Bengaluru kids crowdfund over Rs 35 lakh for 3,580 cataract surgeries

BENGALURU: Children from a city school have raised Rs 35.8 lakh in just 10 days for cataract surgeries of 3,580 senior citizens.
The feat was achieved by 110 students of Vidyashilp Academy, Yelahanka, who took to a crowdfunding platform – FuelADream.com — to raise funds for surgeries of 3,580 elderly residents of villages in the Hoskote-Kolar-Chintamani belt. The students had initially set a target of Rs 22.4 lakh for surgeries of 2,400 elderly villagers.
Four of the students collected more than Rs 1 lakh — Khushi Karmokar (Rs 1,35,611), Gaayathri Dinesh Thampi, (Rs 1,32,000), Mahika Pai Mizar (Rs 1,15,500) and Karan Dadlani (Rs 1,03,000).
The students of class 9, 10 and 11, who started their campaign on June 18, and those of class 12 who began on June 25, aimed to raise Rs 20,000 each, but exceeded their target, only to draw inspiration to do more. Four more days are to go for the campaign to end.
The surgeries, which will take place in the rural areas of Hoskote, Kolar, Chintamani have been subsidised from Rs 4,200 to Rs 1,000 by a city-based NGO, The Rotary Bangalore Indiranagar. The Globe Eye Foundation will carry out the surgeries.
“I was sceptical if I’d manage to collect even Rs 20,000, which was our initial goal. But after we were trained by Ranganath Thota, the founder of this platform, I was super excited and couldn’t wait to get home and start the campaign,” said 16-year-old Khushi. She collected the highest amount from 36 funders.
But what were they exactly trained in? Thota said it’s all about empathy as well as understanding people’s behaviour. “Little things like starting off with higher donations and being polite and soft while talking to people, were effective. I couldn’t believe my eyes when the donations went up so quickly,” said Khushi, who was initially helped by her dad and his friends. Soon, by word of mouth, more people funded her cause through the platform.
“It made me think about my communication skills and its use in real life situations,” said Mahika. The student said the best part was that unknown people donated huge sums of money and made her realise people do love helping others. “I received Rs 10,000 from three donors, which was the highest,” said Mahika.
Vidyashilp’s principal Kalai Selvi said, “Children of my school have always been involved in social programmes by getting in touch with orphanages and underprivileged children. A group of them had funded Rs 65,000 for children in a home who bathed with cold water for years. I learn that they now have access to hot water, thanks to solar-powered heaters.”
How they did it
“It’s incredible how these students can make such a meaningful and immediate impact on the lives of those who need help. The fact that 3,580 elderly villagers will get the gift of sight, thanks to these 110 wonderful students is mind-boggling,” Ranganath Thota, founder of FuelADream, said. Thota has organised several such campaigns for other social initiatives.