8-yr-old donates savings to help flood-hit kids ‘buy books, toys’

The money was submitted to the Thane district collector.

When eight-year-old Kartiki Chavan saw her father Kirankumar Chavan helping various organisations pack utilities for areas affected by the recent floods in Kolhapur and Sangli, she grew curious. When she asked her mother, Pratiksha, about it, she was told it was to help people affected by the floods who were struggling to return to normalcy.

Kirankumar Chavan, 42, a lecturer at a junior college in Thane, said, “Kartiki is very active. She is good at drawing and manages to bag a prize every time she participates in a competition.” (HT image)

“I had some pocket money I had saved from the amount my parents gave me to buy snack items. I had also taken part in various competitions held for kids in our housing society during Ganeshotsav and won cash prizes. I had saved ₹2,000 and I gave this money to my parents,” said Chavan.

“My parents told me that because of the floods the families have lost all their belongings. This left me shocked,” said the Class 3 student, a resident of Kharegaon. “Children like me will not have any books to study or toys to play so I gave my contribution,” she added.

The money was submitted to the Thane district collector.

“It is incredible to see this child come forward to help at such a young age. We shall include the money in the Chief Minister’s Fund,” said Rajesh Narvekar, collector, Thane.

Kirankumar Chavan, 42, a lecturer at a junior college in Thane, said, “Kartiki is very active. She is good at drawing and manages to bag a prize every time she participates in a competition.”