ANBAGAM began as a Day-Care institution in 1970 with 7 mentally retarded children. As Dr. Thangaraj said in his 25th anniversary address to the Institution, "Our first job was to build awareness and educate the public that mental retardation was quite different from mental illness, and that retarded children could be trained in both self-help skills and gainful employment skills that would enable them to live an independent and dignified life. It took a long time for the message to be understood and accepted, and, as the awareness grew, more and more parents with mentally handicapped children brought them out for training."

Thanks to the efforts of the Collector of Madurai, the Govt. of Tamilnadu assigned 65 cents of land on Race Course Road for the ANBAGAM Special School, and later, 3 acres near the D.R.O. Colony for the ANBAGAM Rehabilitation Center. The foundation stone was laid by Sardarni Ujjal Singh, the wife of the Governor of Tamilnadu, the Hon'ble Ujjal Singh. A donation of Rs. 3 lakhs from the World Council of Churches together with local donations of Rs. 2 lakhs enabled ANBAGAM's Governing Council to begin construction of the ANBAGAM Special School. On 16th Feb 1973, one wing was completed and declared open by the Rev. Kentaro Buma, Asia Secretary for the World Council of Churches. The Collector of Madurai, Mr. Seetharam Das, presided. On the 11th Dec 1973, the completed building was dedicated by the Governor of Tamilnadu, the Hon'ble K. K. Shah, for the Glory of God and Service to the Mentally Retarded. The school strength stood at 32 children.

In 1974 construction began on the ANBAGAM extension Rehabilitation Center with donations from
Dr. and Mrs. Thangaraj. Various cottages and sheds for Carpentry and Weaving were constructed with donations from family members, friends and well-wishers from India and abroad. An open well was dug and fitted with a motor and pump. Vocational training began at ANBAGAM Extension.

The next year, assistance from the Indo-German Social Service Society enabled the construction of a Mini Dairy Farm, a Mini Agricultural Farm, the purchase of Book Binding and File Making machinery, and the construction of bore wells with electric pumps.

The ANBAGAM sheltered workshops were completed in 1976 with aid from the Nederlands Comite Voor Kinder Post Zegels. TVS Charities made worthy contributions by donating raw materials to teach the children Book Binding, Paper Works, Cloth Weaving and the Making of Grass Mats.

In 1977 the Christoffel Blinden Mission (CBM) of Germany entered into partnership with ANBAGAM through their regional representative, Mr. P. Gnanadurai Michael, giving full maintenance support to 20 children and part support towards staff salaries.

The Government of Tamilnadu recognized ANBAGAM as a special school in 1977. The following year, the school strength stood at 72 children. The Christoffel Blinden Mission (CBM) donated a van and extended support to 10 more children. The Govt. of India, Ministry of Welfare, gave 90% Grant-In-Aid for the construction of 2 cottages, for the boys and girls at ANBAGAM Extension. The balance of 10% was financed by CBM.

In 1978, the Federation for the Mentally Retarded, India, supported the production of a documentary film on ANBAGAM, directed by Prof. J. Vasanthan, of the American College, Madurai. The film won an award at the Asian Conference held in Bangalore that year.

In 1979 Dr. Walter Herter of CBM was so moved by the sight of severely and profoundly retarded children at ANBAGAM that he immediately sanctioned the construction of a 2-storeyed building for housing 25 children and staff. The building was declared open by His Excellency, the Governor of Tamilnadu, Shri Prabhu Das Patwari.

Half of ANBAGAM Extension was waterlogged in the rainy season. The YMCA/YWCA of Ottawa, Canada, under the auspices of Mrs. Anne Pearson, their secretary, came to the rescue by financing a land reclamation program and the construction of a wall around the premises to protect the children. The remaining low-lying area of ANBAGAM extension has proven to be a blessing, providing a perennial supply of water to the bore wells, through careful water management and recycling.

1980 witnessed the construction of an open-air amphitheatre, financed by parents and friends. The same year, the Indo-German Social Service Society helped set up a Mini-Poultry Farm as part of ANBAGAM's vocational rehabilitation program.

In 1981, ANBAGAM ventured on a rural survey program covering 6 villages with financial help from Comite Voor Post Zegels of Nederlands. Twenty five moderately retarded children and 3 severely retarded children were located and brought to ANBAGAM for care and training. A Parent/Teacher forum was formed for better rapport and to help follow up on the children at their homes. A similar survey in 1983 turned up 16 mentally retarded children with an I.Q. between 35 and 60 who were brought to ANBAGAM for training. These led to the establishment of a Counseling Center in 1983.

In 1984, based on the results of the above surveys and follow-up training, ANBAGAM launched a Home-Based Project for Early Detection, Intervention, Rehabilitation and Integration, in collaboration with UNICEF and with the concurrence of the Govt. of India. The project covered a population of 25,000 people in 5000 families, in 8 rural and 6 urban areas.

ANBAGAM then entered a period of consolidation and assimilation of the growth that had taken place over the past 15 years. More sheds were built and more bore wells sunk. A Printing Press was installed with financing from CBM. An indoor auditorium was built in honor of the late Mr. And Mrs. Alaga Sundaram Chettiar, by their three daughters, and was opened by the Hon'ble Union Minister for Home Affairs, New Delhi, Mr. Chidambaram, in 1987. A parental counseling center and child guidance clinic were established in 1988 with assistance from CBM and Dr. Herter.

Dr. and Mrs. Thangaraj had one more major project in mind, as a natural extension of the Institution, and that was to build a college to train teachers in Special Education. Suresh Bernard Thangaraj Teachers' Training College (named for their son who had Down's syndrome) opened in 1991, at the ANBAGAM Extension campus, with financing from Hans-Herter Indienhelfe, and endowment money from the Thangaraj's and ANBAGAM. The college offers a B.Ed. course in Special Education and is affiliated with Madurai Kamaraj University. The students of the college get hands-on training in working with the mentally retarded children of ANBAGAM.

Now that their vision for ANBAGAM was complete, and owing to advancing age, the founders found it necessary to obtain assistance in the day-to-day running of ANBAGAM, which they had handled without any remuneration since its inception. After considerable research, they approached the Sisters of St. Anne of Tiruchirapalli, who have extensive experience in service to the disabled. The sisters agreed to take over the management of the Institution under the direction of the ANBAGAM Governing Council. Dr. and Mrs. Thangaraj gradually handed over more and more responsibility to them, but continued to live on the campus, in the cottage that they had built. Dr. Thangaraj focused his energy on SBT College, winning University Affiliation for the B.Ed. course.

With the new Millennium came a dynamic new Principal for SBT College, Dr. Jayachandan Gabriel, who proceeded to put SBTTTC on the national scene. He started a joint program with Bhoj Open University, helped with drafting the syllabus and with resource materials for Special Education for the National Council for Teacher Education and won a "Very Good" rating from the NCI. He developed Computer Assisted Instructional materials, and telecast programs on Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy and Early Intervention, for the benefit of the families of disabled persons.

The day after Christmas, 2003, Dr. Thangaraj went to his eternal reward at the age of 85. No one can step into those giant shoes, and it has fallen upon several people to carry on his vision. The President of ANBAGAM, Sr. Edwige, of the St. Anne's of Tiruchirapalli Generalate, and the ANBAGAM Governing Council continue to set the policies and guidelines for the Institution, while the SBT College Principal and Council set the policies and guidelines for the college as an academic institution, in accordance with University regulations. Sr. Edwige and Dr. Gabriel are carrying forward the founders' vision with help from the Thangaraj family members and close friends of the founders.

SPECIAL SCHOOL
Children admitted to ANBAGAM are tested by Psychologists and categorized into groups based on their mental development. There are two caregivers and one teacher for every ten children. The first stage of training focuses on essential personal skills such as brushing teeth, bathing, toileting and eating without assistance. Once past this stage, the children are taught to read, write and speak. They are trained to recognize and understand articles used in daily life. Examples include coins and money, colors, telling time and traffic rules. They then progress to vocational training to learn skills that can enable them to earn a livelihood. Training is imparted in dairy farming, poultry farming, agricultural farming, carpentry, cloth weaving, mat weaving, embroidery, tailoring, printing, composing, book binding and file making.

ANBAGAM imparts regular physical training to the children in a variety of games and sports as well as yoga and meditation. The children have performed very well in numerous sporting events for the disabled, and have regularly taken home gold, silver and bronze medals.

ANBAGAM has also opened five outreach centers for children in villages around Madurai.