1. Capt Nandkumar
Founder and Managing Trustee of "Trust Children"
Capt. Nandkumar is the Founder and the Managing Trustee of "Trust Children". An airline pilot by profession, Capt. currently works for “Air Arabia Abu Dhabi” as the Head of Flight Operations. Prior to this he worked as Airbus Fleet Training Manager for “Bamboo Airways”, Director of Training and Standards for “Go Airlines India Pte Ltd., for "Tiger Airways" as Chief Pilot and at Air India as Deputy General Manager. Affectionately known by the moniker "Captain" by those around him, Capt. Nandkumar has dedicated his life to empowering economically underprivileged children. He founded the school Gurukulam in 2004 with the belief that all children need an equal platform to succeed in life and that the right kind of education can break the cycle of poverty and prejudice. Through Gurukulam, he hopes to nurture ethical and compassionate human beings who can make a real difference in the world. Capt. Nandkumar practices Karate, Tai-Chi, and Raja Yoga and loves to sail in his spare time.
2. Sumathi Ramaswami
A homemaker by choice and has now dedicated her time to the cause of underprivileged children.
3. Vishal Khushalani
Based in Georgia, USA, Vishal is very passionate about education of underprivileged and street children. He believes that education is instrumental in raising the socio-economic status and awareness within a community and thus changing future generations one community at a time. When based in Mumbai, India, Vishal taught "spoken English" to street children through the Navjot Foundation and to the blind children at the Happy Home School for the Blind. He has been associated with Trust Children during the days of Tsunami disaster, when he and his wife helped rehabilitate the Panayur village. He believes in the vision of Trust Children and supports the activities of the Gurukulam School. Vishal has an MBA from the Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina and an engineering degree from University of Mumbai.
4. Mrs Sabita Currimbhoy
Sabita Currimbhoy completed her Bachelors Degree in English Literature from the Women's Christian College, Madras after which she worked in Admin and as Confidential Secretary in an Engineering firm. After 6 years she decided to take a break to start a family. During her stint as a homemaker, she worked on a voluntary basis with The School, KFI – Madras with their Urban Outreach Projects.
Feeling the pull towards education, she joined Gurukulam in June 2011 as assistant English teacher. To fill an unexpected gap, she became the acting Principal from November 2011 to April 2012. She has since been handling the Value Education programme for middle to high school children, fills in temporary gaps in teaching across all levels and also keeps an eye on the administrative side of school.
Sabita brings to Gurukulam her organisational capacities coupled with her dedication to bringing up children who are self thinking individuals in this fast changing world.
