Kulandei Francis Biography 
Kulandei Francis is a social worker and activist from Tamil Nadu, best known for his services towards rural development among Tamil speaking people. He is the founder of the NGO, Integrated Village Development Project in Tamil Nadu. He was honoured with the prestigious Magsaysay Award in 2012 for "his profound faith in community energies, and his sustained programs in pursuing the holistic economic empowerment of thousands of women and their families in rural India".
Kulandei Francis was born in the year 1946 in present-day Salem district, Tamil Nadu. He was born into a Christian family as the son of Kulandei and Mathalai Mary. His parents were agricultural labourers. He was brought up in extremely poor condition. A local money lender cheated his mother out of the family's sole plot of land. Mary borrowed Rs. 500 from one among them to meet an unexpected need of her eight member family. But the repayments including penalty interest in the next one decade mounted to Rs 50,000, and the family couldn’t repay it. The whole family had landed in poverty. From this personal experiences, he decided to do something for the poor who are exploited by the rich.
After graduation he joined the Fathers of the Holy Cross in 1970 and studied theology at the De Nobili College in Pune. He worked with Caritas India and volunteered as an aid worker during the Bangladesh War of 1971 and the Pune drought of 1972. In 1976 he moved to Natrampalayam, a remote rural village in Krishnagiri district, where he noticed the miseries of rural people. He renounced his priesthood and in 1979 he founded the Integrated Village Development Project. Since then this unsung hero fully dedicated his full life for the welfare of poor of rural sectors.
Published: October 30, 2018
Updated: October 30, 2018
