12-year-old raises funds for Uttarakhand victims

As she watched a programme on the Uttarakhand tragedy telecast on TV recently, 12-year-old Renuka Gawali couldn’t hold back her tears.

It took Renuka’s mother about 15 minutes to calm her down and that’s when she told her mother that she wanted to do something for the victims of the tragedy. Since that day, Renuka whose father works as a security guard at University of Pune, has been collecting whatever she could get from friends, neighbours and teachers.

Donations ranged from Rs100 that her school principal SP Patil gave to Re1 from a young friend.
One week later, the girl who had emptied her entire piggy bank, managed to collect Rs2,620.

On Thursday, she handed over the money to her principal who promised her that the money would be sent to Uttarakhand through a private bank which is facilitating such donations.

Renuka’s mother Anita said the idea of raising fund came to her when she saw children from Uttarakhand donating all the money that had in their piggy banks. “She decided to collect money and we encouraged her to do so,” said her father Kailas Gawali who offered her Rs500 as donation because he though people might not help her. “But she refused to accept the amount and told me that she would convince people. Later she accepted Rs50 from me.”

In fact, Renuka who is a Class VII  student of Kendriya Vidyalaya No1 school in Dehu Road, began her drive from her school principal. “I was surprised as young girl of her age has an urge to help people in distress. I gave her Rs100 and a certificate after which she collected over Rs2,500,” Patil said.

Renuka, however, doesn’t feel any special. “I started collecting money and people gave me Rs10 each, some kids gave me Re1. I collected money from my neighbourhood and school. A few friends of my father too donated money,” she said.