They say, a friend in need, is friend indeed.
A friend has helped out a struggling international student in Melbourne.
reports that Sanduni Sulochana, who studies economics at the University of Melbourne was struggling with debt, unable to pay her next semester’s fees and was facing cancellation of her student visa and being deported to Srilanka, when her close friend Thavisha Rambukwella, came up with an idea to set up a crowdfunding campaign to help Sanduni.
Sanduni was in debt of $4549 from the last semester’s fees and the current semester’s $16,000 fee looming on her head. $8000 were due to be paid in fees by September 7th.
Thavisha told AAP that it was difficult to see her friend in this situation. "She had asked a few people for help but no one responded and her deadline was so soon that I decided to do something about it."
Thavisha set up the crowdfunding campaign and wrote, “She is working at the moment but everything she earns goes towards paying her rent. She can’t come up with it on her own and her parents are at a place where they are unable to settle this amount.
“She has had a very hard two years and currently in a financially dire situation.”
“Let us help her graduate,” Ms Rambukwella wrote.
Over 145 people raised nearly $20,000 in donations solving Sanduni’s crisis.
"It was amazing ... Sanduni is over the moon and in shock at how many people got behind her.
"It restored her faith in people and she is so happy right now, which is so nice to see."
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE TO READ:
Want to migrate to Australia? New range of visas coming up in 2016
