Tamil Nadu - Udhagamandalam   

A Diwali to remember for orphanage children

Udhagamandalam: By adopting a novel approach the members of the Inner Wheel Club of Ketti Valley have ensured that Diwali 2009 will endure in the memory of the members of an orphanage here for a long time.

In a bid to include an element of surprise in the celebrations, the club members had recently visited the orphanage and asked the twenty children in the age range 5-16 there to note down on a piece of paper their response to the query, “what will you do if you had two hundreds rupees”.

Taking it to be some sort of a competition the children had recorded their wishes. They were varied.

While one of them said that he would put the money in a bank account and use it to become a doctor, another said that he would buy a book written by former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and another wrote, among other things, that he would buy a sapling.

One wrote that she would buy a watch.

On Friday their faces lit up when the club members landed in the orphanage and Inner Wheel District 320 chairman Shabnam Mohamed handed over gift packets containing items which they had wished they could buy.

Rotary Club of Ketti Valley president Deepti Anoop told The Hindu that it was difficult to guess who was happier –the recipients or the donors.

“The glint in the eyes of the children when they saw the gifts made our eyes moist,” she added.

Secretary Meena Manjunath said that the project was in keeping with the club’s motto ‘Help Bring Hope.’

Earlier the members visited the home for the mentally challenged children here and donated new dresses to the 27 boys and girls.

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