Youths reach out to Kolkata’s poor in the sun

KOLKATA: While most of us try to stay indoors as much as possible due to the scorching heat, a group of young women and men will brace the heat to reach out to slum and pavement dwellers. With bagful of bottled water, ORS and glucose they will be out on the road to distribute these to street dwellers, taxi drivers, rickshaw pullers, laborers working in the sun, they will begin operation ‘beat the heat’ on Friday near the Girish Park Metro station.
These men and women do not belong to an NGO or a local para club but is a group of like-minded young professionals who stumbled upon each other on a social networking site to work silently for the have-nots. From street children, orphans and the aged, they are trying contribute to the society in their small little way.
Rongin Sopno, a group started by few friends on Facebook is a youth driven initiative with core members being professionals from different walks, are not only sparing time for helpless but supporting them with material needs.
"The beat the heat project will not stop just at distributing heat relief materials. We would be educating our targets on simple ways of rehydration," said Satyabrata Bhattacharya, employee of a financial firm, a core member of the group.
Started about three years and half years ago for a social cause, the group has now grown more than 2000 members strong. Core members numbering a little over 50 are the backbone. Since they do not have an office they meet every weekend in places like a shopping mall or a roadside tea stall to chalk or their strategies or head an area of their operation.
From distributing new clothes to pavement urchins, organizing street treat for slum children, spending time with senior citizens at old age homes to teaching street children, Rongin Sopno is touching upon the lives of many.
Donation for the group’s activity come from professionals, students, homemakers alike. Most of these come through word of mouth. The group I also supporting the treatment of few patients with blood disorders. Once the heat retreats the group would be chalking out their next activities.