Spouse(s) Sujatha Awards Padma Shri Parents Varghese John | Name Kurian Melamparambil Children Divya, Dhanya Awarded by Government of India | |
Occupation Entrepreneur, humanitarian | ||
Karunyathinte thoovalsparsham kurian john melamparambil
Kurian John Melamparambil is a philanthropist, industrialist and writer from Kerala. He is the founder and chief promoter of Melam Group Of Companies and the Melam Foundation. He may be the only personality in India who ventured into business to raise funds to provide free medical treatment to poor and needy patients. With his own generated funds, he has already provided free medical treatment to over 1,54,000 poor patients through 1050 hospitals He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2010, for his services to the social cause, with the fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri.
Contents
- Karunyathinte thoovalsparsham kurian john melamparambil
- Background
- Achievements and Contributions
- Awards and recognitions
- Books Authored
- References
Background
Kurian John Melamparambil was born on 14 May 1954 as the second son of Late M.V John (Kunju Kunju) and Leelamma into the 'Melamparambil', a traditional business family of Tiruvalla, a central Kerala town in Pathanamthitta. His early childhood and schooling days, both primary and senior level, were at M.G.M High School, Tiruvalla where he spent time with the family members and imbibed great values from the family elders. After schooling, he joined Pre-degree course in Mar Thoma College(1970–72) and from Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram he completed his Graduation and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Economics (1972–75).He then moved to the Indore School of Social Work, Indore and completed his Post Graduate Degreein social work (MSW)in 1978.
After his Post Graduation, he joined as the Head of personnel & Administration division in the Cochin unit of Malayala Manorama the largest Malayalam daily. Kurian John Melamparambil's father, M.V. John's death 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 him. On May 28, 1978, in the prime of his youth, the sudden and shocking demise of his father shook his life. His father 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, Kurian John Melamparambil.. These last words of his father made a lasting impression on his son, Kurian John Melamparambil. 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. On 10 September 1986, Kurian John Melamparambil formally started the Melamparambil Varghese John Memorial Charities (M.V.J.M. Charities) named after his father, late Sri. M.V. John
Achievements and Contributions
He may be the only unique philanthropist in the country who ventured in to the business scenario for generating funds for carrying out charitable activities
Kurian John Melamparambil is an exception to this rule in the sense that he has provided medical treatment to more than One Lakh Fifty four Thousand poor and needy patients from own generated funds
All applicants for medical assistance from the Melam foundation are personally met an interviewed before disbursement of any assistance. He may be the only humanitarian cum industrialist who sits along with his wife and two daughters to personally meet each and every patient/relatives, however large the turnout is. He also provides food on those days to the patients and their relatives
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 Government funds or involvement.48 MP's (both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) from the State of Kerala,138 MLA's out of 140 from the Kerala Legislative Assembly, and from the border district of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, and around 18,000 Councilors/Panchayath members in Kerala have already participated in the selection process
The continuous efforts and perseverance of Kurian John Melamparambil has resulted in establishing a network of more than 1025 renowned hospitals across the state for providing specialized treatment to the sponsored patients within a 30 days credit period for reimbursement from him
Awards and recognitions
He could be one of the few in the country who would have implemented The principle of bootstrapping-startup with minimal financial resources the unique idea framed by him ensured that the business ran profitably and a major portion was shared with the less fortunate in the society
Kurian John Melamparambil has been honoured with several awards and recognitions during his career.
Personal awards and recognitions
Awards for Melam Group
Books Authored
Kurian John has published a few memoirs, which narrates his life through business, spirituality and charity.