A social worker like no other, Mani Joseph is indeed a notch above the rest when it comes to giving back to society. As principal consultant of the De Montfort Youth and Family Consultancy Service which he set up a few years ago, Mani has plenty on his plate.

According to Mani, "the study model is part motivation, counselling and academic". The programme consists of a minimum of 12 sessions after which the parent will decide whether they want their child to carry on.

No doubt, he has confidence in this method not because he founded it, but solely by seeing the results reaped from the 100 over kids that he has taught over the three years since he founded this programme.

Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? Mani's faith in the programme speaks for itself, "if you don't see improvement, you don't have to continue... if by mid-term they (the children) don't pass, I'll refund the money".

In fact, he has recently expanded and now has an office in Kuala Lumpur. Mani intends to one day bring his consultancy service to Burma, his grandfather's homeland.

His eyes lights up when Mani talks about his grandfather, "my grandfather is my basic inspiration ... he went through the war and despite having to clear dead bodies, he never gave up".

So why dabble in social work you ask?

Originally in the Singapore Air Force for six years, the turning point came when Mani came across an SOS advertisement whilst watching a movie. He was curious about what drove people to commit suicide and so he called up SOS. He did a nine-month course with them and the rest they say is history.

"I have a gift of listening", says Mani. He finds joy knowing he is helping others who are in worse situations than him. A patient person who takes pride in what he does, Mani explains his motive of setting up his company, "the whole idea of creating this was not to make money. It's not something that will make me millions of dollars; it's something to put in place to say that, 'hey it can be done'".

He strongly believes in every child's abilities. No one is deemed hopeless. "Who says kids cannot pass exams? A lot of people say smartness is inborn, I say no, it's learnt. Every kid is born intelligent - it's the environment that facilitates their progress".

His is a job that requires plenty of dedication and he manages his time pretty well. His work starts in the morning and ends at night and he has a maximum of six appointments per day.

Mani's philosophy is to be there with the child throughout the learning experience. "Don't just teach, be with them".

Think you might want to undertake the challenge that Mani has taken? Maybe this would help - "If you think that you have something which is valuable and if you think the current company or job you're working with hampers that, explore further. Try it out. Experiment with it. Your experience is your niche", advises Mani.