Bengaluru: In 2012, Surendran Krishnan, who had been lending a hand at NGOs across the city for a couple of years, decided to start a platform that would bring volunteers together. Today, ‘Volunteer for a cause’ has over 700 registered members, working with a number of causes ranging from underprivileged children to senior citizens and the environment.
“We try and have something happening every weekend, we focus on each cause once in two weeks,” said Surendran, who is an employee at Siemens here in Bengaluru. The core team comprises around 15 people, all of whom juggle day jobs with their volunteer work. “We try and cover six major causes including pets, kids, elders, disabilities and governance,” he explained.
The method is simple. The volunteers are sorted out according to the cause they prefer and a volunteer ‘champ’ is chosen to head the team. The champ forms a core team that plans the activities of the group. “It’s difficult for us to focus on all the causes, so we let the individual teams handle them,” said Surendran. They also work closely with organisations in Bengaluru, send them volunteers according to their requirements.
Orphanages
Celebrating a birthday or special occasion at an orphanage is a popular cause and the organisation receives plenty of calls asking to be connected with orphanages. “That’s when we started thinking about these children and if anyone has ever celebrated their birthday,” said Surendran. “Now they remind me a month in advance that the big day is coming up!” The volunteers now head off to these orphanages to celebrate the children’s birthdays with them, bringing cake, presents and a new set of clothes. “Many kids don’t know their birthdays, so we try and access their school records to find out,” he said.
Visually impaired
The facilities that exist for children with disabilities are still very limited. Kids with visual impairments have so few choices that they often resort to paying people to write their exams on their behalf. “One student actually asked me how much he owed,” said Surendran. The volunteers from VFC have now written about 2000 exam papers! Another problem that came to light was the fact that these children find it very difficult to study, because of the lack of audiobooks. “They have to rely on what the teacher says in class and what their friends teach them,” said Surendran. The volunteers have taken it upon themselves to scan and record as many textbooks as they can as well, to create a library for the visually impaired.
Animal welfare
VFC works with three shelters across Bengaluru, all of which are short-staffed. While the organisation doesn’t involve itself in the actual rescue and adoption of abandoned animals, they do head down to the nearest shelter every other weekend to clean the place and bathe, feed and walk the pets. “If medication is required, we get that too,” he said. “Each shelter has around two or three attendants, so the animals don’t get undivided attention.”
Old age homes
The Nightingale Medical Trust employs senior citizens from economically challenged families. These people come in every week to make paper bags that are sold to Hopcoms outlets in Bengaluru.
“They make about Rs 25 for 200 bags,” said Surendran. Again, VFC's role here is simple. The volunteers visit these people every month and help them with their work. We make about 150 bags when we're there. It lessens their load and they enjoy the company as well,” he remarked. They also visit old age homes every month and organise plays at the centres. “We thought they wouldn't enjoy it, but they are very enthusiastic.”
Governance
VFC runs a programme called RTI revolution, which is on a mission to educate people on the power of the Right to Information Act. This involves keeping close track of the news and watching out for victims who may not have the wherewithal to fight injustice in court. “A daily wage labourer who has been raped cannot follow up on the case everyday,” said Surendran. This duty is taken on by the VFC team, who ensure that action is taken. They are currently asking for details on the Rs 1,000 crore that the Centre donated for the Chennai flood relief.
Road safety
Teams from VFC are often spotted across the streets of Bengaluru, holding up posters asking commuters not to honk and to wear helmets. “One day, a man came up to us and told us to continue doing this work because his son had passed away in an accident because he wasn't wearing a helmet,” said Surendran, adding, “It's these moments that make our job worthwhile. Their plan for the summer season is a mango-themed awareness campaign – “We're going to distribute the fruit among our volunteers. It would be nice to hand them out to passers by too, but one never knows how they react.”
Mobile libraries
Every fortnight, volunteers set up their books at a different child’s home. Those who want to participate bring their own books as well, while the volunteers watch over them, making suggestions and helping the kids improve their reading skills. “The last hour is reserved for the children, who discuss what they have read, either through storytelling or theatre,” said Surendran.
With a network that has grown constantly over the last four years, VFC deals with the many IT professionals who have found in themselves an inclination toward charity. Coordination for various events takes place well in advance, usually over WhatsApp. They can be reached on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/VolunteerForaCause.
