On Monday, 500 destitute and orphans from the NGO, Maher, in Pune district skipped breakfast and lunch to saved Rs19,140. They have decided to donate the money to Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption crusade.
These children, who are between eight and 15 years of age, were joined by their teachers, guides and other destitute women from Maher’s 21 centres in the Pune district.
The atmosphere inside the main hall of the Maher head office in Vadu Budruk village, 30 km north of Pune, was sombre from 9am to 4pm, as 250 children meditated.
The day began with the Maher children participating in a prabhat pheri (morning rally) through the streets of the village shouting slogans supporting Hazare’s movement. They returned to the ashram by 11am and sat in silent meditation without food until 4pm.
Ravina Kate, 16, a class 11 student, said: “Anna has been fasting for seven days now. The least we could do to show our solidarity with the cause was by fasting for one day.”
Her classmate, Manoj Vighave, 15, said, “Anna has put his life at stake so that we get a good Jan Lokpal bill. We were determined to lend our support by fasting ourselves.”
The children concluded their fast with a soulful rendition of Mahatma Gandhi’s bhajan, Raghupati Raghava Rajaram.
Founder-director of Maher, Sister Lucy told DNA that the children were deeply inspired by Hazare’s campaign against corruption. “We discussed the Jan Lokpal bill and Anna’s ongoing fast with the children . They then suggested that they will undertake a day-long fast to support the cause.”
“I am proud of what our children did,” said Hirabegum Mulla, president of Maher. “The Lokpal bill is important for the common people of India. Anna has been fasting for the seventh consecutive day in Delhi and we felt we needed to contribute in our small way.”
