Kottayam: Timely help enabled many to save their lives as Kerala reeled under floods in August. Soon, as the floods subsided, aid from various quarters helped the people in distress to recover. The rich as well as the poor chipped with cash and kind for rehabilitating the affected people.

The students of Saintgits College of Applied Sciences, Pathamuttom, Kottayam collected 5,400 notebooks and handed over the same to the district collector of Kottayam as a part of 'Kuttik oru koottu' programme aimed to help school children who had lost their books to start over.

The books were collected by the students along with the faculty and programme coordinator Sanju P Cherian. The books were handed over to the Collector B S Thirumeni on September 11.

"The thought was simple. How will the children start studying once everything settles down? They lost everything in the floods. That is when the idea struck me. If each of us were willing to do a small part, a lot of kids could smile again. I presented the idea to the college management and they were more than happy to help out. As books are essential for any student we decided on donating them. The students and other faculties wholeheartedly supported the idea and everything was put into action immediately" Sanju said.

After all, "a kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal", as author Steve Maraboli had said.