MiD DAY Impact: Help pours in for St Catherine's orphan footballers

MiD DAY's front page story on St Catherine of Siena's orphan under-8 footballers (February 20) has evoked a lot of response from generous and sympathetic readers

Mumbai: MiD DAY's front page story on St Catherine of Siena's orphan under-8 footballers (February 20) has evoked a lot of response from generous and sympathetic readers, who were moved on learning about the under-privileged kids.


Big boost: MiD DAY reader Himanshu Kapadia (in pink shirt) at the St Catherine of Siena Orphanage in Bandra where he handed over a cheque of Rs 10,000 on Saturday . Pic/Shadab Khan 

One of the first calls this correspondent received the day the story was published was from an executive of a corporate house who wished to help through their Corporate Social Responsibility programme. "We would like to pay for the meals of these children for a year," said the executive who did not wish to be named.

Himanshu Kapadia was another reader who was touched by the story. He promptly visited the Bandra orphanage on Saturday and handed over a cheque of Rs 10,000. Kapadia later described his experience of meeting the kids at their Bandra home: "It was an amazing experience to spend time with these kids.

Some of them don't even have a proper pair of slippers to wear and have little cuts on their feet. Seeing their condition made me realise how fortunate we are and yet we do not value what we have. All these kids need is a little help and they will be better off. I hope many people come to their aid," said Kapadia. A number of MiD DAY readers expressed interest in helping the little ones.

One reader has offered to purchase three football kits for the kids across age groups — Under-8, Under-10 and Under-12, so that they are no more compelled to wear oversized hand-me-down outfits for inter-school matches henceforth.

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