Kuwait Tamil Sangam (KTS) honoured Social Activist Mr. Vengada Mathi for his social services to the community in its annual Pongal Vizha programme held recently in Kuwait on 3rd March 2023.
As part of the celebration, Social Activist Mr. K. Vengada Mathi was honored with Memento for his selfless services to mankind and tireless hard work in Kuwait. Guest of honour Ms. Janani Iyer - South Indian Actress, Mrs. Ananthi Natarajan - President KTS & Mr. Raja jointly felicitate him with shawl & memento in the presence of dignitaries and KTS committee Members.
During the event, KTS recalled his selfless support with dedication for the Indian Community in Kuwait.
K.Venkata Mathi – A Life dedicated to Service. Mathi, is a person for whom life is all service. He has spent more than 25 years in Kuwait and thousands of Indians who benefited from his service and assistance at the crucial time their life, will be eternally thankful for his presence in Kuwait.
He provides his assistance/support for poor Indian Nationals who are in need of support either from the authority or from the community. He coordinates with Indian embassy or with various Indian Associations in Kuwait to provide the required help in a possible way.
Mathi was instrumental in assisting the officials of Indian Embassy to ensure the suspension of the death sentence of two Indians in the year 2013; and also he further followed up with the Indian Embassy regularly until they get repatriated in the year 2020. In the year 2020, in another case Kuwait government suspended the death sentence to Indian National Mr. Arjunan who was in Kuwait jail; Mathi helped, his family to approach the right channels to commute the death sentence to Life-term.
With the help of Indian Embassy, Mathi was supporting to repatriate a girl child who lost her parents and suffering in Kuwait without having the legal residence status. In another incident, two children struggled in Kuwait without having legal residence as their father abandoned the family; Indian mother passed away due to health issues and the kids stranded as orphans. Upon seeing these Kids situation, one Indian family was ready to adopt the children and Mathi coordinated with the officials to complete all the legal formalities, issue the Indian Passport, and assisted them to travel to India.
In various cases, he has been helping with the support of Indian Embassy in repatriation of Indian Nationals who are cheated by fake agents, providing moral support to the sick people who are hospitalized here in the Kuwait hospitals without friends/relatives and helping them to repatriate back to India.
During the Covid situation when there were no flight services, even though he was stuck in India, Mathi helped for few Indian pregnant women to travel back to India with the support of Embassy officials and Air India.
Mathi’s social service activities extend to India also; during the Lockdown in the peak pandemic, he assisted for the 75 members of 35 migrant families struggled in Mumbai-Tharavi to return back to their native district Sivaganga with the support of state government officials.
Mathi provides all his services with the help of Indian Embassy and bound to the rules and regulations, both of Indian as well as Kuwait, he takes-up the issue with the officials and follow-up regularly until it gets resolved. The guidance that was provided by him and others under his co-ordination facilitated the smooth resolving of many ticklish procedural problems concerning Passports, Visa or Immigration.
Mathi has been rendering social service for decades and most of his assistances went un-recorded in the earlier days when there was no social media; no mobile phones with camera. However, we can be sure that it is etched permanently in the hearts and memories of those who were witness to his self-less service.