SRIKAKULAM: A speech on Swamy Vivekananda delivered by a 12-year-old girl at her school has changed her life overnight.
So motivating was Garugubelli Dhilleswari’s speech that it not only went viral on social media, but also drew the attention of Telugu Association of North America (TANA) a few days ago.
The class 7 student gave the speech during a meeting at Zilla Parishad High School in Tadivalasa village of Ponduru mandal in January this year.
As Dhilleswari’s father passed away recently due to a chronic health problem, the burden of caring for the family fell on her mother who is employed as a daily wage worker.
On coming to know about the girl’s poor financial condition, TANA decided to sponsor Dhilleswari’s education, which came as a blessing in disguise for the family.
Headmaster of the school Hemanacharyulu told The New Indian Express, “I received a telephone call from one Rama Chowdary and U Rekha from the US on December 19. The TANA representatives asked me about the family details of Dhilleswari and her economical background. They promised to sponsor her education or until she completed Intermediate. They also spoke of sending an immediate financial support of `1 lakh in a few days to Dhilleswari.”
Ravada Papa Rao, the biological science assistant of the school trained Dhilleswari to deliver the speech on Swamy Vivekananda.
“I was very surprised when my school headmaster told me about the TANA sponsoring my education. It is a god-given opportunity to a poor girl like me,” Dhilleswari said, smiling weakly.