Meet The Kerala-Origin ‘Superhero’ Dad Who Got Awarded For COVID Relief Effort In UK

The UK government has conferred a Keralite dad-son duo with the ‘Points of Light’ Award for his COVID relief charitable efforts. The award has been won by only 1,636 people in the history of Britain.

Prabhu Natarajan and his son have been dressing as superheroes, Santa Claus or Easter Bunny and walking on streets to raise money for charity programs while also delivering food to hundreds of people. He has been making these deliveries dressed as superheroes to boost morale and “distributed thousands of donated eggs while dressed as the Easter bunny,” mentions the UK PM Office official website.

The father and son soon became quite famous for their initiative, and several people came forward to chip in. As a result, they collected a whopping 11,000 pounds in just three months, with which they delivered chocolates, treats, and other food items across Banbury. Natarajan also established his food bank by regularly collecting and delivering food parcels to people in need.

The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself thanked the ‘Banbury Community Hero’ in a personal letter for his work over the last year that brought moments of happiness to the families of Banbury. The letter dubbed his efforts as “staggering achievement,” as he single-handedly achieved the feat of making thousands of deliveries and called him a “True Hero” for delighting children by dressing up in superhero costumes.

Life Beyond Numbers got in touch with the hero of the hour.

In contrast to his current achievements, Prabhu Natarajan comes from a very poor family and used to live in a village in Kerala. His father passed away when he was young, and his mother raised him single-handedly. He had to struggle all his life.

“My mom and I have done all sorts of odd jobs like selling phinyle bottles door to door in return for a little bit of money. She tried her best to teach me and my brother and put us in good schools. I wanted to be a doctor but we had no money. Somehow I grabbed a place in the Indian Army but even for that we needed money and my mom couldn’t afford it. Ultimately I took up a medical transcriptionist course in Bangalore and worked my way up to the living and earning comfortably in the city,” shares Natarajan.

By God’s grace, he met his wife, a nurse, and fell in love and got married. She comes from a well-to-do family; however, she adjusted well with Natarajan. Today they have a lovely son. Everything was going well, but the hardships made Natarajan dream a bit more, and that’s when the family decided to migrate.

The 34-year-old moved to Banbury in March 2020, but the whole world was forced indoors over the pandemic to his dismay. The only good thing was that there was an urgent need for nurses across the country. His wife was instantly hired, and that’s how they could manage a home and security. Natarajan, too, grabbed a job at an old-age home in the vicinity.

However, this did not make him overlook the sorry state of people around him. As the restrictions affected the employment prospects of many, he decided to help them. That’s when he put a post in a Facebook community group wanting to help people in need.

“Just after that, my phone kept buzzing and making innumerable notification sounds as people flooded us with requests. I tried my level best and decided to wear the costumes with my son and do some crowdfunding. We have always tried to help people even back in India. As my work gained momentum, many established people joined the cause and I managed to help these many people,” shares the Banbury star.

Also, read: Chennai’s Cycling And Biking Communities Ensure Last-Mile Connectivity To The COVID-19 Affected

For his selfless service to a community in which he is very new, Natarajan has also been bestowed with the title of “Unsung Hero in North Oxfordshire.” Apart from that, Prabhu has won the ‘Man of the Year‘ nomination of the daily Oxford Mail. He has additionally received an invitation to the prime minister’s dinner party. The Deputy High Commissioner Bengaluru India, Jeremy Pilmore-Bedford, congratulated Natarajan for receiving the prestigious award and thanked Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan for inviting Natarajan and his family to Raj Bhavan. And laurels are still flooding in.

On top of all, Natarajan is set to meet The Royal Highness Queen of England, PM Boris Johnson, and even David Beckham in the coming months!

“The love that I received for my efforts is beyond imagination. I am really thankful for all of it. These days my life actually feels like a living breathing version of Slumdog Millionaire. I may not have a lot of money. But I have received much more than that,” exclaims Prabhu.

An NGO named Lunch Box Project has recently hired Natarajan as its MD seeing his generous attitude and tremendous success at service.

“However, there are still many more people in need. I haven’t been able to reach all. I hope that in the coming days I can manage to reach them,” says Prabhu.

Come what may keep up your humane spirit. You are an inspiration to many.