When age was no bar to heroism

January 31, 2015 08:06 am | Updated 08:06 am IST - CHENNAI

For City: Children from rural areas were honoured with Hope Hero awards for their act of bravery at a function organised by Tripura Foundation in Chennai. Photo. M. Moorthy

For City: Children from rural areas were honoured with Hope Hero awards for their act of bravery at a function organised by Tripura Foundation in Chennai. Photo. M. Moorthy

When M.Santhanalakshmi, an eighth standard student, saw two of her friends drowning in a river, her first reaction was to jump in to save them.

“There was no one else around when they cried for help. When I saw their heads disappearing into the water, I just jumped into the river. I pulled Kavya out as she was above water. But, Gnanamozhi could not move as her legs were stuck in slush. I had to go under water for several minutes to remove sand and save her,” recalled Santhanalakshmi who was one of the nine children honoured with Hope Hero Awards here on Friday.

Ironically, it was her friends who taught her to swim and Santhanalakshmi of Tiruchi district is glad that she could help them. Every child honoured by Tripura Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has a tale of bravery to narrate.

Be it V.Rakesh, D.Abinesh of Tiruttani district or G.Kesavan of Kumbakonam district, they knew no fear when it came to rescuing people from danger. “I was probably only one who knew swimming when a small boy drowned in a temple tank. I had already saved a girl and that experience helped me,” said Abhinesh.

Others like B.Sabareesh Kumar, M.Bhuvaneshwari and K.Pothiraja were no less brave as they helped others despite their own shortcomings. Despite his ill-health owing to cancer, Sabareesh of Pannaikadu near Kodaikanal decided to take a sick elderly woman to hospital and helped her reach home.

These children attend the Hope Learning Centre, an after-school educational initiative of Tripura Foundation to provide better lives to rural students from underprivileged backdrop. Yadeesh Balasubramaniam of Tripura Foundation said the awards were given for second consecutive year to encourage children to inspire others. Over 100 learning centres are being run in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Goa for the upliftment of rural students.

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