Media Release
Udupi, Oct 4: The students and teachers of St Mary’s English Medium School, Kannarpady observed the 150th Birth anniversary of Mahathma Gandhi in the form of a community outreach campaign.
Chief guest K Krishnamurthy Acharya, a well-known social worker and also the director of management committee, Jaya Durga temple ,Kannarpady gave a motivational speech on ‘the relevance of Gandhian values’ during the formal program held at St Mary’s Auditorium.
Students’ choir under the guidance of music teachers conducted an all religion prayer session to uphold the spirit of communal harmony and peace. The sacred hymns from Bhagavadgeetha, Bible and Quran were recited and interpreted by students during this prayer session highlighting the message of universal brotherhood propagated by the holy scriptures of the major religions. Correspondent Fr Valerian Mendonca flagged off the school buses heading towards the various orphanages, old age homes, hospitals and rehabilitation centers to mark the formal commencement of this social service campaign. He appealed students to utilize this meaningful platform of social service and develop sensitivity towards the needs of the less privileged.
More than 500 students from class 7 to 12 along with 50 teacher coordinators took part in this community service initiative. The Community centers visited during this campaign were ‘Vishvasada Mane’ orphanage at Shankarapura, ‘Manasa’ Rehabilitation Center at Pamboor, ‘Goretti’ Cancer Hospital and ‘Sandhya Dhama’ old age home at Kalyanpura , ‘Makkala Mane’ Rehabilitation Center at Kumbhashi , Pallotine Convent Udyavara, ‘Asha Nilaya’ school for specially abled at Udupi, ‘Krishnanugraha’- old age home at Nejar, ‘Omega’ old age home at Brahmavar , ‘Spandana’ orphanage at Kolalagiri, ‘Vagjyothi’ school for differently abled at Ampar and ‘Manasa Jyothi’ rehabilitation center for Specially abled at Koni. Charitable contributions such as groceries, clothes, fruits, eatables, toys and utensils were offered to these institutions during the visit. Students not only experienced the ‘Joy of giving’ but also realized the emotional needs of the mentally challenged, deserted, sick and aged. These visits exposed them to the darker side of the society where the less fortunate are deprived of the basic needs and emotional security. Students performed various dances, skits and also conducted fun games to entertain them.
On the whole the prime objective of celebrating the Gandhian ideals of ‘Welfare Society’, Service and Charity were successfully met by this community outreach programme. The whole campaign was conceptualized and meaningfully implemented by principal Fr Johnson Sequeira and vice principal Rita Quadros. The enthusiastic band of teachers deserves a special note of appreciation for motivating and guiding students towards this noble social cause.