Schoolboy's remarkable act of kindness for orphans

It's unusual that a nine year old child has a social
Lakshya (far right) with his mum Shilpa and younger sister Tanisha (7) with the orphans and their gifts.Lakshya (far right) with his mum Shilpa and younger sister Tanisha (7) with the orphans and their gifts.
Lakshya (far right) with his mum Shilpa and younger sister Tanisha (7) with the orphans and their gifts.

conscience but one kind-hearted Bearsden school

boy certainly does.

Lakshya Thapar, a P5 pupil at Westerton Primary School, has been visiting India since he was a small child because both his parents have relatives living there.

His mother Shilpa has taken him many times to visit her family who live in Bareilly in the north Indian state of the Uttar Pradesh region.

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As a result he’s witnessed extreme poverty from a young age including children and adults sleeping on the streets, children begging and many people, including youngsters, wearing no shoes and ragged clothes.

His father Arun said: “I think having been to India a lot over the years has influenced him as he’s seen real poverty.

“He has often asked me my why that person doesn’t have a home to sleep in or why that child does not have any clothes or shoes to wear.

“He recognises that his life in Britain is so different from theirs and he feels very fortunate to have a home, clothes and plenty of food to eat.

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“He also realises that he has things that many people in India could never afford to buy such as playstation and TV.

“It’s definitely given him an awareness that other people in the world are not as well off.

“I thought it was very noble of him to want to help people who are not as fortunate as himself, especially at such a young age.”

Lakshya came up with the idea of creating oragami water bombs to sell to raise money for orphans in India.

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He spent days studying a book on oragami that he had borrowed from the library and created the water bombs to sell for 5op each and his dad promised to match what he raised.

Lakshya’s dad Arun, who was born in Scotland but has parents in India, took the water bombs into work and sold many of them to colleagues which raised £75 and he doubled that to £150.

Lakshya used this money to buy blankets, clothes and food for children in an orphanage in Bareilly.

They were absolutely thrilled with their gifts.

Headteacher Mrs McDonnell said: “We are very proud of Lakshya and his consideration of others in need.

“He’s such a positive role model and we’re happy to share his successful story.”

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