City teenagers unite for a cause

Five teenage boys from the city have set out on a mission — to make a difference by helping out underprivileged schools in isolated parts of Chennai. To make this a reality, they have formed a group called WeHelp. The members hope to form friendships, shape lives and make a substantial difference in the lives of people. As an initial step, they are helping the underprivileged students, who attend the Thiruvotiyur Middle School, in matters of education quality and general management of the infrastructure of the school.

“We came to know about the school from our parents and visited the place one day. We were disheartened after seeing the condition of the school. There are around 560 students who attend the school ranging from Class 1 to 8. Most of them are unable to pay tuition fees. The sanitation at the school is horrible, especially the toilet facilities. What we have understood is that most of the students depend on the school for meals; however, the kitchen at the school is also in a bad state. Also, the infrastructure at the school is really woeful, and there is a deficit in the number of chairs and tables,” says 17-year-old Manav Chordia, the founder of WeHelp, a student of APL Global School.

In order to raise funds to support the school, the team is organising a football tournament in the city on March 17 at Whistle Urban Sports Hub in Nungambakkam. “We believe that everyone deserves an equal opportunity for learning. Football is a popular game and it made sense to conduct a tournament to reach a wider audience to gain their support for the cause. When I suggested this idea to my friends they were more than happy to come on board and initiate the activities,” he says.

The other members of the group include Dhruv Rishb Batra, Aakarsh Kankaria, Ganesh Konda and Aatman Gupta. “As children, we don’t really appreciate the privileges we have and it’s not a good feeling to see children of our age group not being able to enjoy the same advantage we have. We wanted to bring a difference in those students’ lives. This is our first project and we hope to do similar projects in future and thereby contribute to the quality of life among underprivileged,” Manav says in a proud tone.