No longer the idle, screen-obsessed generation

Never has there been a situation when college students have had a dearth of selfies. As Keralites became each other’s rescue workers, these youngsters’ social networking accounts are filled with messages regarding rescue, relief and volunteering. Youngsters, who are sometimes dubbed as dreamy mobile phone addicts, have come together to put technology to good use and run around to help those in need.We talk to a few students from across the State to know how they managed to stay calm and courageous when many gave up.
Ajith C from Government Victoria College, Palakkad, talks about how his college became one of the prominent collection points for urgent requirements from all over Kerala, and was the second go-to place in the town, after the Indoor Stadium. He says, “Within three days, we managed to collect items, worth `1.5 lakh. As messages for the items kept pouring in, we sent them to camps in Malappuram and Kozhikode on the first two days. We have also sent whatever we have in excess to the stadium, which is under the District Collector’s watch and to the Taluk office in Palakkad. During the third day, Kochi became our focus.”
The 50 volunteers there made sure to segregate the stuff they got, assembling at the college at 8.30 am, he says. He adds, “Though we ourselves were affected by the calamity, it brought everyone together, including youngsters like us. And we all pitched in.”

As their collection points have nearly come to the last stage of operation, Ajith says their aim is to focus on the next stage of relief and rescue — cleaning the ravaged homes.
Former union member of All Saints College, Thiruvananthapuram, Athira Raj, was one of those who jumped into the flood relief scene, the moment she came to know that her college has turned a home to those displaced from Chengannur. She says, “I was really glad that this message reached me. From then on, we informed all the former and present-day students, teachers and others. As the capital city was not affected, the people who were brought to the camp were mostly non-Malayalis, who had come for a business summit from Delhi to Chengannur. There are around 150 people, whose needs are being taken care of by 50 volunteers from the college.”
Another student Abhijith Damodaran from Maharaja’s College, Kochi, was moved by the plight of the people in Wayanad and Kozhikode district. He says, “When I started off, I had no idea about how to go about things, and I posted in the comments section of every post what the collector of kozhikode updated on his social networking page. Then, I set out to Wayanad to see how the tribal people were managing. As I reached there with a few of my friends, we found that they have already received the necessary help. We then started to check on the situation of homes there and tried to help them with the required materials. My friends abroad chipped in with some money. We procured materials such as rice, candles, biscuits and the like for prices lower than the market rate by talking to shop owners. We then made it into a kit, which had 12 such items and meticulously packed it. It was after that we set out to each home in the area and handed them over to the people concerned.”
Soon, he joined like-minded students of his alma mater, St Joseph’s College, Devagiri, in Kozhikode. “Within the blink of an eye, relief operations gained momentum in the college, after the authorities there were convinced of our work. Around 150 members joined and we continued collating the items and making them into kits of 12 items and donated it to homes and camps.”Abhijith recollects how different students contributed in different ways. “Though a few of them did not have much money to contribute, they extended help in the best way possible, whether it was by driving vehicles, carrying the materials or through any other means.”
He says after all the running around, when it was time to call it a day and tuck themselves to sleep, the sense of satisfaction was overwhelming.
Brother Antony Moolan, a BSc Botany student from SH College says that from preparing food for the needy to turning the college premises into a collection point, there were a range of activities they were involved in. “We have also been coordinating and organising the operation at the major camps in Koonamaavu, which was one of the worst affected areas." He adds that some of their volunteers were able to rescue a few marooned in Koonamavu.

Meghna Ramakrishnan from Maharaja’s College says that the camp in the college has around 850 residents, most of whom are from Cheranallur and Kadamakudi. She says that the volunteers are drawn from various colleges, including their college, Law College and St Teresa’s College. “As soon as I got the messages, I jumped in and started collecting materials from in and around my home. My parents have always wondered what I was doing with life. But they were amazed at the change they saw in me. Rather than scrolling aimlessly through social media, they are happy that we are doing something worthwhile. I have cleaned out almost all the items at home, including chickpeas, saying ‘ivade illengilum kuzhappam illa, avade venam’. And they are proud of me,” she says.
Meghna and Ajith conclude that at an age when youngsters are dubbed as a confused set, who only know to waste time on social media and flaunt being ‘freakans’ or ‘freakathis’, their transformation has made elders stand up and take notice.