By IANS,
New Delhi : “Count Me In”, NGO India@75’s national volunteering call-to-action that kicked off on Gandhi Jayanti Oct 2 to declare a National Volunteering Week, has ended after a series of events at various places in India.
The events included a National Volunteers Meet organized by the Rural Development Organization India in Tamil Nadu; Youth Empowerment session by AIESEC in Chennai, Jaipur, Ghaziabad and Hyderabad; Run for the Nation organized by Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force flagged by Salman Khan in Delhi; HIV testing camp followed by awareness programme and disability assessment and rehabilitation camp by Ardar in Vishakapatnam; Leadership, Community Interaction Session and Sensitization Walk by Aman Biradri in New Delhi; Ideas Exchange-4: Skill-based Volunteering and Pro-Bono Potential of Young India by India@75 at The Tea Room Co. in NCR; Heritage Series 2012 by SPIC MACAY in Hyderabad; Ideas Exchange-1 with Health Practioners By -India@75-Indian Public Health Association in Delhi that will allow practioners and citizens to pro-actively discuss how they can work together to help India achieve its vision on Healthcare.
A number of children at Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate and Jama Masjid localities saw a team of doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences interacting with them. The scenes were symbolised by events in Delhi NCR which saw the participation of children, doctors and other volunteers from all walks of life.
Giridar, a doctor from AIIMS, when asked about the initiative said: “There is much that needs to be done in order to bring about a real inclusive development in India, all it requires is a positive change in our general behaviour in terms of empathy and the pertinent introductions at policy level keeping in mind the localities being targeted.”
The umbrella message that linked all of these actions was the request of declaring October 2nd as India’s National Volunteering Day for which a petition has been signed by eminent personalities like Adi Godrej, chairman, India@75 Foundation; Arun Maira, member Planning Commission; Anu Aga, member of the Rajya Sabha; Bimal Jalan, former RBI governor; Kris Gopalakrishnan, co-chairman Infosys, R. Mashelkar, former president, Indian National Science Academy; Tarun Das, Former CII chief mentor; Chandrajit Banerjee, CII director general; Rajan Navani, chairman National Committee India@75 and Bhairavi Jani, Executive Director, India@75.
According to Bhairavi Jani, “if we realise the significance of our abilities and use them to help those who are not so privileged, we can create new volunteering trends and raise the bar of volunteerism in India. It is the potential of the human capital of India that needs to be unleashed to realise the dream of a sustainable, inclusive and developed India”.
This initiative is being driven by India@75, promoted by CII for realizing the dream of an inclusive, sustainable and developed India by the year 2022, when India completes 75 years of Independence.
“Count Me In” is a call to action to the citizens of India to come together and volunteer across the nation in small and large measure. It is an appeal and invitation to all Indians to practice, share, advocate, support and celebrate the spirit of volunteerism, its promoters say.