10-year-old Wins PM National Child Award for Planting 100k Trees!

Welcome to The Goodness Journal, your passport to a world brimming with compassion and positive change. Every week, our team at the Giving for Good Foundation uncovers a heartwarming, true story that illuminates the remarkable impact of kindness and charity. These tales serve as a testament to the incredible power we all possess to make a difference, one act of goodness at a time.

When it comes to being selfless, children can teach us a thing or two, don’t you agree? This Children’s Day, we bring in the heartwarming story of a 10-year-old who has been planting saplings since she was in kindergarten.

Growing up in Tamil Nadu, Prasiddhi Singh was surrounded by the hustle of city life. But amidst the chaos, she found comfort in the embrace of nature. She was the child who admired birds, trees, and was always covered in mud.

"Mom, I want to have my own garden!", she said.

At just five, our young environmentalist persuaded her parents to let her have a mini-garden on their balcony. What began with a single sapling soon grew into a thriving urban farm, featuring tomatoes, chilies, and lemons that she nurtured with the utmost care.

But, an unavoidable trip threatened their green haven, and all of Prasiddhi’s treasured plants died. The heartbroken little girl immediately wanted to make up for it by planting more trees in a place where they could be taken care of even when she wasn’t around.

So, the father-daughter duo started utilizing their morning jog to plant trees and reconnect with nature. Everything was perfect until 2016, when the Vardha Cyclone hit Tamil Nadu and wiped out the green spread, leading to the birth of the Prasiddhi Forest Foundation . Our young environmentalist pledged to plant 100,000 plants in a year to prevent loss during calamities.

Learning from trees, bees, and seas, she along with her eco-warriors embarked on a mission to collect seeds door-to-door. Fast forward to today, the Prasiddhi Forest Movement has planted over 130,000 trees across 78 locations, partnering with communities, schools, farmers, and nature enthusiasts.

Her advice to green enthusiasts is simple.

“Your imagination, determination, and energy can create a profound impact. Just as a tiny 4mm seed can grow into a 400ft tall tree, you may be small individually, but together we can bring about significant change and heal our planet.”

Prasiddhi has been awarded the Prime Minister National Child Award (now The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar) at just 10-years-old! Her expertise and confidence reflect in her words and there’s something for everyone to learn from her fascinating personality. Want to know the entire story in her own words?

Read it here.?

Happy Reading!

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