-wishers, extending its support beyond scholarships into mentoring, welfare activities, and educational outreach, including the community platform My Radio 90 FM. Snehapoorvam stands as a model where empathy became action and leadership became responsibility.

Snehapoorvam was not born as a government scheme or a political programme. It was born from pain, the pain of a man who knew what it meant to pursue education while carrying poverty and humiliation on his shoulders.

T.N. Prathapan’s childhood was marked by severe financial hardship. Though he was a brilliant student, he owned only one shirt and a single worn-out pair of shorts to wear to school. The shorts had a tear on one side, and his classmates mocked him by calling him the “torn shorts boy.” The shame was unbearable, yet his hunger for education pushed him back to school every single day. His mother would stitch the torn clothes repeatedly so he could continue his studies.

He became the only student from his neighbourhood to pass the SSLC examination in the late 1980s. But passing did not guarantee progress. Poverty had other plans. His father arranged for him to go to Bombay to work as a hotel waiter because the family could not afford further education. With a small tin trunk packed and tickets ready, Prathapan stood at the edge of losing his dreams.

Broken but determined, he sought help from local leaders. Through the intervention of V.M. Sudheeran and T.R. Raghavan, he secured admission to SN College, Nattika, around 1990, along with financial support to buy new clothes. That timely help changed the course of his life.

Years later, during his tenure as MLA of Kodungallur (2011–2016), life brought him face to face with his own past. In 2013, an orphan girl and her mother came to his office seeking help to continue her education. She had no books, no uniform, and no support — only a deep desire to study.

Seeing her was like seeing his younger self standing before him. Without hesitation, he said: “She is my daughter… I will take care of her education.” That night he could not sleep. By midnight he drafted a plan.

The very next day, letters were sent to all schools in the constituency requesting details of children who had lost one or both parents. The results were shocking: 676 orphaned students.

Instead of treating it as charity, Prathapan designed a structured and transparent educational support system in 2013. Teacher coordinators were appointed in every school, students were grouped into academic clusters, financial aid was transferred directly to guardians’ bank accounts, and CSR funding was mobilized with the help of Dr. Ashraf, MD of Craft Hospital, Kodungallur.

The initiative was formally launched in 2014 under the name Snehapoorvam — meaning “With Love,” reflecting both his personal journey and emotional commitment to the children.

The project received statewide recognition. Actor Mammootty inaugurated it in 2014, and Social Welfare Minister Dr. M.K. Muneer later adopted the model across Kerala under the Government’s Snehapoorvam scheme.

Today, Snehapoorvam stands as a rare example where a man’s childhood wounds became the foundation of a social revoluti