If a survey was carried out among youngsters of today on whether they spent their pocket money on some good cause, the results would surely be very bleak. Most teens would rather save to buy the latest cellphone.
Among a sea of such people, a surprising story has come to light of a pair of siblings hailing from Madhya Pradesh, who not only spent their pocket money but also their scholarship in building a toilet in their school.
Who are the children?
- 16-year-old Memoona Khan and her 14-year-old brother Aamir from Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur district have done this noble cause
- As per reports, the brother-sister duo decided to spend all their savings - including the scholarship money they received for being 'minority community' students - to get a toilet constructed at Maharani Laxmi Bhai Higher Secondary School
- Earlier, the school has just one toilet, which was commonly used by all.
What inspired them?
- While speaking about their deed, Memoona said, "The girls told me that in their school they have only one toilet. So, I constructed a toilet for them with my scholarship and pocket money. In this, my brother also supported me. I gave my scholarship and pocket money to the principal through the district education officer."
- Further, she said, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' that motivated them to construct a toilet in the school
- In the past as well, they have been helping other children, as they helped a school in their locality in getting electricity connection
Data from government on sanitation
- According to a charity run-organisation, WaterAid, less than a third of India's 1.2 billion population has access to sanitation.
- It is hard to believe that more than 186,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation.
- As per the United Nations report in May, half of India's people defecate in the open area, which leads to diseases like cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A and typhoid.