About Me

My name is Prem Kumar, on the morning of 24th June in the year 1960, when the clock showed 5.54 in the morning was the time I entered in this wonderful world, with my eyes closed! A little town called Yellamanchili in Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh was the place I was born. When my father expired when I was 4 years old, the family was shifted from Chennai (formerly Madras) city to Yellamanchili with my maternal grand parents. I had my schooling at Government Junior College at Yellamanchili. After shooling which I finished then I completed my Graduation in Social Science at another town called Anakapalle. By 1981 I completed my Post Graduation in Sociology with Madurai Kamaraj University at Madurai.

In between my Graduation and Post Graduation, I also undergone the training in Film Acting and Direction at Chennai. My parents want to make me as a Medical Doctor, but finally I became a Community Doctor to improve the self-esteem of the poor while founding a Non Government Organisation called YCO (Youth Charitable Organisation) in 1981. Since then I am working as Executive Secretary of YCO to make my dreams real in action. Now I am preparing myself to completed my PhD and the outline of my research study is "FUTURE OF NGOs - STRUGGLE AGAINST HUNGER & EXPLOITATION".

I am a new member of the Squidoo which I came to know through my friend Silvia Martinez. I am interesting to develop quite good contacts through this forum which may help and support for enriching my knowledge, ideas, views and of course the personal horizons. I write poetry, articles on various issues like development, personal development and romantic love etc., One of my books also translated in French!

I got three children, two are daughters and last one is son. My elder daughter Swetha completed her Graduation and preparing to study M.B.A. in abroad. My second daughter Sritha is now studying her 9th standard and my son Sourya is in his 6th standard. About my work and organisation:

I started YCO in June 1981 with the active support of like minded people of Yellamanchili, Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh in India with a view to create a just society where in the poor will improve their self dignity through self efforts for sustainable development and self reliance. The purpose to start the organisation is to alleviate rural poverty within the target areas of Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh. The organisation is secular, non-political and non-profit making in its structure, and focuses its programmes on self-reliance, self-help and community development. Initially YCO operated in four target villages and now extends to over 185 villages and 18,000 families.

Programmes are in watershed management, thrift and credit management for income generation for the poorest, health and education including sanitation, and sustainable housing. A micro finance programme was started as an activity in YCO during 1992. Initially the approach was one of the linking self-help groups and banks. This approach changed over the following years, with YCO establishing a separate savings and credit programme to enable the savings of members to be reinvested into the communities through loans offered to the members.

The Swayamkrushi Women's Development Mutually Aided Cooperative Thrift Society was registered under the Andhra Pradesh State Mutually Cooperative Thrift Society Act 1995 with the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Visakhapatnam on 26th November 1996, and has been functioning independently since 16th January 1997.

Thank you very much dear friends.

I have no lenses.