About
R. Sagaya Angelin Shalini
Better known publicly as Shalini Robert — 23, Chennai. Civil engineer. Varsity tennis player. Founder of The Roberts Trust Foundation. "Amma" to more than a hundred girls across Tamil Nadu.
Shalini grew up in Chennai in a household where her father, A. Robert Bellarmin, modelled civic responsibility daily. Birthdays and milestones were marked not with insular family gatherings but with meals at orphanages and hours spent with the elderly. That framing — that human connection is worth more than detached donation — sits at the centre of everything she does now.
She studied Civil Engineering at SSN College of Engineering, where she also represented the institution in Women's Tennis. The discipline of solitary, mentally demanding sport prepared her for the field work she does today — travelling alone, often to remote rural pockets of Tamil Nadu, to assess and support isolated families.
In February 2024 she returned to SSN's Civil Engineering Department as an invited expert speaker, leading sessions on grassroots mobilisation and youth-led civil society.
"I decided to become the person I needed."
A timeline of becoming.
2021
Volunteering begins
While studying Civil Engineering, Shalini begins volunteering at Jeeva Ratchanai children's shelter in Chennai, funding provisions through a ₹5,000/month content-writing job.
28 February 2022
The accident
Her father, A. Robert Bellarmin, dies in a road accident on the way to her college hostel. For nearly an hour she stands on the road in bloodstained clothes, met only by bystanders filming her grief.
August 2023
@shalini_robert_ launches
She begins sharing her grief, her work, and her belief that presence matters more than money — quickly building a community of mutual support.
January 2024
The Pongal drive goes viral
A Pongal distribution in Besant Nagar turns into a defining moment. The community grows from 189K to 267K+ followers within a year.
16 August 2024
The Roberts Trust Foundation
Registered on her late father's birth anniversary. A permanent institution to extend her work to women, children, the elderly, the disabled, and the transgender community.
28 February 2025
TEDxSriSairamIT
On the third anniversary of the accident, she delivers "The Love Effect" — a public dedication to her father, three years to the day.
TEDxSriSairamIT · 28 February 2025
"I wasn't injured one bit. I believe my father gave his life and asked me to live. Three years on the same day, I hope he's sitting in the front row. So let me reintroduce myself: Hi, this is Shalini Robert — creating impact through love."Watch the talk