Changing lives through education, charity
Chithra Narayan, Director of Middle East Nursery & Development of Mental Skills, was invited to speak at the World Tamil Diaspora Day 2024 organised by the Government of Tamil Nadu earlier this month in Chennai, India to celebrate Tamil heritage.
The keynote address of the two-day event themed Tamil Triumph was delivered by Chief Minister M K Stalin of Tamil Nadu and attended by 1,500 participants from 58 countries, including elected people’s representatives from Australia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, the UK and the USA.
Chithra’s presentation was titled ‘Contribution of non-resident Tamils in the development of the Tamil language’. “It was a great opportunity to represent the
Tamil community of Oman. Being one of the speakers from 58 countries is one thing. To talk about my karmabhoomi Oman – the land where I work - in my janmabhoomi India – the land of my birth - is another thing,” she said.
Chithra has been actively involved in promoting Tamil – considered among the oldest languages in the world - including co-writing a book in it titled HM Sultan Qaboos bin Said – A Farsighted Statesman and a Philanthropist released by the Ministry of Information in 2012. She presented copies of the book to international delegates at the event in Chennai, raising awareness on Oman and its message of peace.
She considers the inclusion of Tamil as a second language in a few Indian community schools in Oman as a milestone in the efforts for the development and growth of Tamil language and culture in the sultanate.
Chithra believes inculcating the right value system in young minds at an early age is crucial for the development of sincere and conscientious individuals. Having worked with children of different nationalities in Oman for over three decades - Middle East Nursery is now in its 31st year - Chithra claims her medium of instruction is ‘love’.
She has won several awards, including Apex Media’s Oman Woman of the Year 2020 in the education category, and continues to participate in charitable and social welfare initiatives in India and Oman. More recently, in November 2023, Chithra received the Global Naari Samman Award 2023 presented by Women Entrepreneurs International Chambers of India in Mauritius for her efforts to change lives of people through education and charity.