And Yes There is Hope!!!

A club by the kids, for the kids Kamini Mathai, TNN 13 July 2009, 03:53am IST

Tenth grader Nithin Zac has a tough Maths exam on Monday but that still does not stop him from turning up for practise on Sunday as his band gets

ready to give a concert on August 8. Nithin and his troupe members who have given up their Sunday rest, to prepare for the concert are part of a club called Kids for Kids' (KFK), which raises money for the education of underprivileged children through concerts and craft.

Founded in 2007 by a group of eight children, KFK today has 30 members from several schools in the city such as Union Christian School, SBOA and Leo Matriculation.

"We used to accompany our parents to orphanages and that's when we realised how privileged we are. In the beginning, we used to just go with our parents and play with the children, exchange phone numbers and keep in touch with them. Later, we children children got together and decided that we would help raise money to help fund their education," says Rebecca Grace, a tenth grader at The Schram Academy, and one of the founding members.

In 2007, their first concert helped raise enough money to support 20 HIV positive children and in 2008, KFK did another concerta much bigger one this timeand raised Rs 70,000 to support the children of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees.

This year's concert to be held at the Museum Theatre is for the welfare of Little Angels School in Somangalam near Tambaram.

"After the first two years, we realised that concerts helped us rasie money only once a year. We needed a regular source of income to help children and so we decided to get into printing greeting cards and making bead and terracotta jewellery," says Rebecca.The beads are sorted out and given to the members during the week so that they can craft the jewellery over the weekend.

Aided by Ben Subbarao, the facilitator, they have managed to get large orders from various companies for their cards. "We sell the jewellery in school and we also send it to offices," says Rebecca.

Says Deborah Whitney, a seventh grader at Union Christian School and one of the singers in the band, "I also have lots of beads at home, which I use to make jewellery. I have always been interested in such creative work. Now I am happy that it can be used to help another child."

Nithin, also a student of Union Christian School, admits that though the charity work sometimes gets in the way of his studies he feels that it is worth the effort. "By God's grace, I have a comfortable life. So, it's up to me to help those who are less privileged than me," he says.