For many underprivileged children travelling by a plane remains a dream. Watching a plane fly over their heads is enough to excite them. One can see them jump, clap and wave their hands towards the sky. But, what happens if 39 children from in and around the slums of Chennai are actually taken on a flight? That is right, they were brought to Bengaluru by the Madras Esplanade Round Table (RT) 30 and Madras Esplanade Ladies Circle 100.
Excitement was written all over their faces and some just could not stop grinning. After landing in namma city, they were taken to Fun World and Snow City in Mekri Circle.
The children were accompanied by RT volunteers and a few of their tuition teachers. “The children are a part of our Giriraj and Kamaraj tuition centres. We have been funding tuitions for the last 30 years. The idea was to give them a taste of flying in the skies and also visit a city close by,” explains Manav, one of the members of RT.
Siddharth, another volunteer, explains: “As every child is a first time flier, we chose Bengaluru as it is a short distance.”
Dhwani, the chairperson of the RT Ladies 100, explains: “They clapped when we landed. We have many school drop outs and have been working with them. They go to government schools during the day and study with us in the evenings. If they want to do higher studies, we also take care of that. We were able to organise this one-day trip to an amusement park, only because of our donors.”
Suneetha, 15, who was part of the trip, says, “it was jolly trip. I have been studying with RT for quite some time. I plan to enjoy thoroughly today. When I grow up I want to become a lawyer and will help out children like me to study and organise trips such as this.”
Ashwin, another student, says that he got to know about this because of his grandmother, who teaches at the tuition centre. She enrolled him. “I was nervous and thrilled at the same time. Looking below from the plane window was fun. Everything from up there looks tiny. I want to become a doctor and will surely get involved in something like this.”
