Adersh R.A. was in Class 5 when a fireworks celebration at the Puttingal temple went awry in 2016, killing more than a hundred people. In the news, he heard the Chief Minister’s directive to the District Collector on using the funds from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) to help the victims and their families.
Young Adersh asked his parents about CMDRF, and sought to gather more information on the fund. Realising the purpose the fund served, he decided to contribute his meagre pocket money to the fund. The student of Vrindavan High School in Vlathankara, near Neyyattinkara here, went to the nearest post office to send the ₹10 he had in his possession then. Since then, he has been sending his pocket money to CMDRF every month, without fail.
“I am contributing a portion of the pocket money to the fund. The amount I donate depends upon my own needs that specific month, but I have sent a donation every single month. After I make the remittance at the post office, I have been promptly getting certificates from the Finance Department,” says Adersh.
But, he did not stop at this individual effort.
Idea of Money Box
When the Chief Minister called him to appreciate the gesture, he presented a project called Money Box, a box which could be placed in all schools so that the students could contribute to relief efforts. In September 2019, following a second successive year of massive floods in the State, the government tried out this idea on an experimental basis. Over a period of four days, from September 2 to 6, an amount of ₹2.81 crore was generated from money box placed in schools across the State.
The public heard about Adersh’s story when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan mentioned it in his daily press conference this Saturday. When the schools reopen after lockdown, he will be in Class 10. The youngster says he wants to become an IPS officer. He is clear on that front.
