ARIYALUR: Two teachers of a government primary school in Ariyalur have been hailed for handing over Rs 1000 each to 41 families of their students.
The gesture of the teachers has moved the villagers of Thuppapuram.
Unable to go to work and earn, people here have had to confine themselves to the village due to the lockdown. As many of them are daily wagers and financially weak, they have been struggling to make ends meet.
On knowing of their plight, Kannagi(50), headmistress of the panchayat union primary school at Thuppapuram, and Parameswari Varadharajan(33), a teacher at the school, decided to give Rs 1000 each to the families of their school students to buy essential commodities.
A total of 62 students are studying in the primary school and they hail from 41 families.
Kannagi is the resident of Kodangudi village and Parameswari is from Kallathur village near Jayankondam.
They went to Thuppapuram and handed the money to each family themselves, winning the hearts of the people. The headmistress distributed Rs 41000 to 41 families.
They also advised the parents of their students to adhere to personal hygiene and wash their hands frequently.
D Kannagi, the headmistress, said, "I understand the people's hardships due to the lockdown. My sons gave me the idea that I could help the families of our school students. I told another teacher who works at my school about the idea. She also agreed. I contributed Rs 36000 and she contributed Rs 5000. I went to each student's home and gave the money. Now, we are happy to have done this."
Kannagi added that she has been working at this school for 12 years and so knew almost all the students' families personally.
Parameswari Varadharajan, the teacher, said, "I have been working at the school for two and half years. I know many children and their families would be struggling to have proper meals at home every day. So we helped them."