10-YEAR-OLD ON VACATION IN KERALA RAISES FUNDS GOING DOOR-TO-DOOR
A Grade 5 student of the Kindergarten Starters (KGS) Samih Mahamood Manas, who was in Kerala for his summer vacation, decided to help people who needed support after floods hit their homes.
Although Samih and his family were not affected by the floods, he constantly checked the news channels to see where and how much damage was caused by the floods in other areas around him.
He also accompanied his father Sameer Mahamood to help in the cleaning process of flood-ravaged areas like Wayanad. “The condition of the place and people affected him deeply and without even telling us, he decided to do something to help the people,” Sameer told Khaleej Times.
Samih gathered his friends from his neighborhood and made a money collection box. He along with his friends then walked around his town asking for funds for the affected families and managed to raise about Rs5,000 which he handed over to the district collector of his area.
Happy about his son’s efforts, Sameer said: “Samih did this collection of funds without telling anything to either me or his mom. He would just go out with his friends collecting funds for the victims and we would wonder what he was doing out all day. He heard about the floods through newspapers and TV channels.
“We only learnt about his funds collection when a friend of mine clicked his picture while collecting funds door-to-door and wrote me a message that you should be proud of your son that at such a young age he is so sensitive towards the sufferings of those around him.
“Samih handed over all the amount to the head master of Katalur Govt High School who further passed it to the district collector. As a father, it was a great moment of joy.
“Samih loves social work. He is very affected by how people around him are doing. In Dubai, he regularly visited labour accommodations, especially during Ramadan, to distribute Iftar meals to workers.,” he added.
Appreciating the efforts of the young KGS boy, KGS Principal Asha Alexander, said: “Our students and staff will return and recount stories of resilience, of contribution and participation in other relief camps. We see no better way of educating our young ones than through these opportunities to resolve a problem and rise to the challenge it presents.”
Happy to help, 10-year-old Samih, said: “It was a great moment of happiness for me and I joined relief work to be a role model to other students. What propelled me to take up this initiative was because I could see people of my country were in need as they faced adversity. I couldn’t just sit at home comfortably thinking I am safe. Also, when I heard my school in Dubai was organising a good initiative, I wanted to show my solidarity.”