Varanasi Children donate Rs 5011/- to PM CARES Fund

Eight-year-old Riya saves daily for difficult times in the future. She had donated Rs. 200/- to the PM CARES Fund saying, “what would be the worse time than today” (आज से बुरा दिन क्या हो सकता हैं)?

Ayush and Riya are the account-holder of Children’s Bank and they are not the only ones. There are 1800 plus such children who come from the poor, rag-picker, and handloom workers’ families who have an account in this bank started by Vishal Bharat Sansthan (VBS) of Varanasi to inculcate the habit of savings among them at the unique initiative of Dr. Rajiv Shrivastava, a professor at the BHU and a social activist with innovative ideas.

Some 81 children below 15 years of age withdrew money from their respective accounts and collectively donated an amount of Rs. 5011/- to the PM-CARES Fund. The amount may appear small as compared to large donations by industrialists and wealthy persons, nevertheless, its value is far more than those huge amounts.

Most of these, why all of them come from families living below the poverty line and they deposit Rs 1 to 10 to be used in times of distress for their families. They are from the constituency of the Prime Minister. And when Narendra Modi made an appeal for donating to PM-CARES Fund to fight with Coronavirus pandemic, these children responded the most. Not only that they donated to the Fund, but they also urged their parents to remain inside their houses during the lockdown.

Senior RSS functionary and patron of VBS Indresh Kumar appealed to these children to play a role in this war against the virus and the Children Bank immediately responded by launching a drive “My Savings for PM Modi” (मेरी बचत पीएम मोदी के नाम). The children collected the money from their accounts and handed it over to Bank Manager Ujala Bharatwamshi a 14-year-old girl who is also from amongst them.

Khushi Bharatwamshi another smart girl of VBS who is the General Manager of the Bank reached the Indian Bank branch at Nadesar along with Ujala and deposited Rs 5011/- containing some currency notes and maximum coins to the zonal chief manager Gyan Prakash and branch manager, Prabhat Mehta. They gave them the receipt after depositing the amount in the PM-CARES Fund.

In his message Indresh Kumar congratulated these children calling them ‘warriors’ against the ‘virus’. He said that these children have presented an example for others to emulate. Their role will be recorded in the annals of history that when there was a national calamity these children did not lag behind in fighting this war against the virus. The contribution of these poor boys will always be remembered, he said.

Chief Manager of Indian Bank Gyan Prakash also praised the children for their contribution and said his bank will also encourage them in such efforts. This is their hour of glory and it is a matter of great pride for our bank also, he said.

VBS Founder and also the founder of this novel Children’s Bank Dr. Rajiv Shrivastava said that when some people are engaged in discouraging the corona warriors, these children have presented a unique example of serving the country under the PM’s leadership. They have set an example for all the children of the world to emulate. When the country was in danger, these poor boys and girls came forward to contribute their might in this fight to save the nation. This is the most praiseworthy act of these children.

Besides, Ujala and Khusi Bharatwamshi, Dr. Rajiv Shrivastava and Bank officials, Mohd. Azharuddin and Tazim Bharatwamshi of VBS was also present on this occasion.