It is that time of the year again! The monsoon is here, schools have started, new notebooks are being covered in brown paper, textbooks are being sniffed, a brand new school bag, pencil boxes, water bottles, pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, new geometry boxes...what excitement! I remember, when I was in school (by the way, I did go to school), I used to pester my parents every year for a new school bag and pencil box. In those days, a magnetic pencil box with multiple storage areas (made in Japan), used to be the ticket to super-stardom in the classroom and I always wanted one. In my 1st to 3rd grade, I used to lose one eraser almost everyday! My mother had bought a carton of erasers (wholesale) and my grand-mother would put one everyday in my pencil box, clearly knowing that this eraser would not return in the evening. The mystery of how I managed to lose one eraser everyday has joined the ranks of some of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the Earth (akin The Bermuda Triangle). The excitement of carrying your new school bag, freshly covered notebooks, textbooks, new geometry box, pencils, scent erasers and some innovative sharpeners is still unmatched. I would be waiting to reach the school! I never imagined that there were children who could not even afford a normal plastic pencil box, or a few pencils or erasers. How fortunate and blessed I was! Here is an opportunity for all of us to give back what we took for granted for years. A new academic year is starting at the Ramchandra Yepre school on the 17th of June 2013. And we need a lot, as new students are joining as I write this and this year we have a list of 20 students who are economically challenged who need everything from shoes, uniforms, belt, tie, books etc. I have listed the details in the Immediate Need page. Please 'give' generously. These children are extremely deserving and some are very bright. I would not be surprised to see some of them shine and become immensely successful in life. The credit for that success would be accrued to you. Remember, what we spend in a lunch/dinner at a restaurant can educate a child for a year! Write to me (k.narssimhan@commitcares.org) or call me on +91-9820026636 for more information. As Thiruvalluvar says in one of his kurals, "The benevolent expect no return for their dutiful giving. How can the world ever repay the rain cloud?" And it is raining... |
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