While Tiruchi’s residents have retreated indoors to beat the heat, a school girl M.P. Sugitha has been going out, looking for street vendors who are insufficiently protected against the sunshine, and gifting them umbrellas and handheld fans.
Ms. Sugitha, a Class X student of St. Joseph’s Anglo-Indian Girls’ Higher Secondary School, and recipient of the State Award for Girl Child Empowerment this year, has an abiding interest in helping the poor and needy since the age of 10.
For the past five years, the resident of Ranjithapuram neighbourhood has been donating bedsheets, clothes and footwear to socially disadvantaged people, with the support of her family.
She has won prizes for her expertise in the traditional martial art of silambam and is currently learning competitive gun shooting.
The recent hot weather in Tiruchi inspired her to shortlist 100 pavement stall holders who needed help to make their workday bearable.
As of Sunday, Ms. Sugitha has gifted umbrellas and fans to 50 peoples, and is now waiting for stocks to be replenished. “I find it painful to see men and women sitting out in the hot sun, sweating profusely while trying to sell vegetables, fruits or flowers, so the best way I could help them is with an umbrella and a fan,” the 15-year-old told The Hindu.
Helping her in the task is her college-going brother Sujit, and their father R. Mohan, who runs a printing press in Tiruchi.
With each umbrella costing between ₹400-₹600, Ms. Sujitha meets her expenses largely through her own efforts, said her father. “The State award came with a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, which has helped her plan this year’s initiative. Sugitha has two money-boxes, one to buy a motorbike, and the other for her social causes. She has chosen a golf umbrella, which has a bigger span than other models for this year’s project. We are sourcing it from Madurai,” said Mr. Mohan.
