Madurai teams up for social causes

Youngsters in the city gather together as groups and work towards some of the social issues.
Teamwork has always been perceived as a success mantra. When people join hands they can bring about more change and youngsters in the city have realized that. Students and employed youngsters find this as a chance to prove that they are essential in the societal framework.
Looking at it
Gaurav Gupta, a student volunteer of one such group, says, “During my under graduation, my college had a separate percentage for the social services done by a single student.We had various options to serve the society. Right from blood donation to maintaining a village’s health requirements, we were all assigned to specific tasks each semester. We had to work towards that after our college hours. At first we were not comfortable with these sessions. But later we found that we are learning something that is important for our lives. That is when I had the idea of forming teams with my close friends and associates and to continue the same work even after leaving my college.”
Everyone now blames the education system for the kind of load they force upon students. Some of the education systems are taking efforts to make studies a more relative thing so that we can have some human element in it. “After completing my studies in Chennai, I returned back to my hometown, Madurai, to continue the service. With the help of my friends, I was able to form a team associated with one of the international associations. Right from the first day we have been engaged in certain tasks like blood donation, taking care of the old age homes and orphanages by raising funds periodically. We also have some sessions that enlighten the minds and bring an awareness of some complicated issues of the society. We are currently working towards a fund raising event in the city,” adds the active lead member of the group.
Joining hands
India, as a diverse society often received disturbances in the system. Identifying and rectifying the problem always gets complicated with the process. Sharmila Devi, a student says, “Some of my friends in the metropolitan cities always talk to me about the combination of social services and the studies. Here, in Madurai, few colleges have this curriculum but they are not functioning effectively as it is supposed to be. This might be due to the disinterest of the students or they being hesitant to break out of their comfort zones. Schools and colleges have to deal with this curriculum in an effective way because that is where everything begins.”
Teaming up
It is always easy to work as a team than just asn individual. Forming a team is indeed an important task in this scenario. Akilesh gives us some insights. He says, “It should be easy for the students to gather as a team as they have a wide range of friends in their campus. Also, they can have some sessions where they can merge well with the fellow members of the team. They have to work consciously every day and also be linked always. Funds should not be the major problem. They should be able to do things with minimum funds. If they have their goal set and are working with serious efforts every day, then they are sure to achieve the desired goals.”
While few work towards the good of the soceity, one has to remember that every issue has their own set of sceptics. Senthil K, a masters student says that if an individual is going to be helping the society, then it should continue for life. “I have friends who would do social work only to get marks and appreciation from teachers,” says Senthil. “What happens when school/college is done? Are you going to stop helping them? The answer is a yes. Because nobody’s going to stick around once school is done. We’re all going to go looking for greener pastures, if I may use those words. Our commitment extends only till we’re in school/college, where marks and credits play a major role. After that, it’s an out of sight, out of mind issue. Most of them do volunteer work just because it looks good on their resume.”
Although Senthil has a point, many youngsters do stick around in their city and do their bit to help the city and the society. Catch em young, they say! And that’s exactly what organizations and associations in Madurai are doing. With each passing year, looks like the number of volunteers too are increasing.