PSGians who make a difference


Student Stories Feb 8, 2015

By Roopika.R (B.E. Robotics and Automation Engineering, 2012-2016)
We rise by lifting others – Robert Ingersollmad1
A good number of us toil hard to score marks, win medals and receive applause. But, there are those from PSG Tech who, apart from working towards their own goals, put in so much more of their effort, time and skill to earn something which no amount of material success can ever give us. Through their work, they earn happiness and satisfaction. They receive this very precious happiness through the smile they bring to lips of numerous innocent children. These people have realized that it is this feeling of content that will stay with a person throughout his life and not the temporary pleasure obtained through the much sought after word called “success”. Of course, the word “success” has multiple definitions. So, in a way they turn out to be the most successful people in terms of self-satisfaction.

Make a Difference (MAD) is a non-profit organization that empowers children living in orphanages and street shelters to discover their true strengths and unleash their full potential. MAD is setup across 23 cities, with a total of 3000 volunteer teachers. In Coimbatore, MAD has 170 volunteers of which around 30 are from PSG Tech alone. Of the 12 core members, 6 are the students of PSG Tech. All of them have several beautiful memories which are very close to their hearts. They shared with us a few.

madadADITYA J RAMDASS- (B.E. Mechanical, 2012-2016), Centre support (operations) fellow and Lead Dream Camp (a trip organized every year for the kids to help them identify their dreams and satisfy some of their little wishes in life ), says, “An incident that will remain etched in my memory in the years to come will be from an English class I handled for primary school kids. There was this one very shy kid who would not speak a word, but would simply observe me while I spoke. Assuming that language was the barrier, I even tried talking to him in Tamil. Only then did I realize that the kid was both hearing and speech impaired. With the basic sign language I knew, I asked him if he wanted to learn. The emotion I experienced when I got a nod for the reply is something which words can’t describe. I had the privilege to teach him for a period of 6 months.”

madsrSENTHIL RAJ R (B.E. Production SW, 2012-2017), Propel   Fellow (Ex-Head Operations,Ex- Centre head Sevashram), says, “I have been in MAD for over 3 years now and currently I am the head of a project called Propel which aims at helping high school students find suitable colleges. During my first year, while working in the ‘dream camp’, I had sprained my leg, but as we had a lot of work to do, I had to go around limping. Two kids called me saying that they wanted to ask me something. When I went, they made me sit and actually started massaging my feet with relief sprays. I resisted very much and told them that I was ok, but they simply wouldn’t listen and made sure I was ok. I still think no amount of gratitude is enough to express their very generous act of kindness. The best part is that they wouldn’t even remember this incident, as they wouldn’t have considered it to be a big deal. Their care made me feel very blessed.”

SHUBANmadsKAR UCHIL (B.E. Information Technology, 2012-2016), Discover Fellow, says, “I am not a teacher in MAD, but belong to a sector called Discover, which provides career guidance to students. During one such program, I was interacting with a very smart 7th grade kid who could even answer questions of the 11th grader’s level. But, he had never heard of the word ‘coding’ in his entire life. So, I opened my laptop and taught him the basics of coding for an hour. To my immense surprise, he was able to design his very own web page the very same day. The amount of potential the kids have with them is simply amazing.”

madanANUSH J RAMDASS(B.E. Production, 2012-2016), Human Resource Fellow, says, “My most memorable incident in MAD happened after last year’s Dream Camp. After spending 2 full days with the kid for whom I acted as a foster parent during the camp, I had returned home. The next morning when someone knocked at my door, sub-consciously, I called the name of that kid to go open the door. I realized the amount of emotional bonding I had made with the kids in a really short time.”

madmjMEGHA JOSE(B.E. Computer Science, 2012-2016), Centre Head Don Bosco, says, “Something that I will never forget in my life, is a surprise birthday party organized by the kids, whom I taught during the weekends. They sang, danced and even wrote poems for me. It was such a heartwarming gesture.  Also, another sweet memory was when the kids sent me handmade “get well soon” letters, through a friend who had gone to substitute a class for me when I was sick.”

madpcPRANAV CHILLA (B.E. Mechanical, 2012-2016), Centre Head PSG Sarvajana, says, “The kids I taught were well versed with the lessons in the textbook, but had scarce exposure to science out of their books. So one day I decided to teach them about various very interesting mysteries of science, like the Bermuda Triangle. The expression on their face when they learnt about them gave me a feeling of nostalgia and also gave me immense happiness of having actually let them into the ocean of science, which they will ponder over.”

The incidents shared with us by the members of the core team may sound trivial. But it is these little bundles of joy that make you smile even in the worst of your days. Also, these are the memories one can fall back on and reminiscence even after decades. Reading this collection of anecdotes will surely leave a warm feeling in each person’s heart.

Team Bridge wishes that its readers do not stop here, but do make an effort to create such beautiful memories for themselves by helping the society in every little way possible.

For more information regarding MAD, do visit makeadiff.in

roopikaROOPIKA R (B.E Robotics, 2012-2016) is passionate about music and classical dance. She loves writing about anything that puts her in awe and also writing is her favorite way of expressing what she feels. She enjoys debating and is always up for any healthy argument.

For comments/feedback/suggestions, please write to thebridge@mail.psgtech.ac.in.
 

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