Project: Renovation of Nehru Park

LEADer: Yuktha Chengappa M.

Project: Renovation of Nehru Park
Project Completed: January 2010
Duration: October 2009-December 2009

Location: Madikeri

The Idea: Nehru Park was created to commemorate the life of the former Prime Minister. Unfortunately, the park was in very bad condition. It was mainly being used for cattle grazing, open defecation, and other illegal works. The LEAD team had a vision of transforming this space back into a recreational area for the people nearby.

The Activity: The LEAD team approached the Municipal Corporation to get their assistance in cleaning the park. The Municipal Corporation was excited that someone would take the lead on this, so they gave them things such as dust bins. The LEADers cleaned the park and helped restore it to a clean environment once again. The Municipal Corporation committed to keeping this park clean and the police department provided security to guard the park.

The Impact: Now, families can come and enjoy this space on top of the hill. Kids can run around and play and the community can feel safe in these surroundings. This project is a great example of how ordinary students can work with their local government to create change.

Project: Water Purification

Team Leader: Jerusha Matapath Team Members: Sahana Shimikeri, Smita Patil, Keertu Nagavi, Sharat M.   Duration: 25^th May - 27^th May 2011 College: PC JABIN SCIENCE COLLEGE    Place of project implementation: SHIRGUPPI village 

Lake water is the only source of drinking water in the village for cooking and other domestic purposes. This has caused different health problems in the village, such as viral fever and infections. The people suffering had to travel a long distance to Hubli for treatment. Jerusha decided that the villagers needed to be taught various methods to filter water.

The project was done in a village named Shriguppi, 18kms from Hubli, with approximately 400 families. The team visited the village on 25^th of May 2011 and, after a lot of effort, they were successful in convincing the Panchayat of the project's importance. Later, they gathered plastic filter knobs to distribute and prepared charts with several directional pictures. The villagers gathered in the nursery school for the lesson and the knobs were distributed.

The challenging task was convincing the Panchayat and gathering the people in one place. Another challenging task was to explain the importance of filtration through the charts in Kannada. The Panchayat was also asked to repair the filter machine, which had been given by the government.

The most memorable moment for the team was when they were standing in front of 100 people and trying to teach in Kannada, which was very difficult. At some point, people laughed at their grammatical mistakes. The purchasing of 350 knobs and preparing of charts all are very memorable experiences of the project.

Jerusha learned how to be a  good leader, to face all challenges, to co-operate, co-ordinate,  and work as a team. He said, "I’m good at projecting my ideas in front of people and this project has taken away the sense of shy feeling and made me friendly."

However, Jerusha thought the communication of the project could have been improved.  

Jerusha said, "The greatest achievement of this project was that the people there are now filtering the water before consuming it and the Panchayat has now repaired the filter given by government."

Jerusha would love to do the same project on a larger scale. His vision for the project would be to do the same kind of project with the latest technology on a larger scale in some other place.

Project: Water Harvesting

LEADer: Shivashankar

Place of Implementation: Aminabhavi

Project Description: This project helped to save water through harvesting and controlling the borewell water flowing on the road. The team dug pits beside borewells so that water could sink through the mud layers, which contributes in maintaining underground water level. Around 25 pits were dug at different places as a part of the project.

Project: Shakthi - Energy Saving Bulbs Replacement

LEADer: D. Akarsh

Project Implementation Place: RajivGandhi Nagar

Installation of Ballcock Mechanism.

LEADer: Madhuri Malager, Karan Patil

Project Implementation Place: Hubli

Installation of Ballcock Mechanism

LEADer: Kedar Akalwadi

Project Implementation Place: Hubli

Project: Save Water

LEADer: Neharani Pattanshetty

Project Implementation Place: Hubli