Bringing light to little lives this season

In keeping with the tradition of giving to society and aiming towards the betterment of the underprivileged, Sanskriti, the cultural committee of National Institute of Technology (NIT), Raipur launched the ‘Be a Teacher’ initiative under the banner of their cultural festival, Eclectika 2016.
As part of the initiative to guide, encourage and support the lesser-privileged children, the students collaborated with the non-profit organisation, Akshaya Patra Foundation, visiting the base kitchen where the mid-day meal for many schools is prepared daily.“It was a wonderful experience as Gopavrinda Prabhu, who overseas the meal preparation, explained the working of the kitchen and the importance of the foundation to us,” said Vishal Singh, a final year student.
After the kitchen visit, the students then headed to the government-aided schools where Akshayapatra provides mid-day meals. A heart-to-heart interactive session between NIT’s students and the school children followed. When the children were asked what they wanted to achieve in life, they shared different dreams — ones pure, untamed and bubbling with passion. The students also explained to the children the ill effects of bursting crackers and aiming at a pollution-free Diwali. It was a day well spent when the students also assisted the school authorities in distributing the mid day meal to the students.
Observing No Shave November as well
The Eclectika team also launched a ‘Fight against Cancer’ initiative in the light of ‘No Shave November’ being observed over the month, in collaboration with Iosis, Raipur and Indian Cancer Society. Participants were required to click a picture sporting their beard and post it to the fest’s Facebook page. The winner would be declared on the basis of the number of likes. “The goal of the initiative was to spread awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free. One ideally donates the money typically spent on shaving and grooming to educate others about cancer prevention,” informed Vishal.