Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 22 (PTI): The gesture of a 56-year-old woman hailing from a island village in Kochi to slip Rs 100 notes inside food packets she prepared for the flood-hit people of a neighbouring panchayat last month, has come in for praise from IT major IBS Software which has handed her Rs 1 lakh for her selfless act. Senior officials of IBS Software visited the woman Mary Sebastian at her residence at Kumbalangi village on Monday and handed over the cheque for the amount along with a citation, a press release said.

Marys act was hailed by IBS as a “remarkable gesture by a disadvantaged woman without any expectation of recognition or reward.” “During the bleak times that we are in, such inspirational stories come as a breath of fresh air,” V K Mathews, Company Executive Chairman, said, adding “they reinforce our faith in humanity.” The corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative comes as a salute to Mary, whose husband V Sebastian is into repairing boats. The couple was jobless this monsoon owing to lockdown restrictions to check COVID-19.

Amid the extreme hardship, rains in August inundated the neighbouring Chellanam panchayat. As the civic authority initiated a flood relief programme, Mary joined voluntarily by organising food packets from her meagre resources.

What she did unannounced was to keep a Rs-100 note along with the packet for the recipient “to make tea during the cold, wet days.” However, her food packets ended up in the surplus pool, and hence did not get distributed. The police engaged in the relief operation noticed the currency notes and traced the benefactor.

The woman’s gesture came in for praise in the social media, television channels and newspapers.PTI UDBN WELCOME WELCOME.