Fundraising 2012/Translation/Sengai appeal

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• Please read:
  A personal appeal from
  Wikipedia author Dr. Sengai Podhuvan

Appeal

From Wikipedia author Dr. Sengai Podhuvan

I was born a poor farmer in rural India in 1936. Today I rely on and edit Wikipedia.

I want Wikipedia to be here for all future generations. This is our annual fundraising drive to pay for the servers, small staff and other infrastructure that keeps Wikipedia on the web for free and without advertising. If you can, please consider pitching in $5, $20, $50 or whatever you can.

When you get to my age, you want to share your knowledge and experience with the world. Over the course of my life, I was a teacher, earned a PhD, was an editor of a government publication for 14 years, became a father of five daughters and one son and still consider myself a country farmer with a single plough.

I wrote my PhD on the topic of indigenous games in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. Maybe you will never look up one of my articles. But it pleases me that thousands do. And I am proud that whatever subject you want to learn about, you will probably be able to find it on Wikipedia.

When I purchased my first computer in 2005, just using the mouse was difficult because my hands shake. But by 2009 I had discovered Wikipedia. One day, I created an article about ancient Indian poets. I added about 30 of their names to the page and then I went to sleep. The next morning, I found 473 names on the page. That is what makes Wikipedia work!

Please consider joining our effort by editing or by making a donation to keep Wikipedia free.

Thank you,

Dr. Sengai Podhuvan PhD
Wikipedia author