Unending hope: Second year MIT student raises `50,000 by gathering contributions from New Year revellers
Last week, while the whole world was busy making plans for the New Year party, this Good Samaritan was patiently gathering life for a teenager fighting with cancer. The, boy Akash Shah, a second year MIT diploma student, for the past one week, has been working hard to raise funds for the 17-year-old girl’s surgery, which requires Rs8 lakh.
He gathered funds by asking people to contribute a small amount of what they kept aside for their New Year parties. He managed to raise over Rs 50,000.
The girl Parnavi Kherade, who was diagnosed of cancer last year, belongs to a poor family. A standard XII student of Symbiosis College, she was diagnosed with left femur ewing’s sarcoma (cancerous tumor in left thigh bone) in September. She has been advised surgery which is scheduled on January 6 at Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. When Akash (17), heard about Parnavi, he started raising funds for her. Akash has reportedly taken up such projects of social work before this too.
“I know Parnavi through a college friend, who told me about her condition. Parnavi’s mother is a single parent and she works with a private firm and makes just Rs 21,000 a month. The approximate cost for her treatment is Rs8 lakh and it is not possible for her mother to gather the amount alone. So I decided to help her with the little funds I could gather,” Akash said.
Shah contacted friends and relatives and even appealed to people through social networking sites to raise more funds. He also did not hesitate to go out on the streets during Christmas and New Year celebrations asking for help from people. “Besides friends, a lot of other people too donated money for the cause and I was able to gather the amount,” said Akash.
Geeta Snehavardini Mahila Mandal is an active group of 20 women who collect funds for social causes. The mandal also donated Rs5,000.
“My mother in law, Vilasini Kale is a member of the group. They collect Rs100 per month and donate it to the needy. Akash approached me and when he told me about Parnavi’s condition and I informed my mother-in-law about the case. They immediately donated Rs5,000,” said Sheetal Kale, a resident of Bibwewadi.
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