Cheering up children

RAC Jai Hind College, RID 3141, recently concluded its Silent Saturday campaign, a month-long community service initiative with the theme ‘Brighter Days, Kinder Ways.’ Throughout November 2023, the club dedicated its efforts to a slum in Bandra East, focusing on four essential causes: health, hunger, safety and education.

The campaign involved daily donation drives from Monday to Friday, collecting items such as health kits, notebooks, one-time meals and sanitary pads. Each week, the club members dedicated their efforts to one specific cause, spreading awareness through street plays at various locations like Churchgate Station, Bandra Bandstand and Andheri Station in Mumbai.

The campaign has impacted 2,100 lives within 190 families, including 325 children and more than 275 women. As an additional act of kindness, the club identified a struggling widowed woman with two young daughters in the slum and provided her with a sewing machine to help restart her life.

Zainab Jetpurwala, a member of the club, expressed the joy of witnessing smiles on the faces of children in the slum. She shared a heartening incident when an auto driver appreciated their educative street play, “urging us to share it on social media for wider awareness.”

Club president Vedika Bansal says, “I am super proud of each team member for pulling off this month-long initiative. I hope that we continue to reach new heights in this new year as well.” The campaign not only made a difference in the lives of those in need but also garnered support and appreciation from the local community.

The club successfully hosted a vibrant fun fair called Masti Mela for children in Dharavi, the fifth edition of the Mumbai Students Film Festival, and Lit Fest’23 with diverse literary and an educational simulation of the United Nations to promote global awareness last year.