KOCHI: The students of Bharat Mata College, Thrikkakara, has proved celebrations are all about spreading happiness by collecting a whopping Rs 8 lakh for the patients of Ernakulam General Hospital.
According to Ajay Jostin, a degree student of the college, they decided to follow in the footsteps of their senior students by cancelling college fest and instead diverting the money to the cause of poor, as part of the programme ‘I can make a difference’. “This has been happening for the last few years. This year, we made an extra effort and managed to collect Rs 8 lakh, which includes contributions from our seniors over the last five years,” said Ajay.
After collecting the amount, the students sought the help of an NGO in identifying the beneficiaries. “For the last many years, we could help only a few people. This year, aid was extended to 16 people. An amount of Rs 50,000 was given to each patient. We met over 60 patients and 16 of them were selected for the scheme,” he adds. The money was handed over to Rosary Divine Charitable Trust chairman K J Peter.