CHENNAI: A child like sense of wonder is enough, they say, to find solutions to challenges that perplex world leaders. The third edition of Design for Change School Challenge, which reached out to 35 countries, proved it yet again. Tackling issues ranging from waste management, health, unemployment and lack of infrastructure, over one lakh children from across the nation not only pooled in ideas to change the world around them, but also implemented solutions in a fool-proof way. Here are two inspiring stories from the city that made it to the top 100:Food for thoughtIt’s not often that you meet a bunch of optimistic eight-year-olds, who are convinced that the word impossible does not exist. Meet the Class 5 students of Chettinad Harishree Vidyalam, who managed to collect funds to support the meal scheme of a school for underprivileged students. It all started with a YouTube video on the plight of malnourished children in Somalia, says nine-year-old Dev Nanda Kurup. Deeply moved, she and her friends decided to help the kids in Chettinad Sigapi Ramaswamy Primary School and revamp their meal scheme so that they had a nutritious diet. “We found the students in that school did not have money for breakfast,” asserts K Sanjana, who sold home-made lemonade in her apartment to raise funds. The project, that was kick-started in August, witnessed the primary class students engage their seniors in selling handicrafts, and convince corporate big-wigs to raise a sum of `19,870 in just three months.“Now, they have egg masala and rice every day,” smiles R Aruna, another student.Opening doors for a fair dealWhen employment opportunities didn’t come knocking on the doors of the residents of Swamidasapuram slum, the Class 12 students of Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram, decided to help by organising a job fair at their doorstep. Soon, they began working behind the scenes with NGOs to facilitate training sessions for the unemployed youth in the slum in September. A team of 70 students planned an advertising campaign to sensitise the residents to avail the opportunity. “We hired an auto, used loudspeakers and had a door-to-door campaign to make sure they got the message,” adds Nikhil, a student. The end result: Fifteen residents clinched jobs at the fair that was organised in their school premises, while 40 women are now enrolled in vocational training programmes.
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