ON A MISSION TO HELP UNDERPRIVILEGED

Helping people is all that matters — this mantra inspired Rohan Chadha to conceptualise his idea — Shri Sahayataa, at the age of 13. Now, the 16-year-old student of The Shri Ram School, Gurgaon is on a mission to provide health care essentials (first-aid kits) free of cost to the underprivileged, who reside in the underdeveloped villages of Gurgaon and Delhi.

Sharing an incident, he says, “One day, I was doing community service at a village in Gurgaon where I came across a girl whose nose was bleeding. And this girl’s family didn’t know how to treat her.” This lack of knowledge pertaining to basic treatments compelled him to start this project.

In December 2016, Chadha along with volunteers successfully distributed over 100 first-aid kits in two villages in Gurgaon (Sukrali and Ghata) as part of the first cycle of the project. However, this wasn’t an easy task. “Each kit came at a price of about `320 which included the basic first aid requirements — bandages for small, medium and large wounds, crocin for cough and flu, and various other medicines. We needed over `40,000.” In order to raise money, he along with a group of volunteers organised two fundraisers events, including an art exhibition. Chadha wants to make the drive a regular feature, and aims to distribute over 500 kits by the end of 2017. “To fulfil this, we are looking for sponsorship for the next cycle. I have spoken to a team of doctors who will do free checkups every three months for these people. We need all the support we can get to take this project forward,” he says.

If we are able to help even a small percentage of people, the children of these families will grow up in a safer and healthier environment ROHAN CHADHA, STUDENT