(Image source from: thebetterindia.com)

The 16-year-old Indian-origin boy, Krithik Ramesh, currently residing in Denver was on a short visit to India earlier this month moreover one of the places that he, in fact, wanted to visit was the government school at Deviyakuruchi near Attur, where his grandfather had accomplished his schooling.

Krithik after his visit to school said: "My image [of the school] was shattered when I stepped [inside]. It was unclean and did not have adequate amenities. [The] schoolteachers there said this was the state of many government schools in India. That's when I decided to do something," as quoted by The Times of India.

Together with his father, M Ramesh Babu, and grandfather, V Muthuraman, Krithik reached a decision to begin Empowering Rural India Foundation, a non-profit organization, with the aim of uplifting government schools across the country.

However, despite being immensely motivated, Krithik realized that he did not have adequate funds to take his vision ahead. Although his family members suggested that he could look for sponsors, though he had better plans in mind.

Krithik, the student from Cherry Creek High School, has won the first place in an international science fair in Pittsburgh about six months ago that earned him the prize money of $3,000. Along with this amount, he made up his mind to donate another $3,000 from his savings to provide the government school with essential amenities.

As soon as the funds were ready, Krithik proceeded towards the school management and upon enquiring regarding the needs of the school, he was told that it faced occasional power outages, and the school principal suggested that installation of solar panels would be of great help.

As expected, Krithik contentedly agreed to the idea, subsequently, the family approached many solar service providers before finally zeroing in on a company, that two weeks ago, successfully managed to provide the school with the essential infrastructure. With the installation of solar panels, the school can now effortlessly save up to Rs 15,000 that otherwise was spent on electricity bills once in two months.

Interestingly, the solar panels can produce about 2kW of power, which is more than what the school needs. For this, Krithik has suggested that the school could sell the excess power to the state electricity board.

"I will participate in more science fairs, will get more money and contribute something to government schools in India," added Krithik.

His father, Ramesh, stated that they intend to put in place sustainable and renewable energy systems that will serve schools across India for a long time and will pave the way for improved academic success through self-sustaining solutions.

-Sowmya