While growing up we are all taught moral science lessons of having compassion, humility and affection for others. But we tend to forget all the lessons we have learnt as a kid. Yet, we are often reminded of being empathetic to others by watching the kids do the little acts of kindness. And this school in Kochi proves testimony to that.
Owing to the increase in the number of dropouts in the school, the students of Little Flower UP School at Kaloor, Kochi decided to help their classmates (hailing from financially backward families) in not dropping out of school by buying ration for them. The school that was on the verge of shutting down due to the drop in the number of students’ enrolment has now become an educational hub all thanks to their unique initiative led by the students, reported NIE.
“We were at our wits’ end and running the school had become a major problem. To keep the school up and running I was paying the salary of teachers from my pocket. It was around this time that we launched our first project. The students made bookmarkers and organised a sale. Not only was the sale a huge success but it drew attention to the plight of the school,” said headmistress Maria Lilly.
From there they went on to their next ‘eco-friendly’ initiative of making Ernakulam plastic-free. With the help of their family members and teachers, the students were able to earn Rs 3,210 by selling cloth bags made by them. The money earned was then used to buy a month’s ration for students coming from financially backward families.
“The students plan to use the money earned from the sale of the bags to buy a month’s ration for three of their schoolmates who hail from financially backward families. The decision was entirely theirs and the teachers had no role. This was the second project undertaken by the school. The students were given a target of making around 10 bags using discarded clothes. The bags cost between Rs. 5 and Rs. 50,” said Lilly.
Post the success of their second initiative, the number of pupils in the school rose from 80 to 117. “Today we have 117 students and 70 per cent of them are from migrant families,” said Maria Lilly.
It’s heartwarming to see kids caring about their friends and giving them an opportunity to get themselves educated. Their little act of kindness also saved the school from shutting down. Well, this is the kind of world I want to live in.