Kochi: Five hundred students here in Kerala on Sunday participated in a walkathon to raise awareness about the challenges faced by rural school children.

The walkathon was organised by Chinmaya Vidhyalaya to coincide with the unique 12-hour 'Support My School Telethon' event launched by Coca-Cola India and NDTV news channel.

"We hope this walkathon will help spread awareness among people about the serious concerns faced by these schools and help build community capacity for better quality of education," said Chinmaya Vidhyalaya principal Maya Mohan.

"We hope this will inspire more people to step forward and support the cause of developing water, sanitation and other infrastructural facilities for thousands of school children," said Coca-Cola India vice president for public affairs and communication Deepak Jolly. IANS