Helping Blind Students by LEADer Jyoti H

Some times blind students face problems in writing examinations because the examination board allows one person to attend the examination along with the blind candidate. But what happens if sometime the supporting member does not catch their sentences properly? It will effect their result.

LEADer Jyoti H from Jigular Women's College thought this to herself, and wanted to make a difference. She took permission from her hostel warden to teach economics (her degree) for the eight blind students who were studying the subject, to ensure they had the extra help and tutoring they needed.

Jyoti also realized that it was important to ensure the blind students had the right helper to transcribe their examination answers. Jyoti helped the students determine the good quality helpers, thus making the students feel more positive and interested to learn.

By assisting these students to do their best without treating them like they were less, Jyoti made a positive difference in the lives of her fellow students that had a visual impairment. 

Prison Visit by LEADers on Ugadi

LEADers work at various domains and meet different kind of people. One of the recent fields they explored and the people they met were Prison life and prisoners. It was a mind expanding experience for LEADers. They visited the women prison on occasion of ‘UGADI Festival’ and celebrated the festival with prisoners and special children of Mamta School. Thus made a beautiful day for prisoners and children.
 
Early in the morning they set the mood for the celebration of this lovely festival Ugadi by a warm greetings to the inmates as they entered. The event began with a welcome speech followed by a welcome song from Mamta School for Special children. The first act was quiz for Mamta children and the women prisoners  which was conducted by Lead volunteers along with Mamta teachers.

Then, the Mamta children exhibited their dancing skills and entertained women prisoners. The children and the women inmates played musical chair which was later followed by distribution of prizes.

Then, the lead volunteers recognized the work done by the warden and other women police and gave certificates for their extraordinary service to the society. Superintendent of Police Mr. P. S. Ramesh then spoke about the prisoners and he also highlighted the work of Lead volunteers and requested the Lead volunteers to have such programs for their male inmates.

The program ended by distributing the Laddus and Badam milk to Mamta children and women prisoners.The activity lit up smiles on the face of the prisoners and children of Mamta School for celebrating the festival in a meaningful way.

Smart bus by LEADer Harish

LEADer Harish, a student of KHK college who was a participant of LEAD Prayana 2015 participant was motivated to achieve something at his field of expertise. He noticed the poor safety of road in India and increasing accidents. Therefore he thought of contributing to society using his technical knowledge. He created a smart vehicle with wireless charging, automatic dim and dip of headlights and safety system for drivers of vehicles. This would ensure the safety of the
 

The detailed description of his project is

1.WIRELESS CHARGING SYSTEM: This feature is for battery operated vehicles, the operation works on the principle of MUTUAL INDUCTION where the two copper coils are used to create current using magnetic flux. The primary coil is fixed in the parking station or on road and secondary coil is fixed in the chassis of the vehicle; there will not be any connection between the coils. The output of the current is taken from secondary coil.

Working:  AC current is passed to the primary coil through the relay and whenever the secondary    coil comes in contact with the primary coil the magnetic FLUX is cut  down and the current flows to the secondary coil and from it, the battery of the vehicle will be charged.

2. AUTOMATIC DIM AND DIP: This feature can be used at night . LDR(light resisting diode) is used as the sensor, the two LED LIGHTS one for dim i.e low beam and other for dip i.e high beam lights are used.

Working : The vehicle, while traveling at night, senses vehicles coming from opposite direction dims its light. The purpose of this is to avoid accidents.

3. SAFETY SYSTEM: The safety system works on the principle of RACK AND PINION mechanism. Here the trolley is used to pull the driver and passenger’s seat when vehicle is hit in an accident.

Working : When an accident occurs, the driver seat along with the passenger’s seat cabin will be pulled backward by collapsing the forward motion. The model has push-to- off button in front of the bus which acts as the protector; it resists the vehicle which is hitting. After hitting the sensor senses the force at which the accident has happened and pulls back the seats backward and it saves the 80% OF LIFE of drivers.

Harish had great success with this project. He was appreciated by BOSCH company GM, Bangalore. The model also won a prize in State level Technical exhibition “Do it Yourself” which was organized by BTE Karnataka.


 

LEADer Vedanti's project at KSV

Vedanti, a student of SDM Dental College Dharwad attended LEAD Camp held at Kalkeri Sangeeth Vidyalaya (KSV) where she got exposed to the life of students at KSV.  Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya (KSV) provides education in academics and the performing arts to children from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, food, accommodation and health care are also provided, and everything is free.

During the camp, the students performed the following activities
•     SELF ANALYSIS ACTIVITY   
•     SURVEY OF CAMPUS
•     DISCUSSION OF PROJECTS
•     INTERACTION WITH STUDENTS AND ADAM.

After the camp, LEADer Vedanti decided to do LEAD projects of Donation of clothes (collected in SDMCD HOSTELS) and to conduct workshops for students.

For her project of donation of clothes, she collected clothes from girl’s hostel , washed them, altered them and then she donated it to students at KSV.

When she visited KSV second time to execute her project and donate clothes, she conducted a session for children at KSV and taught them drawing, played with them and revised their school lessons. 

LEADer Vedanthi is delighted about the successful completion of her project and says “Happiness bringing smile on the face of underprivileged Children’s face.”

LEaders Educate on the Importance of Toilets in the Home

Vaidehi Pai and his partners Dharmaraj, Sudhir, Akarsh,Vaidehi ( College of Agriculture, Dharwad) decided to tackle a very sensitive topic for their LEAD project: the importance of toilets in the home. They noticed, on their visits to Narendra village, that many people were defecating openly in the areas around where they lived. It was clear that this was not only inflicting health issues but also personal shame, particularly for women. These LEaders visited Narendra and explained the health risks associated with this issue, and the importance of investing in a toilet for each home. Although the people they met with were somewhat embarrassed and resistant to speaking openly about such a topic, the LEaders felt that their message was communicated effectively, and that their initiative has the potential to be implemented on an even larger scale.

Hubli LEADer Teaches Slum Children for 10 Months, Sends 3 to English Medium School

LEADer Shruti Kamble of KLEIT, Hubli, has strong English skills, and she recognized that knowing English in today’s globalized world is a necessity.  However, learning English can be challenging and expensive and poor children, especially those who live in slums, usually get left behind.  She wanted to help the children from slum areas learn English so that she could give them a better future.  She and her Co-LEADer, Marcia,  and coordinated with the Smart Kids Education Trust in Hubli and made arrangements to teach one-hour English and math sessions, three times a week, to 20 students between 1^st and 9^th Standard.  She has continuously taught these children from the past 10 months, even during her exams. Shruti is proud to say that three of the children that she taught have built up their English skills so much that they are now attending an English medium school. 

For this project, Shruti was awarded the “Best Project of Education Promotion” award at the LEAD Valedictory, Hubli ceremony in May of 2013.  Her project was also showcased during Yuva Summit 2014.

Dharwad LEADers Help Employ 8 Disabled People

LEADer Renuka Chandrashekhar from SDMCET, Dharwad, wanted to do something to give back to society.  As part of LEAD, she and some other students had visited Samarthanam Trust, an NGO that helps physically disabled people achieve their goals.  After visiting the NGO with other LEAD students for Teachers Day, Renuka felt inspired by the work of the NGO and wanted to help them more. After communicating with Samathanam Trust, Renuka learned that many of the disabled people get rejected from placement programs because they do not have the required soft skills.  So, Renuka gathered two other LEADers to provide soft skills training in English as well as Hindi.  For one month, the LEADers conducted training courses covering the topics of writing, reading and speaking two hours every day for one month. Furthermore, Renuka contacted First Source Solutions, a Bangalore based call center company that works for Vodafone and Airtel.  The LEADers shortlisted 15 of the students they had been training, and 8 of those students were successfully placed with First Source Solutions.

Hubli LEADer Implements Groundwater Recharge Plant to Save Water

With growing urbanization, the demand for drinking water in cities is soaring.  Rainfall is not always enough to replenish these underground freshwater resources.  As a result, urban cities are now facing the risk of water stress.  LEADer Naveen HP from BVBCET wanted to protect this from happening in Hubli.  He conducted a survey of groundwater levels in Hubli and the surrounding areas.  Naveen presented his results to the SRDS, who then supported him in implementing a groundwater recharge plant in Hallikeri. 

Hubli LEADer Dreams of Better Vision for a Better India

People who live in slum areas rarely have the resources to receive proper medical attention, and even when they do get an opportunity to check up on their health, very few people focus on eye care.  LEADer Pratiksha of KLEIT, Hubli, wanted to improve the eye health of people living in slum areas.  With collaboration and support from Vasan Eye Care, Pratiksha conducted an eye testing camp in Vasantnagar, Keshwapur, Hubli.  For two days, Pratiksha gathered people from throughout six different areas and convinced them to attend the camp.  Pratiksha's eye testing camp helped 203 people get their eyes checked free of charge.  In addition, people were offered a 10% discount for eye treatments and 5% discount for surgery. 

Hubli LEADer Helps Police Protect Themselves

One duty of the police is to protect civilians through the regulation of traffic by standing at traffic signals.  But while the police are serving us, they are putting themselves at risk for contracting major respiratory health problems due to the dust and air pollution caused from exhaust.  LEADer Mahesh Koujalagi from JG College of Commerce, Hubli, wanted to help the traffic police.  He approached 50 traffic police, gathered them at the Central Traffic Police Station, and gave them a seminar about the health risks associated with breathing polluted air.  In addition, Mahesh distributed masks to 150 traffic police.  Mahesh believes that precaution is better than a cure, and his project has done just that!

LEAD YoungStar Students Launch Their First Initiative!

On October 21st, LEAD YoungStar students led their first initiative! 50 high school students of Gopancoppa Government High School, under guidance from 9 LEAD students throughout 3 colleges, rallied for cleaner colonies throughout Hubli. The group started at the Deshpande Foundation, and then walked throughout the city of Hubli, attracting attention from hundreds of spectators and thereby creating public awareness.

LEAD YoungStar is a platform provided by LEAD, in collaboration with the Agastya Foundation, in which LEAD students mentor school children and adolescents to help them implement community improvement projects. Through this platform, LEAD students are given the opportunity to hone in on their leadership and mentoring skills, while school student are exposed to leadership from a young age.

My Story: Manoj Barigali

Manoj Barigali (SKSVMACET, Laxmeshwar)

 

Before joining LEAD, I can say, with certainty, that I was in the darkness because I hadn’t reached my potential.  I especially struggled with communication.  After having completed three projects and winning an award for “Best Active Coordinator” at LEAD Valedictory in May of 2013, I now confidently consider myself as a real leader.

Each project I have completed has further inspired me to improve upon my leadership qualities. The project I am most proud of is my Health Camp Checkup at Old Age Home. I was concerned about the treatment that elderly people were receiving at old age homes, The elderly were not experiencing a homely environment. We all know that our dear parents are the main backbone of our life. As we grow older, we neglect them, which leads them to live in a home called an "old age home". After parents move into an old age home, their children won’t come back to see them. To help with this, I organized a health checkup camp at an old age home called Shanthi Dhama that houses 40 elderly people.  My health camp provided medicine to help people with serious diseases such as Diabetes, high blood pressure, and Gangrene.

Additionally, I convinced several of the families to relocate their elderly family members back to their homes. I decided to further my personal development by taking on the responsibility of Student Coordinator for LEAD at my college. As Coordinator, I help younger LEAD members generate new project ideas, discuss potential obstacles, and come up with a way to overcome these obstacles. I then will provide whatever support is required to help the students implement their projects.

Since becoming active in LEAD, I can now easily approach people, communicate messages to them, and convince them of my perspective. From balancing my roles as a LEADer, LEAD Student Coordinator, and an engineering student, I have been able to develop my handling capacity; namely, my time management and organizational skills. Being in LEAD has really helped me change. It means a lot to me because LEAD always gave me good encouragement and supported me with everything that I did

"Best Out of Waste" Competition Instills Creative and Environmental Consciousness In 40 Children

In today's society, accumulating waste has become a serious environmental threat.  One way to solve this problem is to find new uses for old waste.  This approach, however, requires creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.  BVBCET LEADer Medha Hege took advantage of her LEAD platform to instill this creative, and necessary, mindset within young children.  She visited Seva Student Home for Boys and conducted a competition among the children for creating "best out of waste", eco-friendly models.  40 boys participated in the competition.

KLEIT LEADer Conducts Blood Donation Camp; 102 Students Donate

Blood is essential for saving lives in medical emergencies, but blood scarcity due to decreased blood donation is becoming a serious threat.  LEADer Yashwini from KLEIT collaborated with KIMS Blood Bank to conduct a Blood Donation Camp at her college.  At the Blood Donation Camp, 125 students checked their blood and 102 students donated blood.   Because of Yashwini's initiative, 100 lives will be saved in the future.

 

 

My Story: Vijay Matti

Vijay Matti (SKSVMACET, Laxmeshwar)

I am passionate about developing the Indian economy. I feel strongly that India should start relying more on itself, and less on imported products and goods from other countries. To make progress towards the greater goal of promoting the Indian economy, I decided to tackle the issue at the local level. I spread awareness of the “Be Indian, buy Indian" mentality among my fellow students by starting a Swadeshi store at my college.

Many students at my college had always expressed an interest in purchasing Swadeshi products, but finding Swadeshi products is difficult in a city as small and isolated as Laxmeshwar. I took initiative to start a Swadeshi store at my college. By establishing the store at my college, I could introduce purchasing convenience while ensuring that the Swadeshi message would remain in the consciousness of the students.

To effectively launch the Swadeshi store, I partnered with the Chetana Foundation, which invested Rs. 2,000 in the project.  I also collaborated with several other LEAD students to help run the store and promote Swadeshi products to local industries.

In addition to working on my own projects in LEAD, I have involved myself in other aspects of LEAD.  I regularly volunteered for other LEADers' projects at my college.  For this, I was awarded the "Most Active Volunteer" at the 2013 LEAD Valedictory Ceremony in Hubli.  I am now currently working for LEAD as an intern, where I am managing several colleges and mentoring students on their projects.  I will also be responsible for planning LEAD Prayana.

LEAD has made me what I am today. Earlier I was not so clear about what I should do next, but I had it in my mind to become an entrepreneur. LEAD gave me the platform to take on challenges while helping society”. My LEAD involvements have given me the opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial mindset while refining my communication, management, and networking skills. LEAD ignited a spark. 

Anjuman College LEADer Empowers Girls at Her College

Women pay an important role in society, but few realize their power.  To address this misconception, LEADer Pooja Rana of Anjuman Arts and Science College, Dharwad, invited LEAD Program Manager Geeta Hegde as a guest speaker to address 50 girl students on different topics regarding women empowerment.  The girls enjoyed the session and were given a different perspective about the power of women. 

LEADer Reminds Fellow Students to Keep College Campus Clean

LEADer Mohammedraza Meeranaik of Anjuman Arts and Science College, Dharwad wanted to help keep his college campus clean, and he knew that if he could make students conscious of this issue, that he would notice a difference in the cleanliness of his college.  Mohammedraza put up signs and notices around the college reminding students to take their own responsibility for keeping the college spaces clean. 

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.

 

My Story: Aarya Hallikeri

Aarya Hallikeri (KLEIT, Hubli)

"It is easy to sit up and take notice.  What is difficult is getting up and taking action."

My name is Aarya Hallikeri.  I am a mechanical engineering student from KLEIT, and in my latest project, I took action when others refused to. 

The Old Bus Stand in Hubli was in a horrible condition.  The walls were stained with red from people spitting on them and alcoholic bottles littered the ground.  There was clearly no respect for public space. Local officials, including the police, were doing nothing.  I decided to do something about it.

I made a team of 12 students and LEADers and together, and we worked throughout the day to clean up the entire bus stand. We painted the walls, we picked up trash, and we declared the area as a plastic free zone.  Our goal was to make the Bus Stand area as hygienic as possible.  We spread awareness by talking to the people at the bus stand.  We told them what we were doing, and we encouraged them to stop spitting and to throw away their trash properly.

After we had been working for 2 hours, some of the depot managers approached us and tried to stop our work.  They criticized our efforts.  We spoke to higher authorities and convinced them to let us continue our work. 

The impact of my project was big.  LEADers in Davangere, Chikodi, Dharwad, and Laxmeshwar have implemented the same initiative in their locations.   On August 15^th, Independence Day, we received appreciation certificates from the Managing Director of NWKSRTC.

In addition to cleaning the bus stand, I have implemented six other projects.  I completed one technical project (the first technical LEAD project from my college) in which I created a device that can generate electricity from cow urine. 

My intiative that has generated a large amount of measurable success, though, has been in the realm of social media.  When KLEIT formed the first LEAD student governing body back in November of 2012, I stepped up and accepted a position as the official KLEIT LEAD Cell Media Head.  As Media Head, I have taken the KLEIT LEAD Cell Facebook page to a new level.  Within only one and a half months, I actively reached out to my different networks and was able to acquire 445 likes.  I have also recently joined the LEAD team as a Social Media intern, and I’m now managing the main LEAD Facebook page, as well as the other LEAD location pages.  The main LEAD Facebook page currently has over 10,000 likes. 

I think completely differently.  I have my own thoughts and my own beliefs.  Before LEAD, I was not realistic.  I used to only just think.  LEAD helped me with my implementation.  Learning how to implement my ideas has really helped me improve my self-confidence. 

BVBCET LEADer Conducts Essay Competition for 30 Students

LEADer Pavitra from BVBCET, Hubli, wanted to build writing competency within students.  He therefore conducted an essay competition for 30 Kattimani High Primary School students. The students enjoyed participating in the competition, and Pavitra was able to gain hands-on experience in coordinating an event, time management, and communication.