These Students From Mumbai Raised 43 Lakhs To Give Disabled Villagers a New Life
If education’s purpose is to serve society, this bunch of young schoolkids is doing just that. Students of a school in the heart of the city- — Bombay Scottish School in Mahim — are collecting funds to help provide artificial limbs to those from remote villages in the backward Vidarbha region.
As many as 156 of these students from classes 9 to 12 have so far raked in more than Rs 43 lakh through crowdfunding. The funds, which have poured in from 1,428 people from across 165 towns in India, will not just offer the villagers a prosthetic limb, they will give them mobility and a “new shot at life”.
The work by the little hands has touched the doctor who is coordinating this effort. “It’s heart-warming that these young children have taken this initiative to such a height,” said Dr Sunder Subramanium, of the NGO, Freedom Trust, which is coordinating this project in an interview with Times of India.
Each of the students had set for themselves a target to garner at least Rs 20,000. So far, at least 100 of them have met their targets and some of them have crossed the minimum amount. Four of them have have gone beyond Rs 1 lakh in just 10 days.
The cost of each limb tots up to Rs 10,000. Scratch beneath the numbers and the sheer effort of the students translates into changing the lives of more than 400 people living with a physical challenge. The campaign ends on November 19, by which time the students hope to collect Rs 50 lakh.
Ansh Patel, a class XI student, who tapped his parents’ contact lists, said he was worried if people would even hear me out. “But, once I started sending messages, the response was great,” he said.
Dia Parasrampuria, a class XI student who raised Rs 1.43 lakh, said her father was a “big help” in the effort.
Saachi Kamat, a class XI commerce student who has collected Rs 1.28 lakh, is thrilled at how strangers helped. “About 80% of funds I receoved came from people I didn’t know,” said Saachi.
Ranganath Thota, founder of ‘fueladream’, the crowdfunding site on which the funds are being collected, said crowdfunding maximizes storytelling, and social media to maximize impact.
Maryam Mozayan, who who has raised Rs 1.34 lakh so far, said she did it only because, “helping people makes me happy”.
In a similar vein, a crowdfunding initiative by Bengaluru’s Delhi Public School North set out to raise Rs 17 lakh for those suffering from congenital heart disease. Crish Chengappa, a class 10 student from the school at the time, raised Rs 2,00,500. Read about this initiative here.
Ketto & The Differently Abled
Since its inception, Ketto has been a champion of those that are physically handicapped in India. Click on the links below to view crowdfunding projects it has been involved with for disability alleviation efforts. If you feel inspired, you can start your own project with Ketto as well.
Ketto Blog remains committed to inspiring and compelling social change to India’s most pressing problems through the power of great stories and engaging our audiences to take meaningful action.
