A student-led network of volunteers solves crises

[prasad1]

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Debojit Thakur was already part of a transcontinental network when the pandemic hit. A student from Kolkata with years of experience in volunteer relief work, he was pursuing a PhD at the University of Trier in Germany, and was in the middle of a research trip to Delhi when the borders closed in March.

Still, when he and a few friends decided to post a message on Facebook on March 29, inviting donations to help feed those rendered jobless and homeless, they were not expecting the response they got.

“People from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and across Europe, most of them students, sent in money,” said Thakur, 29. “And those who couldn’t spare money were generous with their time, their help, and with spreading the word.”

Within weeks, a network of 650 volunteers had emerged, spread across Delhi and West Bengal. Thakur decided to call it the Quarantined Student-Youth Network (QSYN). They set up 26 makeshift kitchens and have so far distributed over 10,000 ration packages and served over 100,000 cooked meals.

Bollywood got wind of the bunch of youngsters doing good work, and celebrities like Ayushmann Khurrana, Varun Grover, Ishan Khattar and Ananya Pandey shared their details on Instagram Stories, inviting people to pitch in. By May 27, the group had collected Rs 60 lakh. By June 14, it had jumped to Rs 95 lakh, and QSYN had begun using the crowd-funding website Ketto.org, for greater ease and transparency.

“My friends and I used to volunteer under the banner Students of Bengal. We contributed to relief work after the Nepal earthquake in 2015 and the floods in Kerala last year. In the lockdown, with the millions being affected, I realised we had to build a stronger network. That’s how QSYN was born,” said Thakur.

“We plan to keep it going till all the money is gone. We are not an NGO but we will have to decide what to do in the future, because this is a good thing we’ve started. Maybe we can figure that out when we actually can meet in person.”

HT Salutes: A student-led network of volunteers solves crises

Within weeks, a network of 650 volunteers had emerged, spread across Delhi and West Bengal. Thakur decided to call it the Quarantined Student-Youth Network (QSYN).

www.hindustantimes.com

 

[prasad1]

Sorry it is not a government initiative.
In the words of a Bhakt, this is a leftist initiative. That person would like to deride such efforts by a non-Bhakt.
No one’s flaunting lifestyle on Facebook anymore. Social media has emerged as the saviour to many in the current pandemic

With the nationwide lockdown imposed in India due to the coronavirus outbreak, the families of daily wage earners, labourers, waiters, taxi and autorickshaw drivers, and others who depend on their everyday earnings for survival have been severely affected.

In the corona stricken world, social media is helping people come together to reach out to various organizations pan India and even establish new ones to feed the hungry.


Caring Indians, a crowdsourced social initiative has been providing food, PPE kits and masks to residents of Mumbai and Pune. Samarth Sharma of Caring Indians, says, “The need of the hour is to help people. With a significant social media base, my friends and I thought of this initiative.”

Sharma, an IIT alumnus, says, “With the lockdown in place, people have been spending a lot of time on social media. Our initiative has been possible only because of social media and my loyal fan base that helped me with spreading the message. Social media in such times has emerged as a big influencer in itself. We managed to feed 35,000 people in a week.”

Many NGO’s and self-help groups have used social media to share images of the happy faces, letting people know how even the smallest donations have put a smile on someone’s face. One such group is Roti Bank. Sudhir Behrani, founder, says, “Social media has played a vital role in garnering support for the cause of these migrant workers and daily wage labourers. As ration involves a lot of logistics, we stick to cooked food. The happiness you get by seeing people come together for a noble cause is a different feeling altogether.”


Jan Jagriti Foundation has also been helping people with dry ration. Nutan from the foundation says, “Indians are always willing to help. One post from a social media account for help and you have hundreds of people willing to come forward and help.”

Strangers across India connect to help the needy

No one’s flaunting lifestyle on Facebook anymore. Social media has emerged as the saviour to many in the current pandemic

www.hindustantimes.com

 

[sethupathy]

Debojit Thakur was already part of a transcontinental network when the pandemic hit. A student from Kolkata with years of experience in volunteer relief work, he was pursuing a PhD at the University of Trier in Germany, and was in the middle of a research trip to Delhi when the borders closed in March.

Still, when he and a few friends decided to post a message on Facebook on March 29, inviting donations to help feed those rendered jobless and homeless, they were not expecting the response they got.

“People from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and across Europe, most of them students, sent in money,” said Thakur, 29. “And those who couldn’t spare money were generous with their time, their help, and with spreading the word.”

Within weeks, a network of 650 volunteers had emerged, spread across Delhi and West Bengal. Thakur decided to call it the Quarantined Student-Youth Network (QSYN). They set up 26 makeshift kitchens and have so far distributed over 10,000 ration packages and served over 100,000 cooked meals.

Bollywood got wind of the bunch of youngsters doing good work, and celebrities like Ayushmann Khurrana, Varun Grover, Ishan Khattar and Ananya Pandey shared their details on Instagram Stories, inviting people to pitch in. By May 27, the group had collected Rs 60 lakh. By June 14, it had jumped to Rs 95 lakh, and QSYN had begun using the crowd-funding website Ketto.org, for greater ease and transparency.

“My friends and I used to volunteer under the banner Students of Bengal. We contributed to relief work after the Nepal earthquake in 2015 and the floods in Kerala last year. In the lockdown, with the millions being affected, I realised we had to build a stronger network. That’s how QSYN was born,” said Thakur.

“We plan to keep it going till all the money is gone. We are not an NGO but we will have to decide what to do in the future, because this is a good thing we’ve started. Maybe we can figure that out when we actually can meet in person.”

HT Salutes: A student-led network of volunteers solves crises

Within weeks, a network of 650 volunteers had emerged, spread across Delhi and West Bengal. Thakur decided to call it the Quarantined Student-Youth Network (QSYN).

www.hindustantimes.com

This is a spontaneous initiative in a pandemic situation. Good.
This ability to collect money and use it sincerely for a purpose in a noticeable manner is a great asset.
I suggest you start in a smallway to finance children for their studies after 12th who are meritorious but from poor circumstances irrespective of the their religion. One person well read can bring many families up.and they will do the same.
If you feel like motivated pl feel free to contact me in sethupathy49@gmail.com/7305605606. to discuss further.