TGLife
Inspired by the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan and fuelled by the fire of making India a better place to live in, people in different parts of the nation have joined hands to take the mission forward. One such example was recently seen in Vasco, when the students and local social worker together transformed the state of a government middle school building to a beautiful, clean venue. Such efforts need to be highlighted and appreciated, feel the local community in Zuarinagar where this noble project was undertaken.
Nirmaan Goa Chapter, an NGO run by the students of BITS Pilani, Goa Campus and its current head Suyash Agrawal, visited the Government Middle School at Dabolim along with Nirman team and a local social activist Alka Damle, they were all shocked and disheartened to see the state of the school. “When we visited the school we saw that the roof of the building was in a dilapidated state. The water tank was in a shabby condition. The water filter was unserviceable and the classrooms were in a pathetic state of upkeep. The exterior paint of the premises was faded too,” recalls Alka Damle.
The team decided to take the responsibility of repairing the necessary systems and services as a project and began working towards collecting the required funds under the guidance of Damle who is well versed in such social endeavours. The student’s team of BITS repaired the entire old, leaking roof by replacing the broken Mangalore tiles with cemented asbestos sheets. The dilapidated walls were plastered and repainted. The classrooms, kitchen and office premises got a new look too. The water tank was repaired and cleaned. The water filter was serviced and re-installed. The electrical connections, fitting of new bulbs and tube lights in the school premises were also established.
“They managed to create conducive atmosphere for learning in the school where most of the students belong to the underprivileged class. The repairs were major but the students managed to do them skilfully,” shares Damle who adds, that in spite of this, much more remains still undone and the government should do it on a priority basis so that the students and teachers do not suffer further.
Damle points out, “Most of the window panes are broken and they need to be replaced. There is also a requirement of a partition to be put between two adjacent class rooms. The Assembly quadrangle and the approach to the premises require an immediate attention.”
