While the 2015 Chennai floods took away a lot, it also brought out the best in people. Several youngsters and working professionals are now actively involved in volunteering activities — without any peer pressure! In most cases, they pick up new hobbies, make new acquaintances and maybe even love! We ask prominent volunteers about the new ‘trend’ and how it will contribute to develop a better society.
Hitesh A, Bhumi.
NGOs have tried their best to communicate their volunteering activities through social media, WhatsApp groups, e-mail etc. Technology is playing a major role these days. When a youngster joins any volunteering activity for the first time, he meets a lot of people and gets to learn from their skills. He/She feels proud to volunteer and do it often. That’s what happened to me! From my personal experience, I have learnt a lot of things from volunteering — right from taking responsibilities and doing certain campaigns on my own. I was enthusiastic to do a lot of activities while studying. Most parents are not very supportive of their children involved in volunteering. Though I miss hanging out with friends, this has become a part of my life. That said, if you manage time, you can spend time with your friends as well.
Sneha Mohandoss, Food Bank-chennai.
After the floods, people started realising the pain of having nothing in hand. It is inspiring to see more youngsters come forward. Once, on my travel, I overheard a bunch of ladies talking about Chennai volunteers; saying, “no one can beat their spirit. If similar floods had happened elsewhere in the country, nobody would have helped like this.” I realised how much the people in Chennai were inspiring. Volunteering is becoming a trend nowadays with a group of like-minded people going for clean-up drives or orphanage visits and enjoying the whole process. It is a healthy trend and I hope nobody starts criticising it to dampen one’s spirit.
Selva Ganapathy, Aid India.
Even before the floods, Chennai was a place where you got to see a lot of people who lend their inherent goodness. Whenever we do any event or activity, we get a lot of volunteers. The floods brought that goodness into the limelight. After that, a lot of groups have started to organise events and programmes on how they can be active participant in making the city a better place to live in. That drives them the most.
Aravind Jayabal, Raindropss.
People were interested in volunteering earlier too, but they didn’t know the means to do it. After the floods, they have found their own way to participate and it has become a part of their life. Sometimes, if they don’t do it for just a week or a month, they get bored and feel like they are missing their hobby! Social media has played a very powerful role in connecting people for social causes. The network is just growing and the volunteers want to feel the happiness of giving and sharing with the community. People from all walks of life — irrespective of age — are active out there, depending on their free time and areas of interest.
