Five Bangalore teenagers will be giving the perfect gift to a village in Karnataka this Christmas — the gift of light. Aditya S Prasad, Nihal Harve, Eshaan Bhandari, Karan Taj Singh, and Vaishakh Datta have together started The Deepam Initiative, through which they will install solar-powered lamps in Kaiwara village. The idea was concieved in August, and they’ve already raised Rs. 26 lakh to fund this venture.
Once they had decided to set their plan in motion, they did an extensive survey of the villages surrounding Bangalore.
They finally decided on Kaiwara, where they found a cooperative panchayat and welcoming locals.
Source: Flickr
When it was time to fund their idea, they tried a number of different methods. The largest portion of their funds came through the Corporate Social Responsibility departments of multinational organisations. Other means of fundraising used by this scrappy group of do-gooders involved them selling food through a food truck and selling waste from residential complexes.
On 25th December — the day of Christmas — they will install 70 poles and 140 solar-powered street lamps on a 2km stretch of road that leads from Kaiwara to the highway.
Featured image for representation only. Source: Pexels
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