342 students in flood-hit areas get gift of education on Diwali

The festival of lights —Diwali— turned out to be truly bright for 342 students belonging to a flood-hit border area, as activists of an international service organisation paid their school fees and covered the cost of stationery through scholarship camps that were held at their schools.

District covernor 3090 Bhupesh Mehta and past district governor Amjad Ali, led teams of volunteers and organised camps at various schools near the Hussainiwala border.

Chairman of the project, PDG Vijay Arora, said enthusiasts had roped in volunteers from various units of the organisation in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, besides Rotary Club, Mumbai, to support the education of students who had been hit by the recent floods.

“Having learnt about the failure of flood-hit families in border areas to continue supporting the education of their wards, we planned to launch a campaign to connect Diwali to the pursuit of excellence in education,” said DG Mehta, appreciating the enthusiasts for collecting about Rs 6 lakh for the cause.

In the first phase of the mission, students were picked from KR Model School at Hazare ke village (180 students); SBS School, Bhanne ke village (147 students); and Gurukul School, near Hussainiwala border (15 pupils). Organisers also provided blankets and woollens to all students in view of the forthcoming winter.

PDG Ali said the initiative reflected the organisation’s ongoing commitment to community service and empowerment through education as one of the seven focus areas of service. “Though initially we had received requisition of only 342 students, we have coordinated with office-bearers and activists of units of other borders for organising more camps soon,” said Ali, maintaining that helping needy and deserving students was the best avenue of service.