Hyderabad, India

Devdas Adidela was one of the founders of Friends for Education International or FFEI. With his help the work in India was started in 2003. He had been with it for a long time. FFEI is forever indebted to him for his services.

Background:

Benjamin P Kaila, was involved in Dalit activism for a long time after he read Dr B R Ambedkar’s biography in his late 20s when working in Hyderabad, India. After coming to the US in 1999, he was looking for opportunities to start something useful for the students of the most discriminated community in India called Dalits or ex-untouchables. First, he approached several of his relatives to start a school in the memory of his parents Kaila Martin Luther Neelambram and Vizramma. He was not successful due to several reasons. Disappointed, he was looking for ways and means and a person to help. 

About Late Mr Devdas Adidela

Devdas, a banker, first came in contact with Benjamin when both were working in Mumbai. Benjamin knew of his good nature and approached him to help start something. He expressed his inability to run a school. So, both explored other areas and came up with Ambedkar Scholarships. Both decided to start small, but continue it without any hindrance, rain or shine. Thus started Ambedkar Scholarships in 2003 with Rs.15,000 with an advertisement in Andhra Pradesh Newspaper calling applications from Dalit students for a scholarhsip of Rs. 5,000 each, one for a boy and another for a girl and Rs. 5,000 reserved for expenses. Benjamin further deposited Rs. 240,000 in 2003 in an India bank as a certificate deposit to give scholarships without hindrance year after year, rain or shine. We got around 40 scholarships that year. These were all students from the most oppressed communities with social, economical, education backwardness. Their parents were mostly laborers with no or little education. These kids, though brilliant, don’t have anyone to encourage them or guide them. They become laborers for themselves during holidays to help their parents earn a living. So, we want to encourage them through Ambedkar Scholarships. Rs. 5,000 is a one time grant and not a big amount to cover most of their educational expenses. Still, we want to “pat on the back” for their hard work by recognizing it. 

By word of mouth and internet influence, more and more people started coming forward to help Ambedkar Scholarships to introduce more scholarships. Later Ambedkar Scholarships was renamed as Friends for EduInternational or FFEI and registered both in the US and India in 2008.

Without Mr Devdas help, FFEI wouldn’t have been where it is today and so FFEI indebted to Devdas. He passed away in 2011.