Maiyanne Ben David, a student from Kent, cuddles a kitten at the animal hospital Ashari. She has raised a corpus in the UK for animals in Calcutta

A group of schoolchildren in the UK has played Santa Claus for suffering animals in Calcutta.

Maiyanne Ben David, a sixth-form student at Bullers Wood School, St. Nicolas Lane in Kent, who spent three weeks helping diseased and distressed animals at a city animal hospital last year, has mobilised ?535 (approximately Rs 43,000) back home and sent it to the vet facility.

?Maiyanne was visiting her grandparents in Calcutta in July 2005 and had wished to spend some time with animals during her three-week stay. She was delighted to be allowed to help with the animals at Ashari, and we were touched by her genuine love for the helpless creatures,? Debasis Chakrabarti, managing trustee, People for Animals (PFA) Calcutta, which runs the vet hospital in Mukundapur off the Bypass, tells Metro.

After returning to Kent, Maiyanne wrote to Chakrabarti: ?I am planning to conduct an assembly in my school during Christmas as this is when we raise money for charities. I am also writing to local (Kent) vets and hospitals regarding donations of old equipment.?

True to her words, the teenager addressed 2,000 students in her locality to motivate them, speaking about her ?fascinating learning curve? from the time spent with the Ashari animals. Almost everyone, who attended her assembly, donated to her school, which, in turn, transferred the sum to PFA Calcutta.

Chakrabarti wrote back to R. Angus, assistant director, sixth form, Bullers Wood School, saying: ?My co-trustees and I are moved by this gesture of your school students. I would like to express my appreciation also for the teachers who encouraged this proactive approach.?

Purnima Toolsidass, PFA founder trustee, feels Maiyanne, who had found about Ashari on the Net, had unstinting sincerity and love for the suffering animals.

?I am more than happy that she has developed an equally positive trend amongst her peers, and thank all those who encouraged these young people in their efforts,? Toolsidass says.

Trustees at the animal-welfare NGO feel the ?generous sum? raised by the UK students would help them buy some ?much-needed equipment and medicines for the animals, which either have no owner, or an owner too poor to pay for its treatment?.

?The ripple effect of our free services benefits those who are economically dependent on their livestock, and the animals in their vicinity, who are carriers of many zoonotic diseases,? Chakrabarti stresses.

PFA and sister NGO Compassionate Crusaders Trust have been ?trying to promote animal welfare in schools, because we are convinced that it will help to create a more compassionate and ethically aware social order?.