School students raise ₹10 lakh to help SMA patient

PPM Higher Secondary School officials handing over ₹10 lakh raised by their students for the treatment of an SMA patient at Kondotty.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The students of PPM Higher Secondary School, Kottukkara near Kondotty, raised ₹10 lakh for the medical aid of a spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patient before they boarded the train to take part in the State school arts festival being held in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday (January 3).

The 78-member school contingent presented their fine arts items before an elite audience at Moyinkutty Vaidyar Memorial, Kondotty, to raise funds to help the SMA patient, Mohammed Shamil. The treatment for Shamil is expected to cost ₹3 crore, and the school students did what best they could do to raise ₹10 lakh towards it.

SMA is a genetic disease that causes the muscles in the body to weaken and waste away. Many parents, business firms and local people joined the students to help Shamil.

Liyas T.P., a student who had taken part in the State school science fair, auctioned off a statuette that he designed. Mohammed Raslin, another student who took part in a national camp conducted by the Indian Space Research Organisation, donated the amount that he got from the camp.

People donated liberally as the 78-member school team staged events such as Duffmuttu, Arabanamuttu, Oppana, mono act, mimicry, English skit, folk song, and kolkkali. They are competing in 12 events in higher secondary and high school categories in the State school arts festival.

“That was a unique and heart-touching gesture by the students. They really touched the people’s hearts with their performances,” said school PTA president K.P. Firos.

PPM Higher Secondary School has one of the largest contingents from Malappuram district.

E.T. Mohammed Basheer, MP, inaugurated the programme. Kondotty municipal chairperson Nida Saheer, vice chairperson Ashraf Madan, school manager M. Aboobacker Haji, school principal K.K. Abdul Jaleel, and headmaster Avaran Kutty felicitated the students.