PROJECTS
NSS PROJECTS
We, at NSS-SVC, believe that a properly designed organisation can help improve teamwork and productivity by providing framework within which the people can work together effectively. While building the organisational structure, it is essential to relate the people to the cause. Thus, with cause above self as our spirit, we aim to make things better for the people around us.
For this, we have five projects that focus on key areas to help improve the ecosystem we live in. While the other projects are in a latter stage, Poshan is in its nascent stage. We keep on improvising in the deliverables of our projects throughout the year.
All of our projects have Sanjay Camp, as the central point as we seek to deliver resources and service for improving conditions in our beloved slum.
Astitva focuses on empowerment and improving the standard of living, E1T1 is based on education, Pahal focuses on awareness, Pustak- Book Bank on availability of resources for education and Poshan on nutrition.
These projects have a pivotal role in making sure that we as NSS-SVC can work in an organised manner to serve the society.
In addition to that, they foster teamwork environment which makes sure our volunteers are always motivated and prepared to give their best.
Each One Teach One
HOW WE STARTED ?
"Education is for improving the lives of others"
Each One Teach One is one of the projects initiated by NSS-SVC that aims at providing education to underprivileged children living in Sanjay camp(our adopted slum).
This project was set up by our seniors for the betterment and upliftment of the underprivileged sections of the society with a vision of targeting the tiny tots, who are the future of our country and we wished to carry this legacy forward with much pride in our hearts.
The Each One Teach one project was one of the most impactful projects of Parivartan- the social service society. The goal was to inculcate the stigmatized thus marginalized slum children to the mainstream society and burst the bubble of myths, stigmas, and generalizations of college students.
Each one teaches one achieved its goal under parivartan and helped create an endless bond between the college kids and slum children.
The legacy of each one teaches one is still continued under NSS SVC as it works tirelessly to achieve the motto Each One Teaches One.
In E1T1 , we currently operate in a 1:5 teacher student ratio.
We conduct regular learning circles and impart curriculum as well as general syllabus to students.
We teach students of class 3-10 living in and around Sanjay Camp.
We regularly conduct sessions on important topics like health and hygiene , good touch & bad touch and various career paths available to sensitize and prepare our students for the outside world.
We conduct our classes through innovative presentations and lots of fun interaction.
Our key focus is on:
1. Holistic development of students
2. Preparing them for future challenges
3. Encouraging co-scholastic activities like dance, art and music
Before the pandemic, we used to go Sanjay Camp twice a week i.e on Wednesday and Thursday. We went there by walk and took around 15 mins to reach and assemble the children at a spot called chhoti mandi. From there, we took them to a nearby park and taught them for 1.5 hours. In session 19-20, we have taken a total of 23 visits to support the children in Sanjay Camp.
OPERATIONS
Project ' पहल '
"Trust the magic of new beginnings"
Pahal’ means ‘beginning’. At NSS-SVC this project aims at collecting regular data updates from all the houses/stores in Sanjay Camps about the problems they face in their locality, educational qualifications of parents and children, census of family members and other related information. This information is then processed into raw data and measures to improve their living conditions are made.
The volunteers of NSS-SVC hold regular surveys at Sanjay Camps so that the data can be updated from time to time.
Volunteers go door to door and ask questions to the people in a comforting tone, therefore, making the functioning smooth. This also results in people discussing more and more of less-known issues faced by them in their lives.
HOW WE STARTED?
The root topic for our initial survey was the 'drop-out ratio'. It consisted of a questionnaire that was related to all the people who dropped out of school/college in our adopted slum Sanjay camp and the reason behind it.
The survey was conducted successfully at the slum covering 535 households. The groundwork was completed in 3 visits and all the volunteers were very enthusiastic and conscientious regarding the survey.
Through this initiative, we got to know about the obstacles faced by these people when they were studying and the reasons for their dropout. They wished that their children should accomplish what they could not. We also tried comprehending where the root of this problem actually laid.
The report was successfully published.
Since then, we have been conducting surveys on various issues concerning college students, slum children and people alike.
OPERATIONS
PAHAL is a vast project which is divided into two steps-
1) Collecting and analyzing data
2) Preparing a report adhering to the data
It is a base project for all other new projects because by such survey-oriented projects we can get to the reality of slums and the problems faced by people living in unprivileged area. Preparing a report based on it helps to question higher authorities and seek their help to fulfill basic needs of the people living in slum areas.
In the year 2021, we challenged ourselves to expand our comfort zone and tried to serve the people of Sanjay Camp in these hard times by conducting a vaccination camp. We got 500+ people vaccinated and provided them with the vax certificate and food on the day of vaccination. The organization of this camp involved a lot of backend activities such as surveys: both on-ground and telephonic, collaboration with social welfare organizations, finalizing appropriate and feasible place for the camp, spreading awareness about the importance of vaccination, and so on but with the help of our dedicated team we were able to raise the bar and cater the people in need.
Project ASTITVA
"Her soul is fierce, Her heart is brave, Her mind is strong"
Project Astitva is a women-centric project where we take the responsibility to empower the underprivileged women of Sanjay Camp, in various sectors Astitva implies existence, and the purpose of Project Astitva is to make women understand the value of their existence.
Its objective is to contribute and create consciousness about menstrual hygiene among the underprivileged women of Sanjay Camp.
HOW WE STARTED?
The project started with a vague idea of distributing biodegradable pads to underprivileged women in our adopted slum, Sanjay Camp. Starting with a survey, insights were gathered about menstrual hygiene and awareness among women. From that, we got to know about the common problems they were facing regarding the quality and the prices of the pads. We conducted a session on menstrual hygiene partnering with Vyomini, an NGO which was followed by a free sample distribution of the biodegradable pads from Vyomini itself. A feedback was taken after a month where around 90% of the ladies loved the pads and then they became regular users of these pads.
OPERATIONS
The basis of this project lies in ensuring the menstrual hygiene of the women. For that, every month these women are provided with biodegradable sanitary napkins at minimal costs.
Project Astitva also started with skill enhancement which included training them in making handiwork, decoratives, wall hangings, key-chains, earrings, etc.
Project Astitva conducts regular English classes to teach them basic communication skills with basic writing skills on a weekly basis, two days a week.
Astitva also highlights the need to guide them in solving any particular issue or circumstances they face in their own relations and in the extended society.
During the pandemic, it was hard to reach the ladies but we still tried to be in contact with them and helped them in every possible way. We held pad distribution drives for the ladies of Sanjay Camp and tried to keep their studies going on through call and Whatsapp.
Whether its educating women on menstrual hygiene and having pad distribution drives or making them aware about the significance of mental health, Astitva has grown with every step it has taken. Working on the recent initiative of Sashakt and providing economic aid and skills to women, the project is on its way to diversify its impact and be more inclusive to various strata emerging in the society including the LGBTQIA+ community through our social campaigns.
PUSTAK: Book Bank
'Books are uniquely portable magic.'
‘Pustak’, an initiative taken by NSS-SVC helps to bring about a change in the society by providing a means of education to students, especially to the underprivileged. We, at Sri Venkateswara College, believe that our goal is not just to help the underprivileged but to stand as a bridge to facilitate college students with books and other study materials. Book bank being called an NSS-SVC project has marked a start for our college that there are still students who believe in donating their books and stationery for future generations. We still have students in our college who want to act as a helping hand and shape the future of further generations.
‘Pustak’ that is BOOK BANK was proposed by our senior Mr. Vipul Garg in the year 2017-2018 and was subsequently adopted by our NSS family in March 2019.
HOW WE STARTED?
We started with our operations from 20th August 2019 when we arranged the first book desk in the foyer of Sri Venkateshwara College. Preparations for the desk had started days before, through online as well as offline campaigning, during which volunteers went to different classrooms, labs, staffrooms, canteen, foyer, ground, rock garden, front lawns to spread a word about the project. The motive was to collect last semester books from students and books for kids from nursery to 12th including NCERT books, storybooks, stationary, writing books, drawing books, and notebooks for kids.
The number of books received by our first desk was far beyond expectations.
The success of this event motivated us to keep going and we further organized more desks. People did not just come forward to provide books for college purposes but books were also donated for students living in the slum area of Sanjay Camp.
OPERATIONS
Book Bank works very closely with one of NSS-SVC’s major projects 'Each One Teach One' where our NSS volunteers go to Sanjay camp to teach underprivileged students. Book Bank also collects books that can be used to teach those children and distribute them to them.
This project aims to provide books, stationery and other educational material to the children of our adopted slum and not limiting ourselves to it, we also, collate study material for college students.
Before the pandemic, our seniors had conducted book collection and distribution drives and allocated books in college itself.
And despite the lockdown, the team didn't stop, discovered new opportunities and created E-library for the students of classes 9-12th and even collaborated with E1T1 to provide study material for their literacy classes. Besides helping them in academics, we also helped them to explore the world outside by sharing non-academic books like storybooks and colouring books with them. We have also conducted a stationary distribution drive during NSS day and ahaan.
Pustak also records audiobooks for PWD students where we record notes with more emphasis and detailed understanding. It’s here we realised the real meaning of Sharing is Caring.
POSHAN-FOOD PROJECT
"You gotta nourish to flourish"
"In order to carry a positive action, we must develop a positive vision"~ Dalai Lama
This is the vision with which our former president, Kamalika Anand, thought of The Food Project. The thought of how much food, restaurants and cafes wasted was disheartening for her.
Taking her idea forward, in the month of November 2019 we began with the budding Food project with the same zeal. The idea was to curb the wastage of leftover food by cafes and restaurants across Delhi.
HOW WE STARTED?
Since charity begins at home, our first stop was our college canteen. We conducted a survey there and were assured that all the leftover food is put to use either as a means to feed the animals or as compost. To create awareness among the students of our college, we planned to put up a board in the canteen where the weight of the food wasted each day would be mentioned on a daily basis. The purpose was to minimize the wastage of food and to sensitize students towards this grave problem.
Next, we conducted a series of surveys in our nearby student hub Satya Niketan. The surveys were conducted with the motive that if any of the cafes or restaurants is unable to manage the leftover food, we can assist them and help them by collaborating with a few NGOs who are actively working to provide food to the needy ones.
OPERATIONS
Poshan is a food centric project which mainly works in two sectors - Animal Welfare and Fulfilling food requirements of less fortunate people.
Initially, we started this project with a plan to get surplus food from restaurants to the people in need but due to pandemic, we were unable to go forward with this plan and had to make changes in the project keeping in mind about the households affected by the pandemic.
So, we started this project by doing a survey of various families in Sanjay camp regarding their health problems and basic needs during the time of the pandemic. After conducting a survey, we sensitized 100+ families on topics related to health problems and immunity.
Poshan also collaborated with Mission Raksha and has done multiple ration distribution drives in our beloved Sanjay camp and successfully distributed ration to 1500+ people.
We are currently operating in distribution of ration to families in need in collaboration with various NGOs. Post and amidst the 2nd wave, we did various ration distribution drives in Sanjay Camp and successfully distributed ration to 100+ families as per our data base.
On the other hand with a thought that animals also require care and support, we started with Animal welfare campaign under POSHAN where we had seminars and visits to places such as Sanjay Van with Animal centric NGOs to sensitize and mobilize our volunteers in the field of Animal welfare. We are yet to explore and do more in this area of Animal welfare.
