Kannalmozhi Kabilan By Express News Service CHENNAI: On a bright Saturday morning, the boys of St Bede’s School hosted their annual Bedean Festa. The festivities were aplenty — food stalls, game corners and the whole nine yards. While there was lots of fun to be had the whole day, the students had a bigger purpose at hand. The proceeds from the day were to be donated for a cause they had picked for the year — Save the farmer. “The late Kamarajar had said that the country would become a superpower only when the farmer gets to decide the price of his produce. We still haven’t been able to do that. Across the board, agriculture has taken a hit. We wanted to adopt a village and do the little we can, and also create awareness among the students. For this is the generation that would be running the society tomorrow,” explained David Gabriel, PTA president. For this project, they have selected the village of Thurinjipoondi in Thiruvannamalai district. “We’ve adopted four wells there and worked to deepen them and fit in motor pumps to help the hundred-odd farmer families dependent on it,” he detailed. Fr Stephen Joseph, school principal, expressed happiness over how much they have managed to reach the students with this awareness effort. From persuading the parents to volunteer at the fest and taking part in the work themselves to spreading the word, the boys did incredible work, he said. Part of the proceeds from the fest will go towards the school’s long-standing ventures of financially supporting economically backward students with scholarships, with a particular focus in sports.

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