30 March 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A Wichita 6-year-old had big plans for the money he made from selling his own paintings.
For Krishnum Ambel’s 6th birthday, which fell on March 5, he sold the art to family and friends. He never planned to keep the money for himself.
“He came home one day asking, ‘Can I sell my artworks?’ And I asked him, ‘What do you want to do with the money that you have after selling them?’ And he was like, ‘Can I donate it?'” Ambel’s mother Moumita Kundu said.
According to her, Ambel has always loved firefighters.
“The firefighters go to his school every year. They teach him about the fire safety, the emergency safety, and stuff like that. So, he was very obsessed with firefighters from the age of 2. He has always loved firefighters, and he loves their books, and he wore a firefighter costume for three years on Halloween, so he never wants to let it go,” said Kundu.
Ambel decided to donate his earnings to the Wichita Fire Department. He raised $120, and he gave the funds to the Wichita Fire Department Foundation on Friday.
“We were told that a young boy in our community, 6 years old, wanted to paint some pictures and sell them to give back to the fire department,” said WFD firefighter Chad McKernan. “The foundation got wind of it and wanted to give him some stuff in return just because of his kind heart.”
Ambel got to meet several firefighters at the station and was excited to see how the trucks work he even got to turn on the lights.
“[He] really liked driving the firetruck. I don’t drive much anymore but that was my favorite job so he enjoyed turning on the lights and seeing how that works and he was great. He was very intrigued by everything which always makes me happy because growing up, I loved firetrucks and always wanted to know how it all worked,” said McKernan. “It really makes us happy. We do like to get involved with the community.”
Kundu is a proud mother.
“I was so amazed that he could think of something like that, think of donating it and giving it back to the community, that means a lot at his age at the age of 6. It means a lot to me that he’s thinking that way,” said Kundu. “I was telling him today that ‘If you have good intentions, you have other people coming and supporting you.’ And that means a lot, and that’s a big lesson for him going onwards in life, so that means a lot. I’m so proud of him as a mom,” she said.