Children from the a primary school in Assam voluntarily gave up their midday meal, so 8 orphaned rhino calves, saved from the flooded Kaziranga park could be fed.
The students =are from the Nepali Khuti Banuwa LP School near Oriole Park, 7 km east of Bokakha.
Touched by the tale of the rhino calves struggling to survive without their mother’s milk, the children sought written permission from the headmaster to let go of the meal for a day and instead to donate the money to the Centre for Wildlife Rescue and Conservation (CWRC).
The money collected from the children was only enough to procure one 6 litre packet of milk. The government provides Rs 3.78 per meal for each child, under the midday meal rule. The total only came up to Rs 300, while the packet of milk cost Rs 287.
Here is a proof of how generosity is contagious. Inspired by the children’s efforts, others also started pitching in and the money enough to procure 8 packets of milk.
According to Headmaster Barman Teron, the 8 packets of milk can provide at least 2 meals to each baby rhinos, with each meal comprising about 2.5 litres
“Never have I come across an instance where I was told by the teacher that children below 12 had on their own given up a meal for the sake of wildlife,” he said.
