Gujarat Teenage Girl In Saudi Arabia Raises Funds For Blind Institute

A Gujarati teenage girl inspired by a visit to a residential blind school in her hometown of Amreli has launched a fundraising effort in Saudi Arabia to install a solar power system at the Institute.

Megha Varma, a class 12 student in Jubail, Saudi Arabia's industrial metropolis, has set a fundraising goal of ₹10 lakhs for the Andhjan Talim Kendra in Amreli.

Gujarati Girl Fundraising Blind School

The institute offers training to adult blind males by providing them with higher secondary education resources as well as skill sets in braille, music, computers, moulding, bookbinding, and motor rewinding, among others.

However, after speaking with trustees and the principal, Megha realised that the school's operational expenses were under strain due to low-interest rates, rising inflation, and the aftereffects of the COVID 19 pandemic.

Megha said to The Times of India, "One of their major expenses is financing electricity. The wish to permanently sort out their electricity bills has driven me to carry out the campaign." 

She has also already earned ₹4 lakh through online campaigns and has asked the Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia to support the humanitarian cause.

In addition to using social media to raise funds for the school, Megha also plans to pursue bioengineering or biomedical engineering next year at any reputable institution in the US, Canada, or Australia.

Megha, who is currently visiting her father in Vadodara, who was once employed by IPCL and L&T, will meet several notable businesspeople and dealers in Surat who, like her, are Amreli natives.

"We are hoping to raise the remaining funds this year so that the solar power system is installed by the end of this year," said Nilesh Verma, a chemical engineering graduate from Dharmsinh Desai University (DDU) in Nadiad, Gujarat.

The trustee of the residential school, Sanjay Gandhi from Mumbai, responded to Megha's initiative by stating, "Our school was established on September 10, 1972, with the consent of Gujarat's first chief minister Dr Jivraj Mehta. Since then we have been training 75-odd blind people annually. They are providing boarding and all other facilities free of cost."

Additionally, Gandhi claimed, "It is very heartening how Megha has started the campaign to raise funds for our school. We get government grants but often there is a gap in the grants we receive and the expenses we incur. If a solar power system is installed, we can save nearly ₹20,000-₹25,000 every month which in turn can bridge the gap and help us meet other requirements."

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