Stories of selflessness, at a time when the world is fighting against a pandemic, are truly heartwarming.

On Tuesday, a five-year-old walked into the Meghalaya chief minister’s office here to hand over his piggy bank, containing coins amounting to Rs 1,501. The little boy, L. Mayan Nongbri, handed it over to Conrad K. Sangma as a contribution towards the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

The government had appealed to all to contribute to the fund to augment the state’s resources in fighting against Covid-19.

The same day, many individuals and groups met Conrad to donate to the fund, and the total collection amounted to nearly Rs 30 lakh.

“Mayan donated Rs 1,501 out of his piggy bank towards the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for Covid-19. This is little Mayan’s second contribution to the relief fund since last year. A small boy with a big heart! Thank you, Mayan,” the chief minister tweeted.

Mayan had also donated the contents of his piggy bank to the chief minister last year for flood relief work.

“He was inspired to donate his piggy bank after he saw a picture of little boys toiling with their parents in a stone quarry. That was when he decided to give all his money to the poor families through the relief fund for Covid-19,” Mayan’s father said, after the boy handed over his piggy bank to Conrad.

Mayan, who has a habit of flipping through newspapers and posing questions, had seen the photograph in one of the local dailies.

The money which Mayan donated on Tuesday also had contributions from two other women who were inspired by his thought. “They gave him their coin collection to add to the fund,” Mayan’s father said.

Mayan, who is in kindergarten, is also a soccer enthusiast and a cyclist. His father said Mayan always shares his toys, sweets and even books with other children.

On his Facebook post, Conrad hailed Mayan for his selflessness. “Little boy but big heart. It is a great example for others. God bless you abundantly,” a user commented.

“Hats off to the young kiddo. He’s learning to be a better man tomorrow,” another posted.

“Some of the public representatives should learn from this kid how to help the poor and needy in their own respective constituencies. In his very critical situation in many villages, poor people are yet to receive a single paise or 1 kg of rice,” another user said.