Gandhi Jayanthi Celebrated Throughout LEAD Locations

Gandhi Jayanthi is a national holiday celebrated to the occasion of the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, one of India’s most prominent freedom fighters.  To honor Gandhi and his contributions to society, LEADers throughout all of the locations took it upon themselves to carry out initiatives in their communities.

Belgaum

Eight initiatives took place in Belgaum.  LEADers from all Belgaum colleges participated, and the initiatives benefitted 3,000 people across the city.

Chants of “Go crazy for green, go green, go green!” and “Mahilao mat daro, hum tumhare saath sai” reached the ears of thousands of Belgaum residents on Gandhi Jayanthi.  GIT LEAD Cell collaborated with SGBIT LEAD Cell, KLECET, and LEAD Belgaum to take over the city of Belgaum and celebrate Gandhi Jayanthi in a unique and awesome way.  The students organized a bicycle rally to address and spread awareness for pressing social issues such as environmental pollution and women empowerment.  The “Blue Army” set to the streets with their bicycles and high energy, and rallied throughout the city streets.  

To spread the message of protecting against environmental pollution, students brought 200 plant saplings and planted them in different places.  To communicate the message of women empowerment, the students incorporated the participation of many women in the rally.

The rally was a huge success and the students were appreciated by the Belgaum community for their commitment to and passion for improving society.  

LEADers Sagar and Shivaprasad, and their team members Sanket, Yash, namrata, Sanskriti, Shamanth, Soundarya, and Anjrudh visited the Prajwal Organization, a child rehabilitation center for rescued children from child labor, to have an interaction with the children.  The LEADers showed a video about our planet, Pole to Pole, to the children.  The children were amazed to see the many kinds of animals that are living all around the world.  After the video, the LEADers interacted with the children and asked them to showcase their different talents.  The children enjoyed singing, dancing, and mimicry acts, and the LEADers were quite impressed by the children’s many skills.  Afterwards, the LEADers engaged the children in a creativity session where they taught them how to make different clay models.  The day ended with a fun, three legged race.  

The LEADers commented that everyone really enjoyed the experience.  The children kept asking them, “When will you all come again?”

Usually, Gandhi Jayanthi celebrations are conducted in schools and colleges.  While these celebrations are beneficial, a significant amount of the population gets left out.  LEADers Abhishek, Sandeepkumar, Mahedevayya, Somashekar, Raju, Krishna, and Kaveri of SGBIT, Belgaum celebrated Gandhi Jayanthi with auto rickshaw drivers.  The students went to the rickshaw stand in the heart of the city near Channamma Circle and spoke to the auto drivers about non-violent principles, and encouraged the auto drivers to continue spreading those important principles.  The auto drivers were happy that the

students thought of them on this special day and chose to celebrate with them.

 LEADers Basavaraj, Anam, and Akshay of SGBIT, Belgaum, conducted a Gandhi Jayanti Celebration in Ankur School, a school for special needs children.  22 children attended the function. Among the 22 children present, four of the children gave speeches and two children sung a song.  It was a memorable day for all the LEADers and children who participated. 

LEADers Kavya, Kartik Patil, Charvi, A Adarsh, Mayur, Ramya. , Aishwarya . Sumit . Rashmi . Sagar. Arshiya. Keerti . Shabnam and Shrujana of SGBIT, Belgaum, celebrated Gandhi Jayanthi with the people of the Vantmoori slum area by distributing snacks to the area residents and spreading awareness about the importance of water in maintaining hygiene.  

                       

Dharwad

LEADer Rajeshwari from SDMCET, Dharwad, organized Gandhi Jayanthi and Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanthi celebrations at Santrupti Mess to commemorate the national leaders and to set an example for society about the importance of national festivals and holidays.  The program was presided by Dr. S. Mohan Kumar (Principal, SDMCET), Professor Sunil Honnungar (LEAD Faculty Coordinator), and Mr. Yuvraj (Hostel manager).  The event consisted of songs and speeches presented by SDM LEADers. 

Anjuman Arts and Science College LEADer Shameedali and his team celebrated Gandhi Jayanthi with deaf and dumb children, a well as an old age home.  They played different games with the deaf and dumb students and taught them creativity, and they gifted handmade greetings cards and fruits to the people of the old age home.

 

LEADers Apply Skills Learned in LLP to Help 25 Orphans

LEADers Swaroop and Abhishek from Nutan College participated in LEAD Leadership Program, and took the skills they learned and successfully applied them to a project.  Swaroop and Abhishek conducted a creativity workshop for 25 children of Premalaya Orphanage on September 14th.  Swaroop taught the children how to make Ganesh idols and and Abhishek taught the students how to make Warli art.  The Ganesh idols were then made by plaster and distributed to the orphanage.  

 

Davangere LEADer Teaches Environmental Awareness through Art to 20 Orphans

LEADer Vidyashree of SBC conducted a drawing competition in Premalaya Orphanage under Makala Shishukalyan Elake.  Vidyashree came up with this project idea during a LEAD brainstorming session that she attended.  After forming a team and taking permission to implement the project, she visited the orphanage and taught the children about the risks caused by environmental destruction.  She then instructed the children to artistically reflect their opinions and their learnings through drawings.  Nearly 20 students participated in the activity.  Vidyashree was amazed to see the creations produced by the students. 

Dharwad LEADer Improves Indian Patriotism and Protects Environment on Independence Day

August 15th, India's Independence Day, exhibits nationwide patriotism and pride.  People wave flags freely to show their love and appreciation for our country.  However, these patriotic expressions can have harmful effects-especially when plastic flags are left and litter the ground.  Recognizing this, LEADer Minuddin from Anjuman Degree College, Dharwad wanted to do his part in making Independence Day more eco-friendly.  On August 13th and 14th, he visited 9 colleges and 13 schools in Dharwad to create awareness about the environmental dangers of using plastic flags.  He told people to opt for flags made from khadi material instead. He also distributed flyers to people near the KSRTC public bus stop, hospitals, and traffic signals, and told them to avoid using plastic flags on Independence Day.  Minuddin's initiative led to significant impact.  In past years following Independence Day, newspapers would post sad stories of hundreds of plastic flags thrown and forgotten about, and left on the ground-a disrespect for Indian patriotism as well as the environment.  This year, Dharwad newspapers published no such stories.  In fact, it was recorded that usage of plastic flags had been reduced by 80%.

Hubli LEADer Encourages Public to Celebrate an Eco-Friendly Ganesh Chaturthi

This year's Ganesh Chaturthi, LEADer Aarya Vishwanath Hallikeri wanted to spread the message of protecting the environment and wanted to make sure that the public celebrated the festival as eco-friendly as possible.  He approached different people in his locality and encouraged them to use eco-friendly Ganesh idols in order to protect our planet.  In addition, he celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with an eco-friendly Ganesh idol in three different areas in order to further promote his message.  Aarya's project reminds us that we can still embrace our ancient culture and traditions while maintaining a concern for arising problems in modern society.

Davangere LEADer Brings Happiness to Blind School Children Through Art

LEADer Vinay of UBDT College always had a soft spot for blind school children.  He always wondered how he could help them.  To add some enjoyment to their lives, Vinay decided to give them the opportunity to explore their artistic skills.  Vinay helped them make Ganesh, elephant, and other figurines out of clay.  Through this project, the students learned how to follow instructions and got hands on learning and creative exposure.  At the end of the day, the blind school children felt really happy and were awarded certificates. 

Davangere LEADer Inspires Patriotism in her College

 LEADer Usha from BIET wanted to inspire patriotism in LEAD students.  She organized a program to celebrate Deepotsava in her college.  The program, addressed by Principal Dr. Rama Swamy, began by the singing of a patriotic song and lighting a lamp.  During the program, the LEAD drew the map of India and colored it with the colors of the Indian flag.  They also incorporate the LEAD logo and tag line, "Complaints start with THEY, solutions start with I" into the design of the map.  Towards the end of the program, LEADers who have completed two projects were awarded certificates. 

Upon reflection of her project, Usha says that it was "really a mind blowing experience".  Usha also added that she was proud of the program she conducted because continuously throughout the program, she was able to show India's growth.  

LEAD Locations Celebrate Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan is celebrated every year to show our brothers the love and appreciation we have for them.   The tradition we follow compels us to tie Rakhis on the wrists of our brothers, and sometimes our close friends.  This year, LEAD took Raksha Bandhan to a whole new level and expanded its outreach of kindness; LEADers from Laxmeshwar, Sirsi, and Dharwad celebrated Raksha Bandhan with people that sometimes get forgotten.

LEADers from Laxmeshwar, Hubli, and Sirsi visited  their local police departments to personally thank and appreciate the police for maintaining the peace in their communities.  The police, in turn, appreciated the LEADers for their service and promised to help keep them safe. 

Laxmeshwar

Hubli

Sirsi

Dharwad

LEADers Rachana, Rajeshwari, and Suvina, all from SDMCET,  each carried out their own initiatives and celebrated Raksha Bandhan with special needs children from different schools.

Drawing Competition Develops and Supports 78 Students' Talents

Many students and children have interest in art and drawing, but seldom get to practice their interests due to lack of opportunities or support.  To foster artistic creativity within children, LEADer Akshay V, along with 10 other members from Government Fine Arts College, Dharwad decided to conduct a drawing competition.

78 students participated in the competition.  During the competition, the three best drawings were awarded.  In addition, 25 of the students were selected to participate in weekly drawing competitions to give them an opportunity to improve on their talents.

Independence Day and LEAD Birthday Celebrated Through Initiatives in LEAD Locations

August 15th is a special day, both in India and for the LEAD Program.  Independence Day is celebrated annually on August 15th to commemorate India’s independence from British rule on August 15th, 1947.  August 15th also marks LEAD's birthday-LEAD was founded on August 15, 2008.

To celebrate India’s 67th Independence Day and LEAD's 6th birthday, and to demonstrate their commitment to creating a better India,  LEADers from throughout all LEAD locations implemented various initiatives that created awareness and gave back to the community.


Nidasoshi

LEADers Vinayak, Kalyani, Ajay and Saddam of H.I.T Engineering college, Nidasoshi conducted a two-day science exhibition event, "Science Explore", in collaboration with Aagastya International Foundation on August 14th and 15th at  SJPN' Trust's Polytechnic College, Nidasoshi.

The function was inaugurated by Dr. N C Hiremath(Principal, H.I.T, Nidasoshi), Shri G B Sangote(Principal, SJPN Trust's Polytechnic, Nidasoshi), Shri S S Mangave(Principal, BCA College, Nidasoshi) and Shri P M Kambar(Principal, PUC College, Nidasoshi.  This event marked the first major event taking place in the village of Hukkeri Taluk.  Over 5000 students and local people practically explored 130 concepts different of maths, physics, and chemistry through models, demonstrations, and activities.  Furthermore, the LEADers boosted their confidence as they practiced their communication skills as they explained these concepts to their peers.

Chikodi
30 LEADers set off to the Chikodi Bus Stand and cleaned the entire premises by sweeping and disposing of waste and painting the pillars.  LEADers received special recognition from Mr. Shantappa (Division Controller, Chikodi), who visited the bus stand as the LEADers were working. 

After cleaning the bus stand, the LEADers, with the help of Mr. Chandrakant Hukkeri (Founder, Shri Allamaprabhu Annadan Samiti) visited a local government hospital and distributed sweets to the patients.  This small act of kindness brought smiles to the patients’ faces and brightened their day.

 

Belgaum

LEADers Santosh, Nandini, Shrijan, Tanvi, and Tejaswini from KLECET, Belgaum, celebrated India's 67th Independence Day by giving food to beggars. 

Dharwad
While the public always benefits from government holidays, many government employees do not get the same luxury, and must continue their work while others enjoy the holiday.  LEADers Pavan K A and other LEADers from JSS, Anjuman, KCD, and Kittle Science Colleges showed appreciation to the government employees that were on duty on August 15th.  In addition to personally thanking them for their service, students also distributed sweets to the employees. 

Davangere
On August 15th in Davangere, LEAD students in four teams carried out a variety of unique initiatives. 

The first team, led by LEADer Abhishek M B, created Independence Day awareness in the public by decorating public buses with posters and the national flag, and distributing sweets to KSRTC employees.

The second team,  headed by LEADer Chaitra from DRM College, conducted a drawing competition for 30 children in a slum area, which gave the slum children the opportunity to express their opinions in a creative and artistic manner. 

The third team was led by Somya from DRM College, completed her first project in Yallamma Devi Primary School.  She played games that taught the children about the importance of Independence Day.  She also distributed sweets to the students.

LEADer Priyadarshini from GMIT college led the fourth team and conducted a drawing competition for physically challenged children in Asha Kiran Trust.

Gulbarga
LEADers from NV Degree College organized a themed drawing competition on freedom fighters.  Over 120 children from four different schools participated in the competition.

Laxmeshwar

Over 20 LEADers from SKSVMACET cleaned the bus stand in Laxmeshwar by painting the walls and cleaning up waste.  They additionally approached the local shop owners and urged them to help maintain cleanliness in the bus stand by speaking up if they see people spitting or not disposing of their waste properly. 

SKSVMACET Vice Principal S Gorabal and several faculty members visited the site and appreciated the students for their efforts.

 

Hubli

Six students from different colleges in Hubli worked together to raise funds for an 8-year old girl suffering from Asthma.  Three of the students raised funds in Hubli, and the other three traveled to Bangalore.  Collectively, the students raised Rs. 10000.  The story was featured on

Several Hubli-Dharwad LEAD students and other members of the LEAD team visited the District Commissioner's Office and were given a letter of appreciation for their initiatives in cleaning and creating awareness of cleanliness in the Hubli and Dharwad Old Bus Stands.

 

At the LEAD headquarters in Hubli, an idea generation session was conducted for 60 newly registered, first year LEAD students.   60 project proposals resulted from the session. After the session, a cake cutting ceremony was held for LEAD's birthday.