The sprawling campus of the 300-year old St. George’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School recently got a new addition — a basketball backboard set up for a gift from over 8,000 miles away.
And, its young donor from Illinois in the United States says when the time came for him to carry out his Eagle Scout Project he decided to fly over to India instead of doing it back in his neighbourhood. And, he zeroed in on the school his mother, Maha Varadhan studied in.
“The Eagle rank is the highest to achieve and the project has to benefit the community. I decided to install a basketball backboard set up and organise a walkathon for students at St. George’s,” says 17-year old Ajay Varadhan from Hawthorn Woods, Illinois who has been part of Boy Scout Troop 92 since 2010. “I was looking for the best school for my project and my mother is an alumnus of this school,” he says.
He says he raised funds for the project mostly through donations other than a runathon he organised in May back in his neighbourhood.
His father Vil Varadhan says that they brought the backboard and net from the U.S to be installed here. “I got guidance from my coach back in school on the best equipment,” he says adding, “I’ve been planning for it since early May.”
Last Saturday, he also organised a walkathon at the school here. Though basketball may not be as popular as cricket and football in India, Ajay says that it is a good cardio workout, and he spoke to students about its benefits at the walkathon. “The idea behind choosing basketball was also to create awareness about the sport and make it more popular,” he says. While he was expecting around 50 students to participate in the walkathon, he says the number crossed 100.
G.K. Francis, Secretary and Correspondent of the school says that with the backboard in place, they would work on converting it into a court. “Our school was known for Hockey and we had one of the best teams. Basketball will be a new sport for the students,” he says.
However, Ajay says that he hopes to keep the association going. “One idea is to connect this school with the local scout troop in the U.S. through Skype meetings and also find out if they need help with supplies, among other aspects,” he says.
