KANNUR: Their own family was spared the suffering, but for 16-year-old V S Swaha and her brother Brahma, students at Shenoy Smaraka Govt Higher Secondary School at Kandankali near Payyannur, the scenes of distress they saw on TV, as Kerala’s worst calamity in decades unfolded, was too hard to bear. They wanted to do something, and after convincing their father they have decided to hand over one acre of their family property to flood-affected people.“We will give the land to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund and they can decide as to how best they can use it,” Swaha, a Plus One student, said. Their father Sankaran M says he’s amazed at how conscientious and sensitive his children are. “We have over ten acres of land and this is our bread and butter, but in this hour of need, the life of our fellow beings is equally important for us and hence I didn’t think twice and supported them though the land is worth around Rs 40 lakh now,” he said.The siblings said that initially they weren’t sure what to do or how to go about it. Then the idea about the land occurred to them though they were not too sure how their father would react. “But when we suggested this, our father was more than happy and we feel proud of this humble help,” said Swaha.The gesture has had great impact among their teachers and schoolmates, said Brahma, who is a class nine student. “We can only do this much but if it inspires others as well, together we can rebuild our state very soon, which is the need of the hour,” Brahma said. For a 14-yr-old, that’s maturity and concern well beyond his years.

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