Sneha Sreekumar
Founder and Managing Director of Shalom Hills Group of Schools in Gurgaon, Dr. Lilly George has made an indelible mark on the education sector as well as in the social and arts field in the National Capital Territory.
Born in an illustrious family, Valiyakizhakkekara of Kottayam, Kerala, Dr. George began her philanthropic life early in life. Her zeal to help fellow human beings was nurtured by an encouraging family. As she grew from a school kid to a gentle but strong and stern lady with undaunted courage of her convictions, Lilly George, who has Master’s Degree in History and Honours in Educational and Social fields, created a niche for her in community development programmes and social work.
Today, the founder of illustrious schools in Gurgoan is well-known as an outstanding social worker involved in community service. Her unending fervour, vast reservoir of talent and immense capacity for hard work, have brought her s. much recogniston in Delhi and outside. Founder-Chairperson of Shalom Group of Schools that run Shalom Hills International School, Shalom Presidency School and Shalom Hills Nursery Schools, Dr. George is a visionary in action. She is adept in the art of igniting spark in anyone who comes within her reach. Her prerogative is not ‘I’ but ‘we’. And she has left no stone unturned in contributing towards women’s health and education.
Dr. George is well-known as an outstanding institution builder and social activist. She was associated with Delhi YWCA for a long time in various capacities and her tenure as its President had seen the YWCA adopting path-breaking and innovative works in the fields of vocational training, education, AIDS Awareness programmes, skill development projects and social work. Deeply affected by the social and economic disparities in the public arena, she has championed and supported many other charitable projects such as the one for the uplift of rag pickers and street children and self-help groups. She also started Shalomalaya, the social service centre, for taking care of the needy and less privileged children.
The Human Rights Commission honoured the Delhi YWCA with an Award for its World Human Rights Promotion activities during Lilly George’s tenure as President.
Dr. George takes active interest in spiritual activities and moral education. She is on the Governing Board of many educational institutions.
As Patron of Delhi Malayalee Association, an umbrella organisation representing over a million Keralites living in Delhi, Dr. George genuinely served the organisation and the community in particular, in various ways. She also served as Principal Adviser (Projects) of the Cultural and Educational Center of the DMA in New Delhi.
Dr. George has been actively associated with the Kerala Education Society. She also partakes in programmes organised by other Malayalee organisations in Delhi, including Kerala Club, Jan Sanskriti etc. She is also on the Advisory Council of few socio-cultural organisations. She is on the Governing Body of a number of educational institutions and takes active interest in spiritual activities and moral education.
In recognition of her service to humanity, especially in the field of education and social work, she was conferred a Degree of Doctor of Humanity. She has also received a number of honours and awards.
Dr. George is a passionate reader and has conceived and directed many skits and musical plays. A humanitarian, Dr. George has spread the message of unity, harmony and social awareness through the medium of theatre, dance and music, Compassion and passion are the distinctive hallmarks of her intrinsically caring and humanitarian nature. Dr George through her commitment to socially relevant issues truly is an institution of kindness, benevolence and sympathy and her contribution in the field of social service and education has become her identity.
Dr. George organised a mega show – My Saviour – a musical drama with around 200 artists, directed by Soorya Krishnamurhy, eminent artist who is Chairman of Sangeet Natak Academy, Kerala. The programme was a grand success that it was staged next day also, in order to accommodate the large audience, belonging to all sections of the society.
Awards and Recognition
Many awards and recognitions have come to Dr. Lilly George as many organisations across India have recognised her contribution to the fields of education and humanitarian causes. Some of them are mentioned here.
In recognition of her service to humanity, especially to the less privileged, the ETS institution awarded her an honorary degree of Doctor of Humanity.
• Mother Teresa Excellence Award for her service to the society, presented by Union Minister of State for Railways at a function held in Chennai in 2004.
• Bhartiya Gaurav Award presented by IED&RA, New Delhi in December 2004.
• Queen Esther Award, instituted by the Christian Leaders Council of India in recognition of her sacrificial service towards humanity in 2005. The Council also gave her a special cash award of Rs.1 lakh, acknowledging the work that she has been doing for the underprivileged. (This Award money was donated to the Rag-Pickers Project (YWCA) in Najafgarh, Delhi).
•Mahila Shiromani Award on International Women’s Day – 08 March 2005 – for her outstanding services to society, presented by Minister PGR Sindhia at a function held in Bangalore in 2005.
• For her contribution in the field of social work, the National News Service, Delhi, honored her with Meri Delhi Award in August 2005. And, in December 2005, she received the Nayak Bharati Award from NNS.
• Acknowledging her service to the society, in particular to the poor and the downtrodden, PECOBA-SAKHA honored her with the first Kalpana Chawla Excellence Award 2006 in February 2006.
• The Madras Telugu Academy honored her with Samaikya Bharath Swarna Puraskar, presented by Governor SM Krishna at a function held in Chennai in 2007.
• Rashtra Gaurav Samman was presented by Global Women Rights Protection Trust for promoting human values and for upholding the rights of women in 2008. • Great Daughter of the Soil award presented by H.E. Sir Anerood Jugnnuth, President of the Republic of Mauritius in 2010.
• Vishisht Puruskar awarded at DMA Diamond Jubilee Ceremony, New Delhi in 2011.
• Spark of Excellence Award for her outstanding contribution in the field of Social Development was presented by Dr Youhanon Mar Demetrios, Metropolitan on behalf of OCYM, Diocese of Delhi in 2012.
• Bharat Gaurav Life-Time Achievement Award presented by Sanskriti Yuva Sanstha at a function held in New York in 2012.
• Best Edupreneur award and Margdarshan award.
The desire of starting a school stemmed from her immense love for children and her desire to serve the community in a valuable and productive way. Armed with her deep faith in God Almighty, her strong resolve and hardworking nature, she saw her vision slowly coming to life after many years of toil. Under her leadership, with the complete support of her Shalom family, and with the unflinching faith and cooperation of the parental community, Shalom Hills International School, Shalom Presidency School and Shalom Hills Nursery Schools have grown today into incredibly vibrant and successful academic institutions that manage to combine cutting edge instruction with an oldworld school charm for its growing student body.
She believes that ‘Education is Empowerment’ and provides a conducive environment for every child to bloom – instilling a sound moral base for character building and in keeping abreast with the constantly advancing technology for the holistic development of a child. Every corner of the school reflects her dream, her progressive thinking and love for the children.
Despite having a meticulously trained and more than competent faculty/staff, she can be seen in the school almost daily and is accessible 24/7. Under her guidance and leadership, her Shalom staff and students are empowered and encouraged to discover new and more creative depths to their nature and have also made their presence easily felt at national and international platforms winning innumerable awards.
Under Dr. Lilly George’s direction, education in the Shalom Presidency School is ‘a joyful and adventurous journey into learning’. She has also initialised a farsighted and inventive SAP – Step Ahead Programme – for the students, which covers all domains of knowledge. Her utmost priority is to ensure that the school offers a homely, safe and harmonious environment to all children, where they are gently initiated into the world of learning. Her farsighted approach that ‘Experience is the quintessence of education’ has resulted in every nook, step and corner of the school being utilized for unveiling the mysteries of Science n Nature to the children in the most natural way.
Dr. George is on the Governing Board of a number of educational institutions and takes active interest in spiritual activities and moral education.
Dr. George is also the Founder of Shalom Hills International School, which has received a number of honours and recognition. The school has earned a unique place in the ‘Guide to Excellence 2013′ featuring the World’s best educational institutions, brought out by the Cambridge University Students Union, for offering ‘Top Class Education’.
With her zeal and immense ability for capacity building in any field that she chooses to focus her energy on, Dr. George has a long way to go. She is a thought leader who can help carve out a successful generation of youth for this great nation.
With Sunil Dutt, actor and former minister.
Dr. George with P.J.Kurien, former Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and M.G. George Muthoot, chairman of Muthoot Finance.
