This year, Kerala was hit by one of the worst floods in its history. Nearly, 400-500 people were killed. Deeply concerned about the worsening situation of the floods in August 2018, I decided to raise funds for those affected by the Kerala floods. Last year, I had raised funds during the Bihar floods through an initiative in the National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi (the “University”). My previous experience motivated me to do something this time as well.
I started by approaching the members of the IDIA Ranchi team about collecting funds for Kerala’s flood relief. They were very enthusiastic about the initiative, and actively participated in the same. We requested a faculty member to be the faculty convener for the funds’ collection. Finally, we submitted a letter to the Vice Chancellor Gautam Kumar Choudhary for allowing us to collect the money inside and outside the premises of the University. He readily gave his permission for the same.
To attract the students’ attention towards this noble cause, we prepared five flexes. Two members of the IDIA Ranchi chapter, Saddam Ansari and Mujeeb, helped me put up the flexes in various places where the students would see them. Also, a banner was placed in the bank of our University to inform the people who visit the bank about the donation drive. We raised INR 10,000 in a week. In order to raise more funds, the team went to the nearby market. With their hard work, our goal was achieved. The credit goes to the wonderful IDIA team members who went outside the University to collect more funds. We were able to raise INR 40,000.
To hand over the money, I traveled to Trivandrum with my friend. We were able to meet the Honourable Chief Minister of Kerala. My uncle, Mr. Mahfooz Alam, donated Rs. 1,01,000 to him. The Hon’ble Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was very happy to see the students’ efforts. The media was informed about the initiative to motivate other students to come forward as well.
This blog post was written by Afsar Raza, team leader of the IDIA Jharkhand Chapter.