KOCHI: As kids, we were always eager to get our hands on the latest fad, something that would make us look cool among friends. Eleven-year-old Muhammad Ali, a student of The Delta Study in Fort Kochi, was no different until a few days ago. Having dreamt of owning the Sony PlayStation gaming console for over three years, Ali gave up what he set his heart on, to help underprivileged children his age gain access to online classes.
The class VI student was all set to be gifted with the PlayStation for his 11th birthday when he told his father he would rather use the money to donate television sets and tablets to the ‘Tablet Challenge’ launched by Hibi Eden MP for providing gadgets to deserving students of government schools.
“Ever since Ali was in Class III, he has been asking me to buy him a PlayStation or a Xbox. Initially, we didn’t want to buy it because kids tend to get addicted to video games, we then decided to get it a couple of years later. We opened a children’s bank account in his name and kept depositing some money at regular intervals. However, this Ramadan which happened during the lockdown, I got involved in philanthropic activities for supporting people who were facing difficulty through a trust I run with my family. Ali was very inquisitive and started asking me why I was doing this.
I told him about how few people don’t even have money to buy food. He was shocked. One day, I came across MP Hibi Eden’s challenge on Facebook and suggested to Ali that we should use the money in his account to donate to the cause. He thought for a while and decided he wants to donate,” says Ali’s father Ansif Ashraf, a businessman from Chullickal, Fort Kochi.
Ali donated two TV sets and one tablet to Hibi Eden on his birthday on June 9. One more television set was handed over to N K M Shareef, secretary of Maulana Azad Socio-Cultural Centre Library and Reading Room at Panayappilly, which hosts close to 10 students and provides access to online learning. “Ali himself found it difficult to get adjusted to the new online system so he is happy that he could help others,” adds Ansif. Ali’s mother Ramzeen Ansif is a homemaker.
kind gesture
Ali donated two TVs and one tablet to Hibi Eden on his birthday on June 9. One more television set was handed over to N K M Shareef, secretary of Maulana Azad
Socio-Cultural Centre Library and Reading Room at Panayappilly.