The National Service Scheme unit fared well, albeit the drastically declined physical classes. The pandemic confined the students to their homes and denied them of fun and frolic of school days. Still, the National service Scheme unit of the school found enough time for their community projects.
Boys and girls of the Unit mobilized hundreds of food packets for the patients and their bystanders at the Government Hospital Kayamkulam. The demand for the lunchboxes was indeed an eye-opener to the students of the social realities of poverty and helplessness. The hands-on experience with the social fabric of today’s India prompted them to pledge for more unified actions for alleviating the pains of the have-nots of our society. They pledged to mobilize more food packets to streets and hospitals at least once a month.
Insecticides and pesticides applied to vegetables pose a big health hazard to people. NSS wanted to use the potentials and resources of its members to cultivate vegetables safe for human use. Students were given their first lessons on agricultural and vegetable farming at the school premises. The members have to nurture the plants and vegetables until they are ready for harvest. The young boys and girls would benefit from hands-on training at the student-owned Agri farm.
Access to medical care in Kerala is relatively fair as compared to the rest of India. Still, hundreds of senior citizens are often either neglecting their eyesight or stretching the visits to the medics for want of resources or physical support. The NSS unit brought the medics and facilities to the needy patients through the conduct of eye camps. Ahaliya Eye Hospital joined hands with the NSS Unit to examine the patients at the eye camp – ‘Mizhi’. Hundreds of free eye camps are being conducted by social and cultural organizations in the country. By organizing such a camp, the members of the NSS unit get the unique hands-on experience to interact with the community and to reincarnate themselves as ideal citizens of the future.
The unit celebrated Human Rights Day on 10 December 2021 and organized awareness classes as part of the celebrations. Mr. Mehar Khan, a noted Human Rights activist, called upon the students to keep a vigil on the violations of human rights and asked them to support the activities of the Human Rights organizations. The members of the NSS unit pledged to dedicate themselves to the cause of human rights and to stand by the oppressed.
The vast human resources that can be of tremendous value – the student community – are often neglected or underutilized in times of disasters. Rendering proper training to them on disaster management will make them saviors of human lives and wealth. Initiatives to use the untapped potentials of the young generation call for intense training by seasoned professionals. The NSS Unit of the school roped in the vast expertise and experience of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police to impart hands-on training to the members. The students were trained to help those in disasters without risking their lives. Feedback from the members of the Unit showed that they have benefitted from the training program and they feel confident to serve the community in the wake of disasters. They will be part of the volunteer corps – ‘Sannadham’ – organized under the auspices of the Kerala State Unit of the National Service Scheme.
The seven-day camp of the National Service Scheme members was conducted at RVSM LP School Prayar. NSS camps were organized were fully residential till recently. Covid-19 pandemic forced the Unit to schedule the daily program to end by evening. Guests, parents, teachers, and campers moved from the school campus to the camp-site as a procession. Sri. C R Mahesh, Member of Legislative Assembly, inaugurated the camp. Sri. Jacob John, NSS State Coordinator, and Sri. Ashok Kumar District Coordinator attended the inaugural session. Sri. S Sreeraj, Sri. Biju Mavelikkara, Sri. Aneesh S Cheppad, and Sri. Punnapra Jyothikumar led different sessions on self improvement and citizen responsibilities and social media. A photo exhibition on the life of Mahatma Gandhi was an added attraction to the camp.
The NSS Unit sponsored newspapers to the students of KNM UPG School, Prayar as part of the ‘Aksharadeepam’ project. Ms. Navya Raj, an alumnus of our school and a rank holder in Physical Education from MG University was honoured at the Youth Day celebrations of the NSS unit. Sri. Ashok Kumar, District NSS Convenor handed over 220+ books worth Rs.30000.00 collected by the NSS volunteers to the Raja Raja Varma Grandhasala, one of the oldest libraries of Kerala.
