While Vinodhini studied under street lights to prepare for her class XII exams, P Swapna lost her books in the Chennai floods in December. But then when has anything come in the way of champions to achieve what they want? Despite such adversities, both the girls scored very high in their respective Board exams of class XII. But the biggest challenge for them, or so it seemed was arranging funds for their higher studies. It is one thing to not be able to achieve a dream, and it’s a different ball game when you see your dream slipping away even without trying. Something similar was in store for this gallant, poor women, but little did they know that TOI’s compelling story telling will change their lives forever.
After TOI profiled the candidates over a fortnight, who requested for help, they embarked on a campaign by the name ‘Reach Out’. And lo and behold! Even before the profiling of the last candidate was done, they had already received some 28 lakhs worth of cheques drawn in favour of these underprivileged students, most of whom are from Chennai Corporation-run schools and have scored in the 85%-95% range. The two girls Vinodhini and Swapna were among the 12 students who emerged victorious from underprivileged backgrounds.
Indeed the humanity showed by the people, the nation over, in providing Financial Aid to students, have left the mothers of the recipient of these funds speechless and forever grateful. In words of Ashwini’s mother, this is no less than giving a new life to them. She recalled how sad and upset they were when Ashwini said she wanted to study engineering for higher studies. But what seemed as a distant dream once, now looks like a feasible future for her daughter Ashwini, who received a sum of 1.83 lakhs out of the fund. Thus TOI office on Thursday really saw humanity meeting brilliance to drive out poverty, paving the way for a new and sunny future for the next generation fighters.
Source: http://goo.gl/RKgvcN
