UK govt honours Kerala native Prabhu Natarajan for his service amid COVID-19

Prabhu Natarajan, a Kerala native was honoured by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government and received the ‘Points of Light’ award in recognition of all the charitable work he did during the COVID-19 pandemic. Deputy High Commissioner Bengaluru India, Jeremy Pilmore-Bedford also said on May 31 that Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has invited Natarajan with his entire family to Raj Bhavan. Natarajan and his family migrated to England in March 2020 in pursuit of a better life and job. However, amid the COVID-19 lockdown that was imposed shortly after his arrival, he began helping people in need.

Dressed in costumes of fictional superheroes or Santa Claus, Natarajan walked on the streets and raised money for charity programmes in the foreign nation. As his intentions spread through the community, several people chipped in their help. The Nobel gesture changed the Keralite’s life for the better and he ended up receiving several honours including 'Man of the Year' nomination of the daily Oxford Mail, a letter of appreciation from MP Victoria Prentis and an invitation to the prime minister's dinner party too. The Point of Light award is reportedly won by only 1,636 people in the history of Britain.

When did Prabhu Natarajan’s service begin?

As per reports, Prabhu Natarajan service amid the COVID-19 began when he and his wife decided to celebrate their 7th wedding anniversary on November 14 last year while awaiting a job. Since they had moved into a new country without any friends, the Keralite bought at least 15 packets of food and then posted them on social media stating he can provide the same to anyone in need. Within less than two hours, reportedly he received more than 100 calls.

After walking on the streets to collect money in costumes, he managed to collect money up to Rs 14 lakh each day. Subsequently, he used the money to buy food and other essential goods for those in need as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rock the entire world. As per reports, last year, he managed to distribute several thousands of packets of food. Even now, Natarajan, hailing from Olavakkode in Palakkad, has not ceased his service in England.

IMAGE: @PilmoreBedford/Twitter