Mumbai sisters raise Rs 3 lakh for Matheran horse owners

Dania and Rida Khan pack ration kits for the horse owners of Matheran

Moved by the struggle for survival of the horse owners of Matheran due to Covid-19, two sisters are spearheading a crowdfunding campaign to arrange for food and fodder for them. Students of Bombay Scottish school in South Mumbai, Dania, 12, and Rida Khan, 15, have so far raised Rs 3 lakh, enough to buy 15,000 kg of fodder and 2,500 kg of ration. They have already started distribution of food kits at the hill station, about 80 km from Mumbai.

The ration kits being loaded onto a truck

"A few weeks ago, we learnt about the plight of the horses and horse owners of Matheran in our school group chat. It tugged at our heartstrings. We researched and found out that the second wave of Covid-19 has virtually led the horses to starvation," said Dania.

Horse owners at Matheran are heavily dependent on tourists. Since the beginning of the lockdown in 2020, they do not have a steady income. Around 400 Matheran horses are facing starvation and their owners have sought help from the government and people, she said.

"We both wanted to do our part and decided to distribute ration kits to the horse owners and fodder for their horses. We took a call to help them get up back on their feet through crowdfunding," said Rida. The girls used Nobody Ever Sleeps Hungry, a fundraising platform, to take the cause ahead. Rida said she had worked with NESH before.

"To spread the word we posted write-ups and articles on WhatsApp messages, Dania also runs an Instagram account [@bookomaniacal] where she posted about this initiative," said Rida. With an accumulation of Rs 3 lakh so far, the girls' efforts seem to have paid off.

Matheran being a tourist town, Covid-19 has badly hit its horse owners

"We have realised that we need to collect more than our initial goal and have raised our target to Rs 4 lakh. We hope that we will be able to reach this goal soon and help the horses and horse owners of Matheran," said Dania. She said the collected money can buy 15 metric tonnes of animal feed and 2,500 kg of ration.

"We have currently distributed 100 ration kits. We have placed an order for the fodder and will be distributing it next week. We are also coordinating with the other NGOs and animal lovers including YODA, Khalsa Helping hands, Matheran Stray feeders campaign, Lions club," said Rida.

The girls have also urged government authorities to intervene. "We have sent request letters to the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Animal Husbandry Sunil Kedar, who has taken note of our request and informed us that the matter is being looked into. We are hopeful that the ministry will come up with a long-term solution," said Rida.

Rs 4 lakh
The revised fundraising goal of the sisters