ANI
Pics: Rons Bantwal
Mumbai, Jun 4: Taking an inspiration from his late father who was committed to certain social responsibilities, India's batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar has decided to sponsor the education of 200 children, who are part of Anapalya, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Mumbai.
A formal function to mark this dedication by Tendulkar was organised here on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference under the Give India campaign, conceptualised by another NGO, Tendulkar said that during his childhood every penny in his house mattered but his father, a teacher by profession, made sure that a newspaper boy who used to deliver newspapers in the colony should be provided with money so that he could pursue his college career.
"A newspaper vendor in the morning used to be a teenager; selling newspaper in the morning and pursued his education. My father being a professor exactly understood the difficulty and inspite of not having enough money with himself he was prepared to help him out and take care of his college fees," he said.
He say he believed that the 'Joy of Giving Week' campaign that takes place between September 27- October 4 every year will aim to induce people from all walks of life to donate money, time or simple acts of kindness making the society and the country a happier place to live in.
"Such things in life can make a huge difference not only to us as an individual but if you are looking at the entire nation and if every individual decides to take responsibility then it's going to be a happier place," he added.
Tendulkar is considered to be the greatest batsmen in the cricket history being the highest run scorer in both Test matches and One Day Internationals, and also the batsman with the most centuries in either form of the game for India.