February 12, 2011
School of Engineering, Coimbatore
As part of the National Service Scheme (NSS), B.Tech. students from the Coimbatore campus participated in a seven-day village outreach program in Chinnampathy, near Walayar in Tamil Nadu.
Primarily a tribal area, the village is home to nearly 350 families. Most men work as laborers at the nearby Dalmia Cement Factory and most women take care of their homes. The women also rear cattle and cultivate vegetables.
Second-, third- and final-year students from the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering participated. Coimbatore staff, Mr. Saravanan and Mr. B. A. Sabarish, both NSS program officers, coordinated the volunteer efforts.
The following report filed by the students provides a glimpse of the activities undertaken.
On the first day, we conducted an eye camp. In addition to checking the eye sight of the school children and some of the villagers, we explained different exercises and practices for enhancing vision. Information about proper nutrition for good eye sight was also provided.
The camp concluded with the serving of some delicious and nutritious food to the children.
On the following day, we conducted a survey among the villagers in order to obtain information about the amenities that they lacked.
Next we undertook two big ventures.
We cleaned the vast school grounds, collected garbage and disposed the waste properly. We also cleared grass and thorny plants from the surroundings.
Our second endeavor entailed cleaning of the school’s water tank.
At the bottom of the tank, there was a thick layer of sediment. We removed this to ensure a hygienic supply of water in the future. We also cemented the cracks in the tank and sealed the holes in the supply pipe.
On the fifth day, the school’s compound wall was white washed and the school gate was painted. We took this opportunity to highlight important educational messages on the school wall.
When the Chairperson of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mr. Joshi C. Haran visited, he was amazed to see the completely new look of the school.
Earlier, the Chairperson of the Department of IT, Mr. K. Gangadharan, spoke to the students, motivating them to concentrate on their studies. Mrs. Jhansi, Dept of Students Welfare, also interacted with the school children, advising them on how to best manage their lives.
We dedicated the last two days to promoting the talents of the students. Various competitions including fancy dress, singing, drawing, comprehension, poetry recital, running race, sack race, lemon spoon, etc. were conducted.
As we distributed prizes to the winners, a special surprise awaited us and the children. Students and staff members from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering arrived to prepare the Pongal sweet for us all.
This marked a delicious end to our NSS camp.
