Photos: NRI teen raises funds in Saudi for Gujarat's blind school

Megha Varma has set a target of raising Rs 10 lakh for the Andhjan Talim Kendra in Amreli.

The institute provides training to adult blind men by equipping them with skill sets like braille, music, computer, moulding, bookbinding, and motor rewinding among others along with higher secondary education facilities.

Megha, who plans to pursue bioengineering or biomedical engineering next year from any reputed institute in US, Canada or Australia, is also taking help of social media to raise funds for the school.

The teen has already raised Rs 4 lakh through online campaigns and inviting Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia to contribute to the social cause.

The 17-year-old had visited Mrs Pushpavati Pranjivandas Valiya Andhjan Talim Kendra (training centre for the blind) at Amreli during her Diwali vacation last year with her father Nilesh Varma.

Currently, in Vadodara with her father, a former IPCL and L&T employee, she will be meeting some prominent businessmen and traders in Surat, who like her are also natives of Amreli.

After talking to trustees and the principal, she realised that the school’s operational expenses were under pressure due to low interest rates, high inflation and after effects of Covid-19 pandemic.

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