The girl convinced her father to donate Rs 5 lakh, the amount he was saving for her education.
M Nethra, a daughter of a salon owner in Madurai, has been appointed as a ''Goodwill Ambassador to the Poor'' for United Nations Association for Development And Peace (UNADAP).
The 13-year-old girl convinced her father to give Rs 5 lakh that he saved for her education to needy during the coronavirus lockdown.
Minister Sellur Raju lauded the girl for her gesture and said that he will urge Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to bestow the Jayalalithaa Award to her.
"A couple of days ago, the Prime Minister of India praised the girl. This is the pride for Madurai. I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet the leaders of the UN and to attend the event to promote the economy of the poor people. I would like to recommend to the Chief Minister that the woman should be given the Jayalalithaa Award in the coming days," the minister said while speaking to ANI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his monthly radio programme ''Mann Ki Baat'' also praised C Mohan, father of Nethra for spending his entire savings to help people in distress during the Coronavirus lockdown.
"Shri Mohan ji runs a salon in Madurai. Through sheer hard work, he had saved five lakh rupees for his daughter's education. But he spent the entire amount in the service of the needy and the underprivileged in these difficult times," PM Modi had said on Sunday.
UNADAP said Nethra will be given the opportunity to speak at the United Nations (UN) conferences in New York and in Geneva addressing Civil Society forums and conferences.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)