Rayna Srivastava, a 16-year-old student from Frisco High School, Texas, USA, preferred spending her vacation volunteering for social work in India, instead of going on a trip to Brazil planned by her parents.
She convinced her parents to accompany her to India, and as soon she landed in Mumbai, Srivastava applied as a vounteer to an orphanage — Divya Prabha Home for Girls in Distress at Thane. She spent three weeks, beginning from June 14 to July 7 at the orphanage among 20 girls, and taught them the basics of conversational English, environmental science, and also introduced them to the Internet as a means of keeping tab on the outer world.
The orphanage manages to spend around `19,000 per year on each student. Srivastava, with the help of her family and friends, raised funds to meet the expenses of two girls for this year.
“Srivastava worked very hard to raise funds for the children. Her commitment and wisdom is definitely a blessing to the society,” said Sister Deodita, director of Divya Prabha, adding, “I have given citation letters to many people and institutes, but Srivastava’s case is above all. God bless her.”
With her politeness intact, Srivastava said, “I did what I liked, and will continue doing such humanitarian-based work in various parts of the world, throughout my life. Meanwhile, I have made friends for life and wish to continue being a mentor to these children.” Srivastava had spent her last vacation in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, helping underprivileged children.
For Srivastava, as well as her parents, these three weeks have been a huge eye-opener. Her father, Rahul Srivastava, who works as a consultant with the global aviation industry, said, “IITs and medical colleges should give preference to students who have had some social work to their credit. Just scoring high marks is not enough. The quality of social commitment and empathy towards fellow human beings is very important.”