Helping those that help the helpless

Sainikpuri: Neither the nip in the air nor the election fever could deter Roshan Patell, 87, who along with several residents from Sainikpuri headed to Brig MKRM Hall for what they call ‘Festival of Giving.’ The annual ritual brightened up the Sunday morning for hordes of residents, servants, gardeners and anyone who was looking to pick up clothes, linen, books, artefacts, kitchenware and other household items. The brainchild of Sudha Gorthi, an educationist who came up with the idea, all the proceeds of the jumble sale would go to charity. The all-woman team comprising Sudha Raghuram, Lalitha Aiyer, Gulshan Bamboat, Manjula Reddy, Vimala Madon and Deepa Shailendra work for months to collect the items for the charity drive.

The concept of jumble sale is not new to Sainikpuri; it has been in vogue for several years. But four years ago, Sudha Gorthi floated the idea of making the sale meaningful and decided to make use of the proceeds for charity. Last year, four NGOs – Anurag that helps mentally challenged children, Helen Keller Institute for Deaf, Mercy and Jasper, two organisations that help the aged who are abandoned – were helped in their initiative by the ‘Festival of Giving.’

Sudha Gorthi says, “Generating money from things that people would otherwise discard is heartening. Also, people have taken to the jumble sale so well as the money is spent on charity.” On Sunday, Rs 2.5 lakh was generated and the team was elated by the response. Manjula and Deepa take care of the publicity, while the rest decide on pricing, collection and segregation of items. Another aspect that strikes a chord with one and all is a majority of the volunteers are above the age of 50 with Roshan Patel holding the fort with élan.