South Bombay friends raise funds for those struggling to survive

The group supplies ration kits, school stationery and other necessary items to the identified families

After their Std X exams got cancelled, a group of youngsters from South Bombay started a crowdfunding initiative to help those families who have lost their breadwinners to Covid-19 or have been out of work due to the pandemic. The group of 15 has managed to raise almost Rs 8 lakh, which they are using to supply ration kits, school stationery and other necessary items to the identified families.

Speaking to mid-day, Krishaanu Kapadia, a Std XI student of Hill Spring International School in Tardeo, said, "We had time so we decided to use it productively. While there are already many philanthropic initiatives to help those fighting the disease, we decided to reach out to those for whom survival has become a struggle due to the pandemic."

Kapadia along with two of his friends - Reeyan Udani and Aadit Zaveri - from the same class had started an organisation ‘The Unconventional Project' in June 2020. The youngsters used to conduct several activities online to help those from their age group learn some unconventional skills such as public speaking, creative writing, doing investments among all.

As the situation changed in April this year with the second wave hitting the country, ‘The Unconventional Project' too started to change its focus. "Staying true to our name, we wanted to do something different. And so we decided to identify families who are struggling to survive in the pandemic. Initially we focused on transport staff from our school and started reaching out to more people doing social work amid the pandemic. Slowly we got connected to more families in need," shared Reeyan.

Many of their friends from different schools also joined the initiative to extend support. Rajveer Jain, one of their friends who joined in, said, "The idea was to have more manpower and to make the initiative bigger. As more people joined, each was given a particular responsibility to make the initiative more effective. I started looking after the marketing side."

Through social media the team reaches out to as many individuals as possible. The crowdfunding campaign was live for two weeks and the team managed to raise Rs 7.8 lakh. They are now reaching out to families in need and post a detailed conversation over phone the required items are delivered to them. "This process is followed so that we can ensure that the money is being judiciously spent on those who actually need it," added Kapadia.