Bombay Scottish students raise Rs 51 lakh for their bus staff

Moved by the plight of the transportation staff that used to ferry them before the pandemic students of Bombay Scottish School in Mahim have raised over Rs 51 lakh setting an example for other school students to emulateSaachi Subudhi held a dance fitness session to raise Rs 15000The money generated through crowdfunding will be distributed among nearly 150 drivers cleaners and didis or women attendants who are appointed to ensure childrenrsquos safety With children moving to online learning away from real classrooms the school bus staff and their owners are struggling without any income since last MarchAlso Read Mumbai School bus owners stare at another year of miseryApart from crowdfunding the Bombay Scottish students individually held activities to raise handsome amounts for the causeLavanya Gupta and Anahita Gupta from Stds X and VIII respectively held an online sale of books that they have read Apurva Nigam of Std VII baked and sold 200 cupcakes along with lemonade whereas Std V student Saachi Subudhi put her dance skill to best useApurva Nigam baked 200 cupcakes and collected Rs 15000ldquoThe pandemic has affected us all I miss my school bus trips and the care of Roshni Didi especially When we planned to help bus didis and drivers who took care of us all this while I decided to conduct a dance fitness sessionrdquo said Saachi who raised Rs 15000 in just one SundayApurva who collected Rs 15000 told midday ldquoI fulfilled my dream of baking plus I could sell the cupcakes for a good cause A few people also contributed without taking the cupcakes as they were impressed by the initiative It is a feeling that words canrsquot describerdquoLavanya and Anahitarsquos endeavour earned them Rs 16400 ldquoWe have been fortunate to have survived the current pandemic comfortably And it is our duty to help those in needrdquo shared Lavanya Anahita added ldquoThrough the online book sale we were spreading the joy of reading and also raising muchneeded funds Each one of us can act to help someone in need We just have to take the first steprdquoThe fundraiser was hosted on ImpactGurucom a Mumbaibased crowdfunding platform that has waived its fees It went live on May 12 and the amount crossed Rs 51 lakh in just seven days While parents are verifying the details of the transportation staff the money will be distributed equally to all verified accounts directly by the crowdfunding platformLeft Lavanya Gupta and Anahita Gupta earned Rs 16400 by selling books onlineOne of the didis Nazma Shaikh said ldquoThe school after closing in March 2020 hasnrsquot reopened In such a situation all of us working on buses are facing hard times Knowing that students and their parents are raising funds to help us is overwhelmingrdquoAnother woman attendant Trupti Pereira shared ldquoAll of us have been sitting at home for more than a year We have been trying different ways to survive We are really thankful to our students and their parentsrdquo07No of days the amount was raised in