World Humanitarian Day: Aug 19, 2011

Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB), in association with Concern Worldwide, hosted the World Humanitarian Day Observation on 19th August, 2011. Organised by the  Social Responsibility Cell (SRC) of XIMB, the theme for this year was ‘People helping People’. The chief guest for the occasion was Mr. T. Nanda Kumar, Member, National Disaster Management Authority; and the event was presided over by Mr. Dipankar Datta, Country Director, Concern Worldwide; Prof. S. Parsuraman, Director, TISS, Mumbai and Mr. Mihir Bhatt, Founder, All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), Ahmedabad. 

The event started with a candle march by the students, and the eminent speakers discussed various topics ranging from the strengths and challenges facing humanitarian aid workers in India, various ways in which ordinary citizens could contribute towards helping humanity on a daily basis, and appealed to the audience, especially the youth, to commit to helping humanity on a daily basis. 

Mr. Nanda Kumar spoke about the issues that lead to a delay in humanitarian aid, and also presented solutions that could help eradicate this problem like better delivery options, the leveraging of science and technology and public participation in humanitarian aid. Mr. Mihir Bhatt enumerated the problem of corruption in humanitarian work. He then suggested that in order to mitigate this problem and ensure a more accountable and transparent process, a multi-stakeholder approach is required where parents, businesses and civic society commit to eliminating corruption in humanitarian work. 

Prof. S. Parsuraman announced the launch of a Masters Program in Social Work with a Specialisation in Mental Health, in association with XIMB. The SRC launched their Donate Blood campaign and Fr. P.T. Joseph, Director, XIMB inaugurated the software used in this campaign which lists the blood group information of the donors.

Participants from colleges such as United School of Business Management, Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, Institute of Management and Information Science, PJ College of Management and Technology, Bhavan's Center for Communication and Management, Centurion School of Rural Management, Biju Pattnaik Institute of Information Technology and Management Studies, BRM Institute of Management and Information Technology, and Utkal University also attended the event.

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Independence Day Celebrations @ Harsha Memorial School

"The soul is healed by being with children". A visit to Harsha Memorial school brought to the fore of consciousness the true meaning of these words of Dostoyevsky. On the morning of the 65th Independence Day, a batch of SRC members from XIMB set out for the said school which provides for the educational needs of children with hearing and speech disabilities. SRC, in collaboration with the Bhubaneswar Chapter of Rotary International, was to take part in the Independence Day celebrations of the school with the aim to make it a day of fun and frolic for the children. 

The proceedings of the day was commenced with the traditional flag-hoisting and singing of the national anthem. One could not fail to notice the sparkle in the eyes of each and every child and their dimpled smiles as they watched the Indian flag being unfurled by the dignitaries from the Rotary Club. 

A particular mention needs to be made of the sand casting of the map of India as well as a sand sculpture of the Father of the Nation-Mahatma Gandhi made by the children-remarkable concepts executed to perfection! 

Next up was a march past conducted by the children. How to conduct a march past with a neat clockwork precision minus the fanfare of trumpets and drums was exemplified by the children looking neat and trim in their all-white uniforms. The Rotary Club dignitaries shared their fervour and enthusiasm through their eloquent speeches that were communicated via sign language to the students. After a quick snack arranged by the Rotary members, the children gathered in their classes to take part in the drawing competition arranged by SRC. Armed with all the required stationary provided by SRC, the children poured forth colours and creativity into their drawings. Not even twenty minutes had passed when a child from the junior batch came forth with his drawing all finished. The integration of the Indian map, a dove signifying peace, the Indian flag and a lotus in full bloom that was presented in the drawing with deft colouring and shading won our hearts!

A major portion of all the drawings were so captivating in terms of their beauty of conception and sincerity of execution that we were thoroughly convinced that what these children were bereft of in terms of their auditory and speech disabilities were compensated for by their individually novel powers of imagination. That an artist of the stature of Hussain or Dali could emerge from amongst these very children was not at all a baffling thought anymore! The events of the day were drawn to an end with the prize distribution for the drawings which had captured the attention of the jury the most. As we all bid adieu to the children, we could not help but think that these were indeed the children of heaven!

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XIMB Candle March: Eve of Independence Day, 2011

Independence Day- the commemoration of the death of the ceaseless crusaders was celebrated at XIMB in its own unique style of candle light march. On the eve of August 15th, the Social Responsibility Cell (SRC) of XIMB organised the Independence Day event that witnessed mass gathering of our ever-busy XIMBians to serve the purpose and show the spirit of patriotism. Many volunteers shared their views on Independence and its relevance today, sang patriotic songs, took oath for being a better human for making India an even better place to live in. There was not one genre where the spirit of XIMBians looked faded.

Soon our enthusiastic XIMBians displaying the diversified cultures marched with the lighted candles signifying continuity, connection and courage.

• Continuity- To continue doing the noble deeds in the path of our National leaders
• Connection- For connecting ourselves to the destiny that our forefathers dreamt of steering through
• Courage- To resist and courageously fight against the harmful social elements

The march itself was a challenge as the students faced a tough task of keeping the candles lit despite the blowing wind. This personified the obstacles that youth would face when they are in their righteous path towards goal.

The march ended as the students decorated a magnificent map of India with the lighted candles, symbolically representing ‘making India glow with pride’.

In a nutshell, the candlelight march, the brain-child of SRC-XIMB, portrayed the essence of ‘Unity in Diversity’ amongst the entire XIMB Community and the way we make the best out of it.

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