How exactly does the UT fit into the above scene? AADHAAR (An Association for the Development of Health and Academic Awareness in Rural India), a voluntary organization that collects funds and donates them to pressing causes in India, was formed at the UT by Indian students in 1997. It has around 70 members of Indian, Dutch and other nationalities. AADHAAR receives donations through regular member contributions and through special events. For instance, the Indian Food festival and Bollywood movie show last September at ITC International, where volunteers teased the taste buds of eighty-five attendees with popular Indian curries and later showed them the delights of Bollywood, all for a mere 12 euros. The funds collected are used primarily for children's education and women's welfare in India. As the students were brainstorming different ways of generating funds, an idea came to a volunteer. Many times, Christmas presents given to students and staff remain unused, so why not give them the choice of diverting the funds allocated for these presents towards charity?
After receiving a positive response from Mr. W.H. Fij, Managing Director, TNW to go ahead with this unique idea, AADHAAR volunteers mailed students and staff primarily from the Chemical Technology department requesting that their Christmas presents to given away for charity. The response they received was overwhelming. The collections amounted to around 3000 euros, a substantial figure. It was decided by the authorities to divide the amount equally between three organizations. The money that AADHAAR received was spent on distributing school uniforms to school children in Soundad on Independence Day. AADHAAR volunteer Pramod Agrawal, an AIO from TNW, who was born and raised in Soundad says, `Previously these children did not have any clothes at all. The school uniforms they received will be used by them throughout the day. We have taken care to see that the uniforms are large-sized so that they can used for several years. The children of Soundad express their gratitude to everybody who helped (see photo) and are looking forward to attending school with newfound drive. Isn't it incredible that a meager amount of 1.50 euros (cost per uniform) can have such a dramatic impact?' Agrawal hopes to repeat the Christmas charity drive this year and explore the possibility of extending it to other faculties as well.
Meanwhile at the other end of the world in Cusco, Peru, voluntary worker Dolores of the Children of the Sun project had been struggling to cope with the burgeoning number of street children being sheltered at her own house. Maria Friedeman-de Korte, Financial Department (Faculty of Science & Technology) happened to be in the right place at the right time. She had taken a three-month sabbatical at the end of 2001 to undertake voluntary work. A mother of five daughters, she felt the urge to provide opportunities which her own children enjoyed so freely to the less fortunate. Dolores managed to get hold of a dilapidated building but lacked the funds for chairs, tables or other necessary facilities. Armed with funds Friedeman-de Korte had collected from family, friends and colleagues' and loads of determination, the two women made the school as functional as possible. They also managed to arrange a Bread&Soup scheme which was the only meal of the day for most children. Friedeman-de Korte has been visiting Cusco every year ever since and the school now has running water and in-house shower and toilet facilities. The funds received last Christmas were spent on a priceless piece of paper: a birth certificate. Says Friedeman-de Korte, `It is not possible to admit a child to school without a birth certificate and it is an expense that is avoided by most of these working children. So we helped out with part of the funds and the remaining is being used on uniforms, books and medicines at the school.'
Doctors without Borders, the international physicians' group that stays in after the Red Cross has moved out of war torn areas, was the final recipient of the UT Christmas charity drive.
The above instances are striking testaments to how far a small gesture can go. Ultimately, government corruption and bureaucracy, oft-repeated root causes of the plight of the underprivileged, remain just words in the face of dedicated initiatives taken by people themselves.
To learn more about AADHAAR, visit www.aadhaar.com and attend its orientation talk on Friday, October 1st at 1:00 pm in Hogekamp T5.
