MAKE A DIFFERENCE – AN INITIATIVE FOR STUDENTS IN NEED
P. Aiswarya, IAS SBC Treasurer for Rajagiri IEEE Student Branch
Diya Denny, Technical Coordinator for Rajagiri IEEE Student Branch
The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in educational institutions all around the world being shut down in order to maintain social distancing and avoid the communal spread of Covid-19. Most institutions were able to shift to online education without any major issues and were able to continue to provide quality education to all students in the country. But the same cannot be said for a developing nation like India wherein many students rely on the government and public educational institutions. Most families could afford to provide a smartphone or a tablet for their children. Some families of students who attend government schools could not have this luxury. This meant that these students were no longer able to have access to education and their future was at stake. The government did take action by providing education over television networks, but some families whose children attended government schools didn’t have access to a television. This led to students coming together and learning in places where there was a television, which puts them at risk of being infected.
Volunteers at Rajagiri IEEE SB wanted to do something for these disadvantaged school children and the community. This led to the beginning of the make a difference campaign wherein the members of the Student Branch as well as all the members within the Section were informed about this initiative and asked to contribute any amount possible. This initiative saw overwhelming support from the members within the IEEE Rajagiri Student Branch as well as college students and their family and friends. This campaign was held for a week at the end of July 2020 and after a week of tireless campaigning, a total amount of Indian Rupees 100,000 was raised. Using this money, 12 mobile phones were procured to benefit 12 school students. An additional amount of Indian Rupees 1000 was also given along with the device so that they could take a mobile plan for the next six months. These 12 students were personally identified from different parts of Kerala (Thiruvalla – 5, Kottayam – 4, Thodupuzha – 1, Alappuzha – 2) on the basis of academic performance and recommendation from their school principal.
As IEEE members, we should always strive to pave the way for the advancement of humanity and work towards the betterment of our community. This was the motivating factor behind initiating this campaign. “Advancing Technology for Humanity” the slogan of IEEE is something that the IEEE Rajagiri SB volunteers took to heart and decided to act upon. The student community in the Kerala Section is a very strong and vocal community that has the power to affect real change in the society. And this initiative brought out the best from this community to affect a positive change in the lives of 12 school students. Check out the multimedia version of the COVID-19 Personality of the Month at the link https://newsletter.ieeer10.org/