For B. Sarayamma and her three children, it was a memorable day.
They are residents of Muktapur in Narayanakhed mandal. Keshuram, husband of Sarayamma, passed away on March 3, 2018. Since then, Sarayamma has been taking care of the children – Savitha, Akhila and Anitha (13, 11 and eight respectively). They are staying in a shed made with asbestos sheets on all sides. Sarayamma is a daily labour and the entire family depends on her income.
A few days ago, on July 12, they had guests — a team of seven members of the Sarvodaya Grama Seva Foundation, who had come to help the children of the family get educated.
“My husband passed away in 2018. Our elder daughter Savitha is studying in eighth class, Akhila sixth class and Anitha third class. We purchased a site when he was alive and constructed a shelter with asbestos sheets. That is the only solace in life. Knowing about our fate, some persons came here and promised to get my children educated. They said a monthly stipend will be transferred into their account every month to support their education,” Sarayamma told The Hindu. Anitha got a seat in a residential school at Siddipet and she was yet to join as admission process was on hold. She said the foundation members had promised to provide a better shelter to her family.
Sarvodaya Foundation, an NGO working in the district based at Gonglur of Pulkal mandal, initiated the process of supporting the education of children who lost the bread-earner of the family to corona or for other reason. A few weeks ago, the foundation organised a meeting at Gonglur to identify such children and about 29 were identified. The first month stipend, totalling ₹62,750, was transferred to them in the second week of the month.
“Our intention is to ensure that education of children, particularly girls, is not stopped. Our friends, some of them doctors, are coming forward to support our initiative and each of them is adopting a family to provide education,” Dr. P. Sudhakar Naik, Deputy Commissioner, Income Tax, and coordinator of the foundation, told The Hindu.