CHENNAI: For S Rishika, 14, being able to raise money for elderly patients suffering from eye ailments was something she wanted to do. But, she lacked the confidence. She told herself that if she was able to meet half her target, she would have done well.
To her surprise and her school’s, she managed to raise as much as Rs 88,000 within a week via crowdfunding.
It was not just Rishika but all her other schoolmates who were stunned when within 10 days they raised as much as Rs 7.75 lakh. Fueled by passion, these 68 kids from Sherwood Hall School in the city are confident they can achieve the campaign’s goal, which is raising Rs 13.4 lakh for the cataract surgeries of 1,336 patients at Sankara Eye Hospital.
This effort, hosted by Fueladream.com, hopes to provide for subsidised cataract surgeries for the poor and elderly in villages.
Fueladream CEO Rangnath Thota, whose website leads this initiative, said the “cuteness factor could be a draw. Visitors to the site find it intriguing that children are telling these stories despite their lack of polished, erudite writing skills.”
“One of the first questions I was asked was how a cataract surgery could cost just Rs 1,000. I’ve had a grandparent for whom we paid as high as Rs 45,000. We then explained to them how this was a subsidized effort,” Thota added.
Retired Air Force wing commander V Shankar, a trustee at Sankara Eye Hospital said he was delighted with the student’s efforts.
“It is so heartening to see young children exhibit such talent and enthusiasm. I was so surprised when on the day of the launch itself students managed to raise as much as Rs 1.8 lakh. We will be taking the students on a field trip to the hospital and arrange for them to see the patients, who have benefited directly thanks to their efforts,” Shankar said.
The children are also getting their parents to carry out their blitz campaign on social media.
For instance, Trisha H R, 13, worked up the courage to make a pitch at her father’s IT firm asking employees to contribute to the campaign. The firm has a staff of about 80 people.
Article Source: Times of India