4-Year-Old Andhra Pradesh Boy Donates Rs. 971 To Fight COVID-19, Was Saving For A Bicycle

In times of despair like the one the world is going through right now, there is a need for kindness, empathy and generosity more than ever. A 4-year-old boy from Andhra Pradesh's Vijaywada is doing just that by donating his savings. On April 7, 4-year-old Hemant donated his savings of Rs. 971 to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak. Hemant handed over his savings to Perni Venkataramaiah, Minister of Transport, at the party office in Tadepalli. Mr Venkataramaiah appreciated the child's gesture and assured that he will soon gift him the bicycle for which he was saving the money.

At an innocent age of 4, the last thing a child would know about and be concerned about is the pandemic. But Hemant is not alone. Another tiny tot 5-year-old L Mayan Nongbri from Meghalaya, broke open his piggy bank for the Chief Minister's relief fund. With a mask on his face and a piggy bank filled with coins amounting to Rs. 1,501 in his hands, little Mayan went to the Minister's office and gave away his savings as a contribution towards the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.

Sharing the heart-warming news on Twitter, Conrad Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, thanked Mayan and said, “Mayan donated Rs. 1501/- out of his piggy bank towards the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for #Covid_19. This is little Mayan's second contribution to the Relief Fund since last year. A small boy with a big heart! Thank you Mayan.”

In Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow, two sisters - Maysha Arora (6) and Alia Arora (10), daughters of businessman Gaurav Arora and students of La Martiniere Girls' College in Lucknow, contributed Rs. 5,000 each which they had saved over a period of time. The sisters donated their savings to help those hit by the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Lauding the efforts of the girls' District Magistrate Shambhu Kumar said,

In these difficult times, the young children have opened the locks of their treasure and have contributed their small savings to the Prime Minister's relief fund. By doing so, they have proved that age has nothing to do with compassion.

Earlier in March, 7-year-old Rommel Lalmuansanga from Mizoram's Kolasib town had given his entire savings of Rs. 333 to fight COVID-19 and feed the poor hit by the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the disease. Rommel Lalmuansanga, a resident of Venglai area in Kolasib donated his savings to the village-level task force on COVID-19.

Rommel's kind gesture was appreciated by the state Chief Minister Zoramthanga who called the 7-year-old a ‘hero'. The Chief Minister took to social media platform and said, “This tiny bundle contains Rs. 333/- in cash and coins; 7-year-old Rommel Lalmuansanga from Kolasib Venglai donated his entire savings to his Village Level Task Forces in this war against the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic. May the good Lord bless you abundantly. You are a Hero!”

Similar stories have also come to light from other parts of the country like Gujarat. In a video shared by Ahmedabad Police on their official Facebook account, three brothers are seen walking into the police station and donating their savings to help the people in need. Together, Zaid, Moin, and Amen donated Rs. 5,500 from their Piggy Bank and asked the police officer to use the money to feed the hungry.

In a six-minute long video shared by the Ahmedabad Police, a woman, mother of three children is heard saying,

My kids say, mother, give all of this to poor people, individuals who are hungry. Though they have nothing to eat, they feel shy in asking for help directly.

Sharing the video, Ahmedabad Police thanked the trio and said, "A heartfelt Thank You to Zaid, Moin, and Amen who donated Rs. 5,500 from their Piggy Bank after their mother showed them relief work being done by us. We are extremely pleased by the kind gesture of the kids."