For Shorya and Shriya Mantry, the highlight of summer vacation wasn’t heading to the beach or relaxing with friends. It was heading overseas to provide the gift of education to a group of impoverished children.
The 15-year-old twins, who are sophomores at High School South, spent two weeks from June to July helping orphans in the Sukher city of Rajasthan, India, connect to the digital world. Through donations of unused laptops and $540 in cash from family and friends at home, they were able to set up a small computer lab at the orphanage and teach them how to use them.
The twins got the idea in 2008, when they visited India for their aunt’s wedding in Salumber, Rajasthan, one of the poorest cities in India. “No words could truly describe the deep impact this made in our thinking and on our future deeds,” the twins wrote in a narrative of their project. They decided they would teach basic computer education and set up a computer lab for some of the children in the area.
Having reached out to various blue chip companies to ask for old laptops they could donate, the twins were disappointed when their requests were denied. But they were persistent.
The twins turned to family and friends and received seven laptops — five of which were in working condition after repair — and cash contributions totaling $540 to put toward their efforts. The Mantrys packed up the computers and made their way to India.
On their first visit to the orphanage school, called Nirashrit Bal Griha, the Mantrys met with about 30 children between sixth and tenth grades and found that not only did they need computers, but they would also need five tables, twelve chairs, and a few stationary items. Through the donations, the twins purchased the furniture but also purchased sports equipment for the orphanage (many of the children told the twins they liked to play cricket but lacked sufficient equipment) as well as school bags for each of the students.
In the following days, the Mantrys set up the computers and taught students how to operate the computers, including, how to use Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Excel, and taught them how to play games on the computer towards the end of their time at the orphanage.
The Mantrys were born in Udaipur, India, but moved to New Jersey, first living in Bergen County. They moved to Plainsboro seven years ago for the good school district and suburban community. Their father works for JP Morgan Chase, and their mother works for the Bank of New York.
