SRECT Sree Ragas Educational & Charitable Trust

Serving North Chennai since 2009

Health, dignity and a fair start for the communities Chennai overlooks.

We work alongside sex workers, transgender persons, people who use drugs, children out of school and the urban poor, with HIV prevention, care, education and livelihood support rooted in the neighbourhoods we serve.

Become a CSR partner See our HIV programme

World AIDS Day 2025 gathering in Chennai with community members and officials

1,856 people reached through our TANSACS project in 2025

17 years

of community work, registered March 2009

~2,000

high-risk individuals reached with HIV prevention and care

500+

children supported with free education and coaching

1,000+

families given relief during floods and cyclones

Donations are eligible for tax deduction under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act. Provisional approval valid AY 2026-27 to AY 2028-29.

Donate now View our registrations

Who we are

Sree Ragas Educational and Charitable Trust is a Chennai-based NGO working in education, health and social welfare across Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram. Our strongest roots are in the slum communities and high-risk hotspots of North Chennai: Vyasarpadi, the Woodworkers’ area, Waltax Road, Jakkapuram and surrounding areas.

Tamil Nadu’s HIV prevalence has fallen from 1.11% in 2002 to 0.16% in 2023–24. We are proud to be one of the grassroots organisations behind that progress, working face to face with the people most at risk.

The name RAGAS comes from our founding family: Radhakrishnan, Rameshkumar, Aarthi, Abhisshek and Suseela.

Our vision

Improved health, dignity and quality of life for vulnerable and marginalised communities.

Our mission

To deliver inclusive, rights-based interventions in HIV prevention, care and support, while tackling the wider causes of ill health through education, livelihoods and psychosocial care.

What we do

Six areas of work, each shaped by what the communities around us have asked for.

Education and employment

Free tuition, books and fees for children from poor families, help for school dropouts to return, support for children with special needs, music education, and skills training for young people.

Health and social support

Free health camps and clinics, HIV and STI counselling, testing referrals and ART adherence support.

HIV/AIDS targeted interventions

Peer-led outreach for female sex workers, MSM, transgender persons and people who inject drugs, with condom promotion and risk-reduction counselling.

Ending child and bonded labour

Rescue, rehabilitation, legal aid and a route back to school for children taken out of work.

Worker leadership

Capacity building for trade unions and grassroots leaders, with the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute and ILO-supported programmes.

Livelihoods and microfinance

Self-help groups, microcredit and entrepreneurship training for women and high-risk groups.

Education and child welfare

Every evening, a classroom on a rooftop.

Since 2009 the Trust has worked with poor and underprivileged families in Vyasarpadi, the Woodworkers’ area, Waltax Road, Jakkapuram and nearby areas of Chennai. Children who might otherwise drop out come together after school to study, draw, play and practise yoga with our volunteer teachers.

Back to school. Helping school dropouts resume their education.
Books and fees. Books, school fees and college fees for deserving students from slum areas.
Higher education guidance. Help with admissions and staying in college through to completion.
Inclusion. Support for children with special needs and persons with disabilities.
Music and creativity. Music education and training for economically disadvantaged people, plus art and yoga for children.

Children studying together on a mat during evening tuition — Evening study classes

Children doing yoga on a rooftop with two volunteer teachers — Yoga and fitness on the rooftop

Children drawing and colouring with crayons — Art and colouring sessions

A large group of children with school bags — School bags and study materials

A volunteer teacher helping children with their books — Guided homework support

Children laughing and playing together — Time to play, too

Children seated in rows writing in notebooks — A full class most evenings

A child's crayon drawing of a house by a river under the sun — A student’s drawing, marked “very good”

A day with our field team

Our work doesn’t happen in an office. Every day, outreach workers and peer educators, many of them from the very communities they serve, walk the lanes of Vyasarpadi and North Chennai so that no one is missed.

Field staff attending to community members at a health camp desk

Morning
Hotspot visits
Outreach workers and peer educators meet community members where they are, check on their health, and hand out condoms and information.
Midday
Counselling and referrals
Our counsellor holds one-to-one sessions, and staff accompany people to ICTC for HIV testing and to STI and TB clinics.
Afternoon
Treatment follow-up
Home visits and phone calls help people living with HIV stay on ART. Families get support, and crises get a quick response.
Evening
Records and review
Every contact is logged confidentially in individual records and service registers, ready for TANSACS reporting.

Every week

Peer educator meetings to plan outreach, share what they are seeing, and learn from each other.

Every month

Ration and hygiene kit distribution, health camps, and monthly reports to TANSACS.

Through the year

World AIDS Day, legal aid clinics, skill workshops for women and youth, and relief during floods and cyclones.

Our TANSACS-supported HIV Targeted Intervention

Since August 2022 we have run a Targeted Intervention project in Chennai with the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society, following NACO norms. It began with about 1,000 people, grew to 1,500, and now serves around 1,856.

A health worker checking a woman's blood pressure at a community health camp

Peer-led outreach

Weekly peer educator meetings, risk assessment, risk-reduction counselling, condom promotion and distribution.

HIV and STI care

Referral to ICTC for testing, STI screening and treatment, linkage to ART centres and adherence follow-up.

Psychosocial support

Individual and group counselling, crisis management, stigma reduction and family support.

Harm reduction

Needle and syringe exchange, with referrals to OST and de-addiction services.

Nutrition and welfare

Nutritional supplements for people living with HIV, monthly rations, hygiene kits and clothing.

Advocacy and rights

World AIDS Day events, legal aid clinics and rights-based workshops.

Every record is kept confidentially. We report monthly and quarterly in TANSACS formats, and our outreach workers and peer educators are supervised and reviewed regularly.

Compassion · Care · Confidentiality · Hope

You are not alone. We are here to support you.

Working with government health agencies and HIV service providers, we help people who are vulnerable to HIV, and people living with HIV, reach the services they need without fear or discrimination.

Counselling and guidance

Supportive counselling, plus clear information on prevention, testing and treatment.

Testing referrals

Help to reach HIV testing at authorised government facilities.

Treatment support

Guidance to government ART centres and support for taking prescribed medicines.

Healthy living

Nutritious food, healthy habits, emotional well-being and regular follow-up.

Community outreach

Health education and information on services, taken to underserved neighbourhoods.

Stigma reduction

Building understanding, acceptance and respect for everyone affected by HIV.

HIV is manageable with treatment

There is no widely available cure yet, but antiretroviral therapy (ART) lets people living with HIV stay healthy and live long, full lives. Taking medicines regularly and keeping up medical follow-ups is what matters most.

HIV is not spread through everyday contact, sharing meals or working together. Let us replace fear with knowledge, stigma with understanding, and isolation with support.

Your privacy matters to us

Anything you share with our team is kept confidential, with consent and proper safeguards, as the law requires. We will not disclose your personal details without your consent, except where the law requires it.

When you contact us, share only what we need to reach you safely. Please do not send your HIV status or medical details by email or message.

Call for confidential guidance Email us

Your health matters. Your dignity matters. Your privacy matters.

The people who make it happen

A 22-member team, most of whom have been with the project since 2022. Our peer educators come from the communities themselves, which is why people trust them.

Peer educators

Community members leading outreach

Outreach workers

Daily field visits and follow-up

Counsellor

Psychosocial and adherence support

M&E officer

Records, data and reporting

Programme leads

Project Director and Program Manager

Our journey

2009
Trust registered and community work begins in Vyasarpadi, Chennai.
2010
Our first community school opens, alongside our first health camps.
2015–2020
Vocational training and livelihood programmes expand.
2022
The TANSACS-supported HIV Targeted Intervention project starts in August.

Our work in progress

Recent highlights from the Sree Ragas Chennai TI Project, carried out with TANSACS, DAPCU Chennai and local healthcare professionals.

Community members gathered at tables during a health camp

Health workers in white coats screening people at a camp table

Women waiting for check-ups at a health camp

Health camp and community event · 20 March 2026

A health camp in our project area

High-risk group members from across our coverage areas came for health check-ups, health awareness and help reaching healthcare services. A community event alongside the camp encouraged participation and welfare.

Inaugurated by Dr. Karthikeyan, MS (Orthopaedics), Stanley Medical College, DPM, DAPCU, TANSACS
Also inaugurated by Mr. Muthukumaran, CPO, DAPCU, TANSACS
Medical and technical support from Dr. Swathi, MBBS, the ICTC Counsellor and laboratory technicians
Coordinated by the Project Director of Sree Ragas Trust

Remembrance and solidarity

International AIDS Candlelight Memorial

Our team joined DAPCU Chennai, health staff and community members to light candles in memory of those lost to AIDS, and to stand together against stigma.

Officials, health staff and community members at the candlelight memorial

Participants lighting candles on a bed of marigolds

Staff handing a ration kit to a beneficiary, whose face is hidden — **Nutrition support.** Monthly ration kits for people living with HIV. Beneficiaries’ faces are always hidden.

Rice and provisions handed over outside the counsellor room — **Provisions at our office.** Rice and essentials given out next to the counsellor room.

Project review meeting at the DAPCU Chennai office — **Review with DAPCU Chennai.** Project records and reports reviewed with district officials.

Team and guests at the World AIDS Day 2025 event — **World AIDS Day 2025.** With TANSACS and DAPCU Chennai.

Thank you to our project staff

Since 2022, the Program Manager, Counsellor, M&E Officer and Outreach Workers of the Sree Ragas Chennai TI Project have kept outreach, health awareness, counselling and service delivery going for high-risk groups in Chennai, every single month.

Partner with us for CSR impact you can see.

MCA CSR-1 registered · CSR00105165 · 80G approved

Your CSR funds reach people directly, through a team that is in the community every single day. Our work aligns with Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013.

Promoting health care
Eradicating hunger and malnutrition
Education and vocational skills
Empowering women
Disaster relief

Ways your company can help

Sponsor a community health camp

Free check-ups, screening and referrals for the community in a single day, with your employees welcome to volunteer.

Nutrition for people living with HIV

Monthly rations, supplements and hygiene kits that help people stay strong and stay on treatment.

Keep a child in school

Free education and coaching for children from poor families, school dropouts and rescued child labourers.

Livelihoods for women

Skill training, self-help groups and microcredit so women and vulnerable groups can earn a steady income.

Disaster relief

Food and essentials for families hit by Chennai’s floods and cyclones, delivered by people who know every street.

A programme built with you

Tell us your focus area and budget, and we’ll send a costed proposal with clear outcomes.

Why companies can rely on us

Registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to receive CSR funds (CSR-1: CSR00105165)
17 years of grassroots work, and a government-supported TANSACS project since 2022
Monthly and quarterly reporting already in place to government standards
Confidential records for every person we serve
A community-based team that reaches people others can’t

What you receive

80G donation receipts
Reports on how funds are used, with photos from the field
Field visits for your CSR team on request
Volunteering opportunities for your employees

Request a CSR proposal Call +91 99620 29011

Donate directly

Give by bank transfer

Every rupee goes to health, education and welfare work in North Chennai. Donations are eligible for tax deduction under Section 80G.

Transfer to the Trust account by NEFT, RTGS or IMPS.
Email your name, address, PAN and transaction reference to sreeragas.ti@gmail.com.
We send your donation receipt for 80G.

CSR partners: please contact us first so we can share our CSR-1 registration and a project proposal.

Bank account details

Account name: Sree Ragas Educational & Charitable Trust
Account number: 30738373153
Account type: Savings
Bank: State Bank of India
Branch: PWD Complex, Chepauk, Chennai (Code 6489)
IFSC: SBIN0006489
MICR: 600002036

Registrations and compliance

Copies of all certificates are available to donors and CSR partners on request.

Trust registration	Indian Trust Act, 1882, Reg. No. 148/2009 (26 March 2009)
PAN	AAHTS7389F
80G approval (Form 10AC)	URN AAHTS7389FF20251, provisional approval dated 18-06-2025, valid AY 2026-27 to AY 2028-29
12A / 12AB registration	[12A/12AB registration number]
CSR-1 registration (MCA)	CSR00105165, approved by the Registrar of Companies, MCA on 14-02-2026

Leadership

Ms. R. Gowri: Managing Trustee and Project Director
Mr. A. Mohanraj: Program Manager
Ms. Aarthi Radhakrishnan: Trustee
Mr. Abhisshek Radhakrishnan: Trustee

Founded by Ms. R. Suseela and Mr. Andamal. Our 22-member project team includes a counsellor, a monitoring and evaluation officer, 5 outreach workers and 13 peer educators drawn from the community.

Partners

NACO
TANSACS
DAPCU Chennai
International Labour Organization
V.V. Giri National Labour Institute
Local NGO networks

We also take part in state, national and international HIV/AIDS conferences and seminars.

Work with us

Your contribution helps us reach more vulnerable families with health information, counselling, treatment support, education and freedom from stigma. Individual donors, CSR partners, volunteers and fellow NGOs: we would be glad to hear from you.

Donate. Support. Empower. Save lives.

Call +91 99620 29011 Email us

Registered office

No. 39/32, Perumal Koil Garden Street, II Lane, Sowcarpet, Chennai – 600 001

Field operations

Vyasarpadi, North Chennai

sreeragas.ti@gmail.com