A moving act

It has widely come to be known that the public educational system in Punjab needs a lot of help. The Punjabis settled abroad rue over this mess but beyond it, they hardly do anything to remedy the situation. But 15 year- old- boy Saahil Rai, a high school student in California, USA has resolved to do whatever he can to set things right.

His paternal family is from Nabha. They migrated to the USA five decades ago. “After having heard tales about the deplorable condition of the government school in which my grandfather had studied, I decided to do my best to improve things on my own,” shares the young lad. As a result, Saahil devised a project he named Aid For Learning, and then approached his family members. “My grandfather and I got in contact with the principal of the school who confided in us of the direst needs. One such need was of 50 desks for the high school students to sit upon in their classroom. I was deeply moved when I saw a picture of the high school students sitting on the floor of the classroom in the school where my grandfather attended,” adds he.

So, he raised money any way he could, working in his grandparents vineyards, collecting recyclables, selling samosas he made with his grandmother and fundraising through his blog and website aidforlearning.org. In a matter of two months, Saahil managed to raise more than Rs one lakh. He and his grandparents then traveled to Nabha from California to personally present the desks to the students. “This made me set my eyes on my next endeavour.” — TNS