13th October, 2012

Anuraag | The NSS Newsletter

A Helping Hand

EDITORIAL TEAM
Umang Thareja Nishant Kishore Anirban Chandra Shushman Choudhury Jot Sarup Singh Sahni Aditya Bikram Bhandari

Dr. Goutam Saha

NSS Website: www.iitkgp.ac.in/nss/home.html NSS Blog: nssiitkgp.blogspot.com Email: gsaha@ece.iitkgp.ernet.in

Independence Day Celebrations

BUZZ

EDITORIAL

13th October, 2012

Anuraag | The NSS Newsletter

Featured Unit
FEATURED
Unit 1. Village:- Sonamukhi Program officer:- Prof. A. George 1.Q - Please explain the work your group is doing. Ans - There are basically two types of work that we do in the village, first one is continuous work and the other is vocational training. Continuous work includes the work which we do in the schools and vocational training includes all the strategies taken by us for training the youths of the village. The entire group is further divided into four subgroups, three of which are engaged in continuous work and the fourth one is associated with training the youth. The three sub-groups engaged in continuous work cover three different schools of the village, which are:(a)Bengali school (b)Hindi school. (c)Ambedkar school. The work done by them in the schools includes teaching the curriculum syllabus, sketching and drawing, conducting small tests and then rewarding those who perform well in these tests. They are given various sorts of prizes like books, pens, crayons etc. Sometimes our group members also help in cleaning the school premises and they also give the students the lessons on environmental cleanliness. The fourth group is engaged in the youth training in which they identify some students from class 10 to 12 who are interested in pursuing higher studies. These students are given some training in whatever work they are interested to do in the future like joining the army, account keeping, teaching in primary or secondary schools etc. We also organize various campaigns in the village which are basically of the following three types:a) Youth Training campaign. b)Plastic free campaign. c) Counselling of the rickshaw pullers . 2. Q- What type of response has been there from the school management side? Ans- All the three schools (Hindi, Bengali and Ambedkar School) are very supportive and they really want our members to work with their teachers in helping the students. And there has been a continuous and appreciable participation by the students of these schools in cultural events conducted by us in the village. They actually motivate their students to participate in our programs. So, overall the school management is very cooperative. 3. Q- Are you satisfied with the work put in by the volunteers and their commitment level? Ans- All the volunteers i.e. the first and second years are very enthusiastic and dedicated to the work assigned to them. They are very cooperative because without them it would have been very difficult for me even to organize the NSS day of the last year. They are actually the real back-bones of our work. And looking at their commitment level, i think that this year also they are going to work with the same dedication. 4. Q- What problems are you facing during your work? Ans-We have absolutely no problems, neither from the school management side nor from the villagers' side. They all are very cooperative. We are not doing anything against their interests so rather than creating problems for us they are assisting us in our work. 5. Q- What is your future plan in this semester and the next one? Ans- In this semester we are mainly planning the youth training, counselling of the rickshaw pullers and then extending it to their children. We are trying to make the plastic- free campaign even stronger. 6. Q- What is your message to the other groups and volunteers? Ans- Each NSS volunteer should have a wilful heart and a love and respect for the community. Each one of us should always remember these three key words 'love', 'willingness' and 'respect' and everyone should serve the community with full dedication. Group Leader:1.Q- Please tell us about the work your group is doing. Ans- Our entire group is divided into four sub-groups. Three of these groups are working in the following three schools:(a)Bengali school. (b)Hindi Bharti school. (c)Ambedkar School. And one group is engaged in the youth empowerment. This group visits the East Sonamukhi village where there is a youth club and teach the interested young people some t e c h n i c a l t h i n g s l i ke t y p i n g , applications of Microsoft office, elocution etc. 2. Q- How do you feel in doing the NSS work? Ans- I think that going just for two hours in a week is not going to help the villagers a lot. We should give them more time for their proper development. Teaching the village students and helping them in different fields really feels great . And we also feel ourselves to be emotionally attached with the village people. 3.Q- What else are you planning to do in future? Ans- First thing is that we are thinking of organizing a competition in the schools like drawing competition and some audio-visual sort of competition in which first we will show them small documentary movies and then we will ask questions related to those movies. We will also teach them typing and some basics of computer. We are also going to have a tree plantation and plastic free campaign in the coming days. School Headmaster:1 .Q- Please highlight the benefits your school is getting from the NSS team and your satisfaction with the work done. Ans- The school children are very much motivated towards education and this is only because of the NSS volunteers who teach them and solve their problems with a great love and dedication. The number of students has really increased in our school in the last few years. Some of the students even wait for the Saturday when the volunteers would come and teach them. Earlier they didn't even know what they want to become in future but now many of them tell that they want to study in IIT. 2.Q- What kind of help the NSS team has promised to do in future? Ans- They have told us that they would organize competition in the schools and distribute prizes among the students. Time and again they have also helped the school in kind as last year the NSS team had given some chairs to our school and this year also they have promised the same . 3.Q- What are the problems you or the students have faced during this whole programme? Ans We have faced absolutely no problems from the side of NSS volunteers. They come every week and perform their work in a very disciplined way. They never do any activity which can create hassle for us and for our students.

13th October, 2012

Anuraag | The NSS Newsletter

Featured Unit
FEATURED

Group Reports
GANGADHARPUR VILLAGE UNIT This unit was busy with a plethora of activities. After a detailed meeting in the first week, they began with an extensive plantation programme where numerous varieties of plants like the Akashmani, Radhachura, Guava etc and others were planted in the village. The program officer supervised the correct planting and information dissemination. They also surveyed the quality of the drinking water in the village wells, which was quite poor, and have thought up steps to combat it. A literacy programme which will be acted upon regularly was also thought up and commenced. CHATTISGARH HIGH SCHOOL UNIT The unit has four sub-groups with a uniform distribution of girls, boys and Bengali students for efficient working. The major long-term responsibilities of the unit will be in the areas of tree plantation, organising a campaing to reduce usage of plastic, and the counselling of rickshaw pullers to help them. This month, there was a programme for planting trees in the premises of the Bharati Hindi G.S.F Primary School in Sonamukhi Village. The volunteers helped the Forest Department in purchasing the 80 saplings needed, the headmaster in getting the necessary permissions, and the villagers in getting the implements required. The event was documented by the Central Team of NSS. BALA SHIKSHAN KALA KENDRA UNIT Over the last month, this unit arranged for and carried out the collection and distribution of books and cloth for the children of the village school. Responsibilities were divided between collecting the materials for distribution, calling the students from their homes, identifying them by class and finally issuing the books. Children from classes 1 to 4 were covered. RAKHALGERIA VILLAGE UNIT The volunteers here took it upon themselves to try and impart some education to the school students beyond their mere school curriculum. They are trying to expose the children more and more to the world around them, and the kind of opportunities available if they pursue their education. They also introduced them to the concept of a computer and showed them some interesting things on the laptop screen, something most children there were seeing for the first time. KASHIJORA VILLAGE UNIT Besides regular activity of engaging with village primary school students, the unit carried out a drawing competition to encourage talents among village kids, a special on games like Kho-Kho and Kabadi, a colourful awareness rally with posters and slogans where village school kids and young students of IIT Kharagpur walked together. The theme of the rally was health and hygiene. The posters and slogans depicted the importance of administering polio drops, the need for abstaining from intake of alcohol, smoking, consuming tobacco and the issue of prevention of spread of mosquito related diseases by the simple use of a mosquito net. GHAGHRA UNIT The group carried out a tree plantation programme in the Ghaghra primary school and Jagriti Vidya Mandir, planting multiple saplings and erecting protective fences around each of them. Moreover, the subgroups have initiatives towards organising a medical camp in the village, to the empowerment of women there, and the general informal education of the students in the primary school. SHOLADHAR VILLAGE UNIT The group, like all others, had a busy month, firstly with the well cleaning programme in which two wells central to the village were cleaned using lime and bleaching powder, with the help of the villagers. There was also an effort in the school to gauge the knowledge of the students in various basic areas, according to which the group would proceed with the education programme. Plans have also been made for stitching classes for women and a football match. PARIAPARA VILLAGE UNIT The unit started off with the seniors going to the village to inspect the condition, before the induction of the first years to the group. A football match was held on that day, with dozens of village children eagerly participating. Thereafter, they paid a visit to the Agricultural and Food Engineering Department on campus to see what farming techniques could be implemented to help the villagers. PASCHIM PATHRI AND PORAPARA UNIT This unit took a wonderful initiative to organise a workshop and training session for making handicrafts for the purpose of sale, in Paschimpathri village. Around 25 women participated in it. Because of the positive feedback received, the unit plans to convert this into a weekly programme with a concurrent marketing drive. The volunteers have also prepared a teaching program for 45 students of classes 5 to 8 in the Porapara-Chamlusai villages. The program will focus on non-traditional knowledge to stimulate an interest in English, Mathematics, Physics and the Biological Sciences GHOLGHORIA VILAGE UNIT The unit spoke at length to the villagers to find out the major problems they were facing. Thereafter, a sub-group dealing with educational development was given the task of teaching students of the primary school. Students of the group take shifts and try to visit daily to teach for some hours. On a different note, a tree plantation programme was arranged for over the barren land of the school premises. Around 60 sapling were planted and a protective fence put around to keep out grazing animals

BUZZ

13th October, 2012

Anuraag | The NSS Newsletter

Group Reports
CALLERY

FOR LOVE OF THE GAME

SPREADING AWARENESS

FERTILE ENDEAVORS

AWARENESS RALLY

BACK TO SCHOOL

TOWARDS SELF SUFFICIENCY

THE WAY FORWARD

UNITED BY SPORTS

EXAM TIME

IN PURSUIT OF CLEANLINESS

SPREADING THE WORD

DIFFERENT STROKES

EMPOWERED WOMEN

THE GRASS CAN BE GREENER

EACH ONE, TEACH ONE

MEN AT WORK

A Message from the Dean, AA & IR

MESSAGE

Congratulations to the National Service Scheme (NSS) Chapter of IIT Kharagpur for their dynamic activities. In India, NSS has come up with the idea of involving students in the task of national service with the central theme of social responsibility. The NSS Chapter of IIT Kharagpur has played an important role in character building and orientation of the students to community service while they are studying at the Institute. The NSS team has provided remarkable support to the Institute. Their key activities like literacy programs, health awareness programs in the rural areas, blood donation camps and recent activites of women upliftment in the society are largely appreciated. I wish NSS team all the best for their future activities and programs