Students lend helping hand to fire-affected schoolkids
Students have raised money to meet the educational needs of the affected
MUMBAI: As residents of Damu Nagar, Kandivli, look to get their life back on track after a major fire destroyed around 1,000 shanties, the future of the area’s schoolgoing children, many of whom who lost their books and other belongings, looks bleak.
However, help is on its way. A group of students from colleges across Mumbai and its suburbs is reaching out to these children, continuing the city tradition of helping those affected by natural and man-made calamities. Soon after the fire, volunteers from city colleges visited the area to find out what help they could provide. “When I visited the area, we found that many non-governmental organisations (NGOS) are providing food and clothes to the families who lost their homes. But there’s no one to look after the needs of the school-going children, many of whom are due to appear for their class 10 examinations in a few months,” said Rafid Shahab, a student from Father Agnel College of Engineering.
For the children of Damu Nagar, student volunteers have started raising money to meet the educational needs of these. According to Mohammed Salman, a student at Kalsekar Technical Campus in Panvel and Mumbai president of Students Islamic Organisation of India, which is spearheading the donation efforts, around 1,038 students studying in three major schools in the locality have been affected by the tragedy. “The attendance is very poor in the three major schools in the area, as fire has gutted most of the study material and school items. Besides, some of the parents have moved their children to the homes of other relatives,” he said.
The students have so far collected Rs50,000 largely through a campaign that uses the social media. They have purchased educational kits, including study guides, stationery and notebooks, for over 50 students of class 10, which were offered by the supplier on a discounted price. “We had planned to install donation boxes in colleges. The idea was dropped as we got an overwhelming response to the awareness messages posted on Whatsapp,” said Faisal Pathan, a student at Gyan Sadhna College, Thane.
This is not the first incident when students came rushing to the victims of calamities. When a blaze gutted slums in Naya Nagar area of Mahim, a couple of years ago, they had provided them with school bags, compass boxes and items to school children. They had also counselled them to continue their studies. Similar scenes were witnessed in 2010, when hundreds of shanties in Garib Nagar, adjoining Bahrampada slums near Bandra station, were burned down. A group of students from RD National College had then helped rebuild homes and adopted ten families.