L V Prasad Eye Institute - The LVPEI Connection - LV Prasad Eye ...

Health and Education for AllMr Kode Satyanarayana, a successful industrialistand a true philanthropist says, “Providing aperson the financial means to educate his/herchildren is one of the best ways you can help someone.”He adds, “Considering the present state of health carein the country and the way some private hospitals drainthe resources of families in the event of sickness, it hasalso been a policy in our organizations to defray some ofthe medical expenses for the needy and deserving cases,whenever possible.”It was this public-spirited attitude that brought Mr KodeSatyanarayana and Dr Gullapalli N Rao and L V PrasadEye Institute (LVPEI) together. The LVPEI model toucheda chord in him, spurring him to be part of a mission toreach out to those in need. Since the year 2000 he hasbeen a major supporter of LVPEI. “Later, when Dr Raoinvited me to be part of the Vijayawada center I grabbedthe opportunity with both hands,” he says.Mr Satyanarayana’s father Mr Kode Venkatadri Chowdarywas Municipal Commissioner of Vijayawada in 1947 andhad served with distinction in various positions acrossthe state till his retirement in 1958, when he was RegionalInspector of Local Administration in charge of six districts.“It was only fitting to name the Vijayawada center aftermy father who was a pillar of strength and a beacon oflight to all of us in the family,” says Mr Satyanarayana.After completing a degree in civil engineering fromAnnamalai University, Mr Satyanarayana worked for awhile in the government and private sector. He moved toHyderabad in 1965 and, a few years later, became part ofa group of four like-minded people to start an enterprisethat set up eight different industries over a period oftime. Spectra Bottling Company and Spectra Foods andBeverages were part of this group. In 1992 when the fourpartners parted ways amicably, Mr Satyanarayana and hisfamily members took over Spectra Bottling and SpectraFoods. The next few years saw a dramatic increase inthe family’s financial well-being as good managementprinciples and hard work, coupled with employee friendlypolicies led to a spectacular 35% compounded annualgrowth rate in all the companies.The family members of Mr Satyanarayana include his wifeMrs Satya Gnana Prasunamba, his daughter and son-in-lawMrs Lalitha and Mr Athota Sudhakar, his eldest son anddaughter-in-law Mr Durga Prasad (Additional DirectorGeneral, Police) and Mrs Sujatha, his youngest son anddaughter-in-law Mr Venkata Ramana and Mrs KV Sandhyaand eight grandchildren, all of whom are professionallywell qualified. Later, the family pooled in to form the KodeVenkatadri Chowdary Charitable Society to undertakesocially responsible activities like helping the needy in theareas of education, health care and old age care.In 1997, when Coca Cola came knocking on the doorthe family sold Spectra Bottling and invested in otherbusinesses. A fair portion went into the CharitableSociety that Mr Satyanarayana had founded to honourhis father. It is from the Kode Venkatadri ChowdaryCharitable Society that the philanthropy spread its wingsto help young people with educational scholarships andprovide health care and old age care for the needy.All the members of Mr Satyanarayana’s family havesupported the building of the Kode Venkatadri Chowdarycampus of L V Prasad Eye Institute at Tadigadapa, a tertiarycare center near Vijayawada, the third of its kind in thestate of Andhra Pradesh. The philanthropy went beyondmere financial support — the family were involved inevery aspect of the design and construction. The Vijayawadacampus began seeing patients on February 16, 2011.Excellence | Equity | Efficiency126