Chennai floods: 8-year-old boy spearheads toy collection drive

By Ipsita Basu
BENGALURU: Pranav Srinath Koppa was deeply affected by the damage the floods in Chennai caused last December. The eight-year-old was seeing images of the destruction and homeless people as his parents were frantically trying to reach out to their near and dear ones from Bengaluru who were stuck in the coastal city.

Pranav thought of Nithyshree (10) and Hanishka (6), two girls whose mother worked at his grandmother's office, and how the flood had swept their lives away . "The girls and Pranav were playmates during our Chennai visits and their plight moved him immensely," says Pranav's mother Ramya Srinath Koppa.

As Bengaluru collected relief materials, Pranav asked, "What about toys for these kids, who have lost their playthings?" And that set the ball rolling. He gathered friends in his locality and school to donate toys for the children in Chennai. "Initially , I wasn't sure how serious he was about the idea. But he started going around telling friends, relatives and schoolmates about the idea, till I suggested he approach his teacher to streamline the process," Ramya remembers.

The TOY - Thinking Of You - project requested kids to donate one toy from their collection as a surprise gift along with a note to bring cheer to the affected children. In January, it completed its first phase of collection, when more than 750 toys were collected in Bengaluru. The community at large and Pranav's school, NPS Rajajinagar, and social consultants Prabhav, participated. The toys were distributed by Pranav, his three-year-old brother Bhargava and two children from Chennai in Namachivayapuram, Choolaimedu and Kotturpuram on the banks of Coovum and Adayar Rivers. Teaching aids and educational toys were handed over to Chennai's corporation schools.

"Watching the joy on the children's faces was an experience that will stay for the rest of our lives. It was a moment of reckoning that while the waters of Cauvery have been a matter of dispute between the two states, it was water that brought us together. It was heartening to see a new generation of children, who were not party to past conflict and language barriers, just connecting and helping each other," says Ramya.

The TOY initiative, which is in its second phase, hopes to do more by February 15, and is looking for schools in the two cities to participate in the drive.

To participate, go to pts@prabhav-impact.com or http:www.facebook.comtoyproject