“When outliers become outliers it is not just because of their own efforts. It’s because of the contributions of lots of different people and lots of different circumstances.” – Malcolm Gladwell

Vallarasu is an outlier.

Vallarasu hails from Srivalliputhur. He is now 30 years old. Though his physique suggests that he is very soft guy, his words are weighty and powerful. There is a passionate boldness in his face.

Vallarasu’s dad was a shopkeeper and sold household goods. When Vallarasu was 6 years old, his father was murdered by a gang. Thereafter, the family suffered greatly. They had no money to afford even one square meal a day.

One year after the murder, Vallarasu’s mother committed suicide, and Vallarasu and his two sisters were left orphans. His two sisters were brought up by an uncle, but Vallarasu was left behind in the streets.

Compassion found him in the streets, and he was taken into St. Andrews Child Development Center. The center supported him so he could study in the school. The school had a hostel facility, so the center provided him with not only education, but also gave him shelter, food and comfort.

The problems that Vallarasu experienced as a little child instilled a deep burden within his heart. He developed a burning desire to help orphans and desolate children. He took the initiative in solving every little conflict that arose among the children at St. Andrews, and even teachers marveled at his efficiency.

Some teachers commented, “In the future, you will become a big leader in the society.” While others said, “I am sure you will stand as an advocate speaking for thousands in days to come.”

In the moving wheel of life, the time came for Vallarasu to depart from the child development center to pursue his higher studies. He went to a place called Madurai in Tamilnadu and began working as a lab assistant in Lady Doak College as well as studying for his bachelor of arts degree.

During his college days, he continued to speak for the oppressed. And finally, his long-awaited dream came to be fulfilled. He got an opportunity to study for a bachelor of law degree.

Since then, Vallarasu has worked in various social welfare organizations. He worked for a social welfare organization called People’s Watch, wherein he spoke on behalf of the people for safeguarding human rights and thus prevented the violation of human rights.

Now, Vallarasu is practicing law under a senior lawyer at the Law Association, Madurai. He has also written an examination for Legal Advisor in the court in the Department of Intelligence Bureau and he is awaiting the results. If he gets that job, he will be placed in High Court.

Currently, Vallarasu is involved in issues like delivering children from the bondage of child labor or bonded labor.

A few years back, a child was thrown away in the garbage. A family picked up the child and took care of him. When the child grew to be 5 years old, they made him work and beg in the marketplace.

When this news reached Vallarasu’s ears, he, with his influence, reported the matter to the police and the child was redeemed from that family and handed over to an organization called Children’s Care. Now the child is studying there happily.

In his village at Madurai, there was a children’s home for orphans. A political leader was always hindering the running of this home. As a young man, Vallarasu went and approached the politician. He spoke to him and convinced him to stop hindering the home. Eventually, the political leader himself became a sponsor for the home.

There is a village called Ponthambuli, where Vallarasu’s mother was born. There was a constant struggle between two groups of people in that village (high caste and low caste). The high caste people were not allowing the low caste people to go across their village that had a good road and transport facility. So, people had to walk for an hour on the agricultural land. This problem existed for almost 20 years.

When Vallarasu came to know about this matter, he spoke to the village leaders. He also took some people along with him and spoke to the government officials and collector. There was an immediate response from the government, and the road was laid within a week and transportation facilities were made available.

Vallarasu proudly says, “It is Compassion that gave me the strength and heart to speak for the speechless people across this nation.”

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Outliers are men and women who do things out of the ordinary. And in the book Gladwell delves into what makes outliers successful.

Conventional wisdom says success comes from drive, skill and talent, which is true, but not by themselves. Drive, skill and talent aren’t worth a dime without opportunity. Success is a team sport.

“When outliers become outliers it is not just because of their own efforts. It’s because of the contributions of lots of different people and lots of different circumstances.” – Malcom Gladwell

Outliers looks at the success of geniuses, business tycoons, rock stars, athletes and software programmers. And the common denominator in all the examples of success Gladwell gives, the foundational bedrock in EVERY SINGLE CASE, is that an opportunity was made available – because of geography, timing, economics, circumstance, etc.

But you shouldn’t have to read Outliers to see that. You can keep reading this blog … because opportunity is an integral part of what Compassion is about.

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