Kochi: Sacred Heart College, Thevara, has bagged the award of MG University for the best NSS college unit for 2018-19, for its slew of initiatives for environment protection, women empowerment, relief during calamities, educational and awareness drives, preservation of culture and heritage and social service.
The college NSS programme officer Dr Remya Ramachandran has been selected as the best programme officer while principal Dr Prashanth Palackapallil is the best NSS-friendly principal.
The August 2018 floods brought the best out of the SH NSS volunteers. More than 100 of them, including girls, rendered services these days on a war-footing. Later camps were conducted for training NSS volunteers for the repair and maintenance of household items, and they carried out maintenance.
The SH NSS unit has reconstructed 14 flood-affected houses at Viruthy, Purayar, Chengamanad and Aluva in phase one reconstruction, while under phase II, 16 are being rebuilt in Puthenvelikkara panchayat. Work on 13 houses has been completed, and the remaining three are nearing completion.
Under the ‘Save the Weavers’ programme, they marketed products from the flood-affected weavers of Chendamangalam.
The three-day ‘Nattarivu’ state-level folk festival and three-day 'Gandhi Smriti', commemorating the 150th year of Gandhi Jayanthi stood out among the cultural activities of the unit last academic year. About 800 NSS volunteers from all the 16 universities of Kerala participated in the Gandhi Smriti camp and inter-collegiate competition.
As part of "Swachhta Hi Seva" massive cleaning drive, flowering trees were plated on both sides of the railway track from Ernakulam South to Ernakulam North by the volunteers. A vegetable garden was set up in association with Southern Railways, Trivandrum Division.
The NSS unit adopted ward numbers 58 and 59 of Cochin Corporation for plastic-free Thevara mission. Construction of bus shelter and conversion of waste dumping area to a garden at Shanthi Nagar, welfare activities at old age homes & orphanages and revival of Perandoor Canal are among their other contributions.
