Glamour to the rescue

Chaitanya MRSK is a 23-year-old with a belief that true change in the country can be brought about by reaching out to government schools since, yes, 70 per cent of India’s children attend these schools. And with this conviction he runs Hyderabad-based NGO, Passionate Foundation, which has adopted 10 schools in Hyderabad over the last five years.

The social work has been inspired by his own childhood, “I was raised by a separated parent, and I used to be very shy and never good at anything. I changed schools in Class X and that’s when I started my work.”

Years later, Chaitanya has managed to tap into Hyderabad’s vibrant Page 3 scene. He has been organising fundraisers and other events — with money from each event going back to schools. “People accuse me of glamourising charity. But from my last event, I raised Rs 10 lakh. I have to market myself well because, at the end of the day, those children need us,” says Chaitanya.

The young man’s networking skills have been so successful that meals to the schools are cooked in the kitchens of the city’s star hotel. Even a movie screening for the children is at a major multiplex chain.

Chaitanya’s efforts got him recognition at the UN and he was also given the award for community service in 2007. “And next year, we are launching a programme called Teach for Change, where we will invite anyone willing to come and teach at our schools. The networking hasn’t stopped. There are many willing to help us out.”