Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised M. Thaiammal, 43, a tender coconut-vendor at Udumalaipettai in Tiruppur district, for having donated ₹1 lakh to a government school in her locality.
In his monthly radio address to the nation, Mr. Modi explained how Ms. Thaiammal came to know that the Panchayat Union Middle School at Chinnaveerampatti was looking for funds to improve infrastructure. She donated ₹1 lakh from her savings. “To do this, you need a very big heart and an urge to render service,” he said, adding that Ms. Thaiammal got both her children educated at the same school.
Ms. Thaiammal visited the school on January 8 and presented the cheque. She was felicitated by Collector S. Vineeth. She had saved ₹2,500 every month for nearly three years and wanted to donate the sum to the school where her husband, son and daughter studied, she told The Hindu earlier.
“All of us [at Chinnaveerampatti] are overjoyed,” school headmaster N. Inbakkani said. Established in 1925, the school has around 650 students. It plans to construct 12 classrooms. “Work on construction of four classrooms has started under the ‘Namakku Naame’ scheme, and we need funds for constructing the other classrooms,” he said.
