Backing a good cause
Will crowdfunding help the enterprising Bhagya Sivaraman get into Oxford?
By : gautam sunder
Update: 2015-06-23 00:14 GMT
Chennai: Bhagya Sivaraman, a 24-year-old from Chennai, was ecstatic when she was accepted into a Masters program at the University of Oxford — but that happiness quickly turned to worry as she realised that daunting financial issues faced her. “Bank loans and scholarships can only go so far. Five days ago, I’d tried everything and was sitting next to my friend Bharti, with a tear rolling down my cheek. That’s when she suggested crowdfunding,” says the Stella Maris and Tata Institute of Social Sciences gold medallist.
A few days on, Bhagya is the toast of social media — her campaign on Indiegogo to support her education, is creating a stir on Facebook and Twitter, with friends, family and other well-wishers actively joining in to spread the word!
“All this is very scary for me; putting myself out there in the public and asking people for help. But I had a choice between dropping my dreams or dropping my fears — and I chose the latter. The fact that complete strangers would promote my education has given me a lot of faith. If I do achieve my goal, I want to graduate and then set up an educational collaboration between Oxford and my previous alma maters,” she explains.
Her YouTube video for the campaign is being viewed and re-shared. The Indiegogo campaign is also getting backing due to her earlier experience of being a full-time project associate at the NalandaWay Foundation, an NGO that helps kids from difficult economic and social backgrounds.
“I ran the Kanavu Pattarai workshop, and interacted with over 1500 kids during my time there — and would love to continue my work in this field after my education. As of now my venture, which aims to raise $50,000 is now close to $5,000 with almost a 100 people contributing... I’ll always be grateful to them. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it works out!” she says.
While we wish Bhagya the very best to achieve her goal, she’s not the first Chennaiite to use crowdfunding as a means to chase her dreams ... Let’s take a look at Chennaiites who got their projects crowdfunded successfully.