THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ‘cloth box,’ the brainchild of a group of youngsters here, has caught the imagination of many others in various parts of the state. Five youths had joined hands and set up a cloth box at Poojappura junction in January under an initiative titled ‘Aashrayam’ to distribute used or new clothes to the needy. The box, painted in sky blue colour, was sponsored by Fazil Musthafa, an NRI, where the public were requested to drop clothes. The cloth box was born out of the vision that clothes are about dignity, not vanity, according to the group.
“After a video of our initiative surfaced through the social media, many people enquired about the possibility of setting up cloth boxes at their place. Boxes have now been set up at Mananthavady, Sulthan Bathery, Kannur and Malappuram. A new box will be placed at Thrissur by the end of this month,” said Aashrayam member Seyyad Siddique, a Gulf-returnee, who is doing social work. The other members are Seethu, MBBS student (the sole girl member), Eminesh, who runs a workshop, Rajkumar, aeronautical engineering student, and Blesson Samji, who is currently in Poland.
Director of Employment and Training Dr Sriram Venkataraman interacts with the members of ‘Aashrayam’ in front of the cloth box installed at Keston Road in Thiruvananthapuram.
Many have extended their support to the project and joined the group. The members themselves manufacture the boxes in one of their workshops. A box costs around Rs 25,000 and can be sponsored by any willing person. “Clothes are separated according to their quality and only the best are chosen for distribution. These are distributed to orphanages and tribal hamlets in the state. Last month, clothes were sent to the Kozhikode mental health centre. Our plan to distribute clothes in Attapadi have not materialised yet because of financial constraints,” Siddique added.
‘Aashrayam’ has joined hands with S4S, a like- minded charity organisation comprising youngsters, in opening a cloth box in front of ‘Brand Factory’ near Kowdiar. The box sponsored by newly-wed couple Unni and Soumya was inaugurated on the day of their marriage last week by Dr Sriram Venkataraman, director of employment and training.
“No one can force such thoughts on people, which should come from within. I was happy to associate with their programme because it can inspire a lot more people. Those who are part of such charity programmes can also approach the department concerned with their project if they are facing any fund crunch,” said Mr Venkataraman. “At the end of this holy month, we are planning to distribute clothes and rice kits to financially backward families at Kattakada,” said Siddique.
