She uses the Net to change children's lives

NEW YORK, APRIL 6. A 15-year-old Pune girl's vaccination drive against diseases like Hepatitis B and tetanus by raising funds on the Internet has captured the imagination of netizens and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which has lauded the project.

Miss Kuheli Bhattacharya and her five school friends run a small, once-a-month clinic at the Kartik hospital in Chinwad where Kuheli's mother is a doctor. They use money raised through online to buy vaccine and syringes and pay a nurse to administer the vaccine. The project started in January.

Due to this initiative, the children of some of Pune's poorest families have received protection against Hepatitis B, diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus.

Funded by the UNDP and CISCO systems, netaid.org gives Internet users a direct way to contribute to projects throughout the developing world. Kuheli's work has been particularly recognised by the UNDP. Her initiative, the UNDP said, is one of dozens supported through Netaid's ``be the change programme'' which borrows its name from Mahatma Gandhi's saying who said: be the change you want to see in the world.

``Be the change'' includes projects costing from less than $ 500 to about $ 6,000. They can be funded by online contributions or adopted by individuals, groups and organisations.

Kuheli started out with a funding of just $ 720. But the value of what she has been able to do so far to help safeguard the lives of the children simply cannot be measured, said Mr. David Morrison, president of the netaid.org foundation.

- PTI

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Section  : International
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