This young girl is creating art works to raise funds for the blind

She is just 11 years old and Shayna Vidyanand is determined to make a difference to the lives of the underprivileged. This young Indian-American artist recently took the first step in this direction when she raised US$4,350 through the sale of her paintings to help provide vision to the poor.

Shayna’s initiative is called Making Colours Matter

She donated the funds to Sankara Eye Foundation, which will use them towards 150 eye operations in rural India. This is her first private exhibit in the initiative, Making Colors Matter, with which she plans to help more and more people with her art.

Vidyanand, who is fluent in Kannada, Tamil and English, started painting only a year ago. She is inspired by her exposure to a wide range of world cultures and her diverse surroundings.

She studies various forms of art from many teachers, painting oil on canvas, acrylic on canvas and has recently started sketching with pencils. She likes to experiment with colours in her paintings.

Vidyanand’s initiative is in honour of her great grandmother who progressively lost her sight.