London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

Indian woman asks for £5 help, gets £54,000 in donations

Indian woman asks for £5 help, gets £54,000 in donations

An Indian woman who asked for help to feed her children has received millions of rupees in donations from strangers on social media.
Subhadra, 46, who lives in the southern state of Kerala, had asked her son's teacher for 500 rupees ($6; £5) to buy food after her husband died.

Moved by her plight, the teacher started a crowdfunding campaign on social media.

By Sunday, the family had received 5.5m rupees in donations.]

Subhadra, who uses only one name, had been struggling to make ends meet since her husband's death in August.

She couldn't look for a job as the youngest of her three sons has cerebral palsy and requires constant care.

On Friday, she reached out to Girija Harikumar, a teacher at the local school where her middle child studies, for help as her children had nothing to eat.

Harikumar, a Hindi language teacher, told the BBC that she had asked the student, Abhishek, to tell her if his family was facing problems after his father's death. This was the first time the boy or his mother had asked for help.

"I gave her 1,000 rupees and told her I will do something," Harikumar said. She then visited the family and saw that they were living in grinding poverty.

"There was just a handful of grains in the kitchen and the children had nothing to eat," Harikumar said.

"I thought there was no point giving Subhadra small amounts of money now and then as it would be totally inadequate for the family," she added.

On Friday evening, Harikumar wrote a post on Facebook about the family's plight and asked people to help by sending any money they could afford.

She also shared Subhadra's bank account details in the post, so that the money could be directly transferred to her.

The post went viral and by Monday, Subhadra has received 5.5m rupees from kind strangers.

Some of the money will be used to finish a house that Subhadra's husband began building before he died. The rest will be deposited in the bank for their expenses.

The fund-raising appeal has now been closed.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
×