When we grow by ‘LEAPs’ and bounds

It was a fairy tale day for all the Enactus members. The sun was shining bright and clear, bubbles of mirth were floating in the air prickled occasionally by bursts of laughter, a perfect day spent with inspiring people. Here, I am talking about the tiny tots who graced our college for LEAP – Life on Wheels Escapades Adventure Program, the children of our rickshaw puller community who had kindly taken time out of their overly hectic schedules, to be with us.

As a part of Escapades, The Traveller’s annual adventure festival, LEAP was an initiative to gift a fun morning to the little ones by making them indulge in zorbing, bouncy boxing, trampoline volleyball and flying fox ending with a yummy snack!

I was super excited by the idea of finally being amongst my own kind, it did not feel like a trip down the memory lane, rather, it felt as if my time had just begun! The day kicked off with the kids coming and taking over the place with their infectious energy, and without knowing we were all sucked into the mayhem. It was refreshing to see Enactus members falling off the trampoline, getting boxed up by a little one, running after the notorious ones, jumping around with the hyper ones and becoming a horse for the demanding ones (the last one was done for an adorable six year old who refused to be satisfied by any of the adventure we provided and was intent on riding a ‘ghodagadi’). 

My feelings were fluctuating between intense paranoia and absolute joy, the former reappearing every 15 minutes when we would perform a headcount of the children and even if one naughty ponytail was missing; our hearts would stop until it was relocated. It was a HUGE responsibility, handling 20 kids in a state of perpetual motion, but we were far from complaining!

As the morning progressed, the kids opened up to us, they had some extraordinary skills, rapping Honey Singh’s songs being the least of them! We on our part taught them how to do a HI5 in the ‘Enactocool’ way. Finally it was time for their snack and the tearful goodbyes as we parted with many promises to meet again.

As I saw the last pair of feet run back to their parents, a sense of complacency enveloped me, the childhood which I thought was over for me at this stage was still intact, and would always remain so. It was my gift from the day.

By Akanksha Sinha

The Cuckoo Bird

Here is what we do at Enactus; how we influence the lives of the communities we work with. The cuckoo bird is a symbolic representation of those we help in our journey. 

I crept along a cuckoo bird,

A broken wing and a gullible heart,

I took her in warm, gentle hands,

Until I ensured she could fly far.

I gave her a path, a path so bright,

To cast light where lay darkness’ might.

Sustenance and strong arms I gave her,

And a mighty heart to spread to others.

The bird built a nest for thousands to rest,

Added to nature’s serenity with few new lives,

Earned a living with dignity, respect,

From a dead end to a new world’s start.

I learnt to live, resolute and firm,

I learnt a lot more than I taught.

The bird’s made her nest and so have a thousand others,

But what sets her apart is her impact on a million brothers.

We all live, and we live long,

We all smile, smile that’s never gone,

Why not look back, grab those forgotten,

Adding droplets to this mighty Godly ocean.

God’s given us one chance, let’s make it count,

Spread goodwill and irrefutable warmth all across.

Lets end the dismay, let there be no more sorrow,

For a better living, and for a better tomorrow.

-Rohith GVSS

  

ANTARDHWANI - Inner voice for a new life!

Its that time of the year again, where fests are all around you! Here, there, everywhere!

One of the most awaited ones, was the cultural fest of Delhi University, Antardhwani from the 22nd to 24th of February. This meant a long extended weekend for most DU students.

For others, it was a chance to present a year's worth of hardwork as part of the DU Innovation Grant projects.

In business terms, creativity is defined as the ability to come up with something different, something unique. Innovation is the ability to do existing things through new means. What we had at the Antardhwani Innovation Projects' hall was a mix of the two, along with a passion, determination and conviction in the hearts and minds of the students who presented their projects.

Representing SRCC was Enactus SRCC's project Aahaar - Reclaiming lives the culinary way!

In 2010, a group of students listened to their 'inner voice', the antardhwani that beckoned them to wake up, and stand up for a cause that has long been 'tabooed' by society. That of, women victims of commercial exploitation. Working with women who have been rescued from this horrendous profession, and helping them give life another chance is a moving experience and an extremely enriching one, and so was presenting it at Antardhwani. With our audience ranging from students to professors to social work groups and business houses, we ensured that the message being conveyed, held relevance for every one, and made everyone believe in the power of social entrepreneurship.

We could proudly say we had helped 4 women from the Nirmal Chhaya home for girls, reclaim their lives! We, as part of Project Aahaar, provided them with culinary training by partnering with the Taj group of hotels, conducted financial and literacy training for them, and most importantly, instilled in them a belief that their life had much more to offer than the past they came from.

Since it was an innovation project, we had to present further areas of research which would make the project more feasible and scalable. Working with other similar organizations such as Rescue Foundation and Indo Global Social Service Society (IGSSS) which rescue and house trafficked women, is great future potential for Project Aahaar.

Positive and encouraging feedback and recognition, is what re-instills our faith in the project. When the first feedback on the board says "This is the best project here. Hard to comprehend how students can understand and come up with such projects, and the fact that it is actually being implemented and is not merely on paper, ensures that this will go a long way!", we know we're on the right path.

We, as students, who have seen this project grow and make a difference, know, that working with a community as sensitive as this, is not easy. But we also believe that, it is worth every bit of the effort we put in. To see the smiles on the face of these women after working with us, lights up our lives.

Antardhwani was not only the best platform, there could have been, for us to present our project and belief in social entrepreneurship at the student level, but it also reaffirmed our faith and conviction in making Project Aahaar transcend boundaries and impact more lives :)

by Ipshita Agarwal