Baap Newsletter

8/13/2019 Baap Newsletter

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What we spend, we lose. What we keep will be le for others. What we give away will be ours forev-

er. David McGee

The Joy of Giving Week is our naons fesval of giving! With growing parcipaon every year, this week

has sparked an emoon in many and brought smiles on the faces of millions. It is a fesval where people

from dierent walks of life come together to give back to their society and share happiness with people. It

is also an opportunity for people to realize the importance of taking such iniaves and connect with the

community more eecvely.

This year, the week was celebrated in BITS, Pilani -K.K. Birla Goa Campus facilitated by Nirmaan Organiza-

ons Goa chapter with over 9 events, including the Old age home and Orphanage visits, Meal of Joy and

Cloth Collecon drives in and around the campus, each of which celebrated the noble spirit of giving.

The smiles of the inmates of the old age home and the children of the orphanage that we visited, give us a

reason to smile everyday. The mesmerizing experiences that we had in celebrang the week will surely be

cherished by each and every one of us.

We have tried to share our experiences by describing all the events held in the week in this newsleer. Ihope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed celebrang it.

Nikhil Bhagat

celebrates

JOY OF GIVING WEEK 2013at

BITS Pilani K. K. Birla Goa Campus

In association with
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/35958.David_McGeehttp://www.goodreads.com/author/show/35958.David_McGeehttp://www.goodreads.com/author/show/35958.David_McGee


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The Joy of Giving Week kicked o

with the Meal of Joy. Scores of

students came forward to serve

the people who serve us daily. The

mess workers, cleaning sta andsecurity guards were served lunch

in the mess.The volunteers enjoyed serving the

food. A rst year student said,

This feels great. Its nice to see

people smiling and knowing that

you are the cause. Another volun-

teer said that such an event should

be organised more frequently. He

added, I got my hand burnt while

serving the food and now realise

that the workers here serve food

uncondionally. We now respect their eort and the dignity of their labour. One of them said, These workers serve us

throughout the year, this is the least we could have done to thank them. The mess sta had their share of joy. They could

not help smiling. It feels great to be here, with all these people. This is the rst me we are having lunch with so many peo-

ple in the mess. Another mess worker said, The food was good. We really loved the gesture. Thank you for all your eorts.

The gardening sta and the workers in Visitors Guest House, who had already had their lunch, were not neglected. The

volunteers carried the gulab jamuns and ice cream to their spots, making sure the joy was spread everywhere. The Nirmaan

volunteers and organisers were thrilled with the turn up for the event and it was expected that similar energy and parcipa-

on would be seen throughout the week.

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It was 8th of October, the day of the much awaited Joy Fest. With a

number of performances lined up, it was bound to be a grand event .

The day started with 'Father Agnel's Orphanage' children dancing to

the beat of Bollywood songs followed by short informal games in

which the winners were awarded chocolates. The children also got to

see the helicopters y over them, courtesy of the Aerodynamics club.

We were also joined by the inmates of an old age home -Our Home,

Bogmalo. .

The Music Society and the Dance club of our college displayed their

talents on the stage, followed by the kids of Hamara School who per-

formed a group dance and an awesomely synchronised pyramidal

dance. The audience also enjoyed the tunes of violin played by these

children.

One of the Father Agnel's girl menoned, "It is a great coincidence

that I have my birthday today and have never enjoyed with my friendsas much as I have today. It is the best birthday gi for me."

The day ended with volunteers interacng with the children, clicking

photos, and sharing anecdotes with the elderly. It couldn't have end-

ed on a beer note. The organisers thank the Department of Back-

stage, the Music Society, the Dance Club, the Department of Creave

Works, and the Aerodynamics Club for making the event a huge suc-

cess, and the Department of Photography for covering the event.


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The morning of the Old Age

Home visit wasnt a regular,

lazy Sunday morning. Infact, it turned out to be

very special. As it was a rst

me for most of us, we

could only imagine how

these grandmothers and

grandfathers would be, and

how the place would re-

ceive us. During our jour-

ney, Varsha advised us to

be very compassionate and

caring towards them.

We were in for a pleasant

surprise when a lot of smil-

ing old faces came down to see us. We made them comfortable and started talking to them. Most of the women there were spin-sters, and were at ease when they spoke to us. Almost all the inmates seemed to be leading a happy life there, as they called each

other their brothers and sisters. It was very touching to see this kind of seless atude among these old people. They were con-

stantly checking on each other, asking if they were ne and whether they had eaten.

One lady never seems to go o my mind every me I think about the visit -a camera shy Martha. She had gone through a lot of

hardships in life, yet, always wore a smile on her face. She told me that she enjoys doing embroidery and loves talking. We even

came across some dancing talent there. Jack in the box as he is fondly called, is one of the best dancers I have seen ll date. An-

other lady by the name of Veina Monteina also got cheers from us for her graceful dance moves.

On the whole, it was a very rejuvenang experience. It set me thinking how in spite of all their hardships, these people remain ever

so cheerful and spread so much joy. Special thanks to our photographers for the day-Sarath Menon and Kunal Baweja for clicking

moments to be cherished for eternity.

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A large group of students from our campus paid avisit to Fr. Agnels Orphan-

age in Verna, Goa. All in all, it was a magical experience for the kids of the or-

phanage, as well as for the students who chose to spend me with the kids.

Thevisitbegan with a drawing compeon, sponsored by Classmate and orga-

nized by the students. The kids spent an enre hour lost in their world of col-

ours, creang beauful pictures. The kids drawings were lled with the inno-

cence and charm of childhood. They found the topics for the drawing compe-

on -My Favourite cartoon, My Dream and India As I see It very excing.

For Std. 8-10, we organized a slogan wring compeon, for which the topic

was Saving Animals. It was a major challenge for us to choose the top 3 in

each category, as every childs drawing had its unique perspecve towards the

topic. Yet, the winners were chosen, and were awarded gis.The drawing com-

peon was followed by an interacve session with the kids, which included

playing musical chairs, Antakshari, and dancing. It was an amazing experience.

Some of the older children went out to play basketball with the members of the

BITS Goa Basketball team, and were very happy to learn a trick or two on how to

play the game. As thevisitneared its end, all the children had smiles on their

faces and so did we. Aer all, thats what Joy Of Giving Week is all about.


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The Evening of Joy was held as part of the week and was one of the major events in the week. Kids from Father Agnels orphanage visit-

ed the college campus and had a wonderful me. Acvies were organized for their entertainment and learning. An origami workshop

was held by Kala, the arts club on campus, for kids belonging to the 10-13 age group. They also learnt how to make dierent aracve

shapes.

Our volunteers were awestruck on seeing how quickly they grasped the technique of making various shapes. By the end of the acvity,

the children were coming up with their own nice lile creaons, which was very heartening.

For kids aged between 13-15, a computer workshop was organised, teaching them the basics of Paint and Microso PowerPoint. Com-

puter educaon is a very important requirement today, and this workshop was conducted keeping that in mind. The kids were very

inquisive and showed the urge to learn, and it was very sasfying for us, as volunteers, to teach them.

Mr Gautam Krishnan, one of the faculty of our college, took a career counselling session for the kids over 16. He interacted with the

children and kept them thoroughly engaged in a discussion about various career opons they can choose from when they grow up. He

even talked about the great inspiring personalies that have graced our past and present mes, and told the kids that they too, one day,

could become someone who everybody would look up to. It was a very informave session for them, and they got an insight into the

vast world of opportunies that lay ahead of them.

A dance workshop was held for them as well by the Dance club of our college, and they were only too delighted to dance along and

learn steps they had never aempted before, which was very evident from their excited and smiling faces.

The kids had a great me on campus, and all those who volunteered to help for these events couldn't have been more sased to see

the smiles on the faces of the children. None of the kids felt like leaving when the evening nally came to an end. None of us realised

how quickly the me ew past as we enjoyed a memorable evening.


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A massiveCloth

Collecon

Drive was conducted by

Nirmaan Organizaon Goa chapter, across the

state of Goa. Clothes in usable condion

werecollectedfrom the campus residents and from

various schools and corporates across Goa.

An impressive total of 3.5 tonnes

of cloth was collected through this iniave. 7

schools and 3 corporates also supported this inia-

ve and collected a total of 1.5 tonnes of clothes.

SESA Goa, the travel sponsors for the event, al-

socollectedand donated around 1 tonne of clothing.

In our campus, cartons were placed in the common

rooms of all 14 hostels throughout the week where

students could donate their oldclothesand books.

Even the faculty members enthusiascally parcipat-

ed in the drive and donated various items such as

staonery and toys, so that they could go to those

who are in need of these things. Clothescollected for

children were sent to Goa Welfare Charitable Trust

and the rest of the proceeds were given to GOONJ

Organisaon, which has experse in processing and

distribung the clothing through its universally ap-

preciated "Cloth for Work" programme.

It was a highly successful event well managed by all

the volunteers. Even the faculty members appreciat-

ed the exemplary job done by the organizing team.

As part of the week, we also thought of

giving back to our environment by planng

trees. We got the kids of Zari to plant

close to 40 saplings, so that they also cul-

vate a sense of environmental protecon

and take such iniaves themselves in

future. Mr. Imran, a senior member of the

maintenance unit on campus, and Mrs

Alka Damle, member of the Jagrut Nagrik

Manch and a noted social acvist, based in

Vasco, helped us in arranging for saplings,

mud, bricks and labour in order to carry

out a successful tree plantaon.

Another iniave was taken to involve the

community with us and our work. We got

the people together and painted a wall inside the temple complex in Zari. It proved to be a very successful way of working with the

community to achieve something construcve. We also wrote slogans on the nished wall, emphasising the importance of educaon

and cleanliness. The kids of Zari were all excited to get atop the ladders, splash the paint on the wall, and were the happiest of the lot

when the wall was nished. It was a very colourful experience.


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Wish Tree was a new concept for our

campus. It was aimed at collecng

contribuons from the faculty for

causes requiring monetary support.

Wishes for specic causes catering to

educaonal requirements of school

kids, empowerment of the SHG wom-

en, and a school for the blind based in

Panjim, were wrien on slips of paper

on the tree and anyone who could

help the wish come true with sponsor-

ship from his/her side had to just

pluck the slip and sign. The concept

was much appreciated and more than

20,000 were raised.

This new idea was quite successful.

Over 1000 handwrien messages

were delivered to the faculty and

students of the college to their hostel

rooms and chambers. It was a pleas-

ant surprise for the receivers to wake

up and nd out what all people had

to say about them.

A faculty cricket match was held in the

memory of the late Prof. Suresh Ramaswamy.

Student volunteers made arrangements for the

game including the equipment. It was a 10

over game, and it was real fun to see our

teachers try their hand at bang and bowling.

They themselves had a great me and we were

ooded by quesons of when we would ar-

range a similar contest for them in the future.

Dr. Raghu was the winning captain of the day,

while Dr. Sachin Waigaonkar was proclaimed

Man of the Match for his exploits with the bat.

Volunteers got together and made

notebooks out of unused paper,

collected during the end-

semestercollecon drive. They even decorat-

ed the notebooks with drawings and

designs of their own. A total of 92

notebooks were bound which were

distributed among the school kids in

Zari.

This event presented an opportunity

for all the BITSians on campus to

share their talents and knowledge

by spending an hour of their me

with the Zari kids coming to the

classes conducted by the Nirmaan

volunteers.

Many students volunteered to par-

cipate and taught the kids various

interesng things like Magic Tricksand Vedic Maths among other

things.

All in all, it was a heartening experi-

ence for the kids who enjoyed every

bit of the acvity and cheered us all

along.


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Sarvesh Patel

Tushar Agarwal

Arushi Pandey

Dilip Ramesh

Mrinalini Padmanabhan

Radha VaidyaRohit Agrawal

Abhinav Setia

Archit Aswal

Ashwini Patil

Karthik Prasad

Saurabh SwamiSrishti Sharma

Surabhi Ranjan

Syed Shamoail Haque

Tulasi Ravindran

Nikhil Bhagat

Meera Haridas

Gokul Krishna

Harith Kumar

Ganesh Rao

Sarvesh Patel

Bhavya AggarwalMrinalini Padmanabhan

Ridima Chamadiya

Shivam Srivastava

Shreya Chandra

Akshay Biniwale

Aman Shrivastava

Arushi Pandey

Avani Dwivedi

Dilip Ramesh

Hamrazdeep Singh

Gauri Shelat

Rajee Gupta

Rohit Agrawal

Saurav Sengupta

Siddhi Ozarkar

Tanya Bansal

Varsha Rao

Rangoli made by Ankur Omar and team insidethe institute building during the time the week

was on, kept the festive mood going.

Follow us : @NirmaanGoa www.facebook.com/goanirmaan/

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