Traffic Governing & Awareness (27th March'10)

Each one of us, at some time or the other, has pitied the sorry state of affairs as far as the traffic in our metropolis is concerned. The complete disregard for traffic rules and norms, lack of awareness of many traffic rules, citizens and denizens disobeying the code at traffic signals at crossroads…these are the vital, urban problems in our city.

The fight against these is definitely not a small one and our city has a long, read very long, way to go as far as obedience of traffic rules is concerned. So was realized by the students of LD College of Engineering and volunteers from the association Volunteers Ahmadabad, who came together to organize the ‘Traffic Troops’ event on the 27^th as a part of the ongoing kindness revolution ‘College Unstoppable’. The event triggered off with a session at the premises of Savera, Blind Peoples’ Association in which dynamic committee members from ATCC enlightened the students about various traffic rules and their raisons d'être. The ‘traffic trivia’ included answers to questions such as ‘Why, precisely, are the lights of traffic signals coloured red, green and ember? ’, ‘What is the importance of the stop-lines and why should one halt before them?’ which was explained in very innovative ways.

So the young Samaritans stepped up to the challenge and helped governing the influx of traffic at the IIM crossroads. The city commuters were in for a pleasant surprise seeing the raring-to-go youths manage the traffic and at the same time interacting with them, requesting them to don their helmets and seat-belts. The traffic cops were content as they could definitely do with the help and the students were awakened to their plight. Next, the youngsters carried out a rally and marched till the Vastrapur Lake carrying placards related to traffic rules and relevant messages. On reaching the lake, the students performed various plays and skits to spread awareness on traffic rules which left the crowd asking for more. As Franklin D. Roosevelt rightly said “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”

"We have been working on this issue since long but yesterday, it was the energy that the LD students had shown on the traffic signal that made people think at least once about the issue.'
- Dimpy Dave
Volunteer Ahmedabad

"I always felt a strong urge to do something about the urban problems, the major one being Traffic Rules Awareness and today I could finally do something concrete. Talking to people at the crossroads and informing them about certain traffic rules was an experience in its own and when people actually paid heed to us when we asked them to put on their helmets and wear their seat belts, it was overwhelming."
- Hetika Shah
Member LDCU

"There is total lack of awareness among Amdavadis regarding traffic sense but after today's activity I feel that they have a tremendous positive attitude towards learning about traffic rules and following them."
-Tushar Shah
Core team member LDCU

"I personally came to know about many rules that we break other than wearing helmets and seat belts. We met all kinds of people from some calling us and thanking us for the good work and others who were not even interested in listening to us and were using abusive language instead. But now i understand how much difficulty and stress the traffic cops have to cope up with. Now i will make sure that i follow these rules and also respect traffic cops instead of cursing them."
- Jahnvi Thakur
Core Team Member LDCU

Team Chatur Panchi - Old Age Home Visit (24th March'10)

“A test of a people is how it behaves toward the old. It is easy to love children. Even tyrants and dictators make a point of being fond of children. But the affection and care for the old, the incurable, the helpless are the true gold mines of a culture.”

Keeping this quote in mind, the students of LD College Unstoppable (LDCU) – A Social Activity club based in LD College of Engineering spent their holiday with the residents of an old age home at Bharti Ashram in Sarkhej. On the morning of ramnavmi,residents of Bharti Ashram old age home were in for a pleasant surprise when they found handful of youth welcoming them in their prayer hall with a tika,a rose and a shy namstey. The event began at 9 a.m. with a short introduction and a prayer.The atmosphere of ashram had a pleasant air when everyone joined to sing "raghupati raghav raja ram".

The real ice breaker between the young and the old was antakshri.The young volunteers were seen testing their knowledge about old hindi songs,while the elderly were seen singing songs of kishore kumar and lata mangeshkar with an enthusiasm like 18 year olds. Antakshri was followed by garba where the residents in spite of their heart, gout and leg problems were seen dancing and singing with the volunteers. Shivangi,A member of LDCU team was quite happy seeing the active participationfrom the elderly."Despite their health problems they showed great entusiasem"she added. During the interaction time,the residents were given a special greeting card made by the volunteers along with some sweets. Sonu Agarwal a member of the organizing team noted that "Everyone was happy or satisfied with their situation,and fighting their health problems bravely."

The interaction was followed by some activities.Many ladies and some gentlemen were seen sniffing and identifying different spices in the game of "the queen of the kitchen",where one had to identify maximum amount of spices. The" pagdi tying tournament" was a favourite among the young and the old alike. "Garba and turban activities were the most successful ones.The elders got a chance to be young again and break free." added Sonu. Volunteers were seen parading around with their colorful turbans tied by their elder partners.

By the end of the event,the volunteers were seen posing for pictures with their new friends.

During the feedback time the elderly sang bhajans and gave every volunteer their blessings. The ladies were seen hugging and kissing the volunteers like they were their own children. The event ended with many promises of next visit and advices like “Love your parents and be like shravana for them". "Their affection and warmth reminded me of my grandparents.I'll always remember this day.and i'll be visiting the old age home soon."added shivangi. Jenil Kothari the head of LDCU said that “Today the team of LDCU was able to bring smiles on 30 faces and was able to receive invaluable blessings from them. It is sad to see their grief about their families leaving them but our main motto was to help them forget their grievance and make them happy.”

Team Cool Devils "ECORIZON" (15th March'10)

THE TEAM "COOL DEVILS" HAVE TAKEN A BIG STRIDE OF THEIR MARCH ON THE "GREEN CARPET" BY UNDERTAKING THIS EVENT OF TREE PLANTATION..

THE TEAM MEMBERS STRIVE NOT ONLY TO SPREAD KINDNESS AND WARMTH AROUND BUT ALSO LEAP ABOUND TO DO THEIR BIT TO SAVE THE ENVIRONS OF THIS EARTH..

THE TEAM MEMBERS PLANTED THE SAPLINGS THAT WERE LEFT BEHIND AFTER THE "TREE PLANTATION" EVENT UNDERTAKEN AT THE TECHNICAL FESTIVAL OF L.D.C.E. THE MEMBERS NURTURED THESE SAPLINGS BEFORE PLANTING THEM AS SOME OF THESE PLANTS WERE WITHERED FROM THEIR ROOTS.. HAVING PUT BACK THE SAP INTO THESE PLANTS,THE TEAM MEMBERS OF "COOL DEVILS" PLANTED THESE SAPLINGS AT THE ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT AT L.D. COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING..

THE TEAM MEMBERS HAVE DETERMINED TO KEEP WALKING ON THIS "GREEN CARPET"...AND REACH TILL THE GLORIOUS FINALE OF A "BETTER" AND "GREENER" ENVIRON... AND TAKE EVERY STRIDE POSSIBLE TO SPREAD AWARENESS ABOUT SAVING OUR NATURE AND LET THE FRUITS IT GIVES SPREAD SWEETNESS ALL AROUND "UNSTOPPABLY"...

Ground Reality Survey by LDCU (13th March'10)

Team Fungineers Food For All at Seva Cafe (11th March'10)

A group of young Samaritans showed the way by organizing a field day and proved that one can do great work and have fun too!

The students of LD College of Engineering on 11^th Feb organized this fantabulous event at the Seva Café as a part of the ongoing initiative, College Unstoppable. These budding engineers donned the hats of chefs for the day. The guests of honour were 36 kids from the Gulbai Tekra area. They were warmly welcomed by glasses of sugarcane juice, followed by fun-filled interactive games with the college students leading to two hours of non-stop enjoyment. The menu included delectable delights such as pasta, pulao, variegated sandwiches and Monaco toppings...and smiles of the volunteers while serving. If the food looked yummy, it tasted even yummier. The sheer joy on the faces of the children was proof enough, and this was precisely the reward the ‘chefs’ wanted!

The kitchen at the Seva Café was undoubtedly, the place to be. If only all the mothers of these budding engineers could have a look! The cooking was meticulously planned and carried out with great fun. After the kids had their fill, the students armed themselves with mops and brooms and cleaned the place, leaving it as clean as new.

When one sees such devout eagerness, enthusiasm and passion in the youth to do something for fellow human beings, one can surely say aal izz, indeed, well!!!

LDCU Women's Day Celebration with Yuva and Pantaloons (7th March'10)

College Unstoppable and Pantaloons jointly organised an eventful day on the eve of Women's Day, on Sunday, where students from LD Engineering and EDI had gathered in the morning at the Mithakali outlet of Pantaloons to give their 'bias' a surprise.
A rally was organised where around 100 youngsters drove around city streets holding out placards addressing relevant social issues. The rally covering a distance of 8 kms converged at the Gulmohar Park outlet of Pantaloons. In a bid to honour the unsung heroes of every household, the maids, these students showed their gratitude to around 60 maids of all ages who had assembled at the venue.
Special entertainment events were organised for them including interactive games and other fun activities. A play was also enacted by the students of LD reflecting the importance of independence, self-esteem and self-contemplation in women.
To add in to the fun, shopping was included in the list of activities of these women who were given look-alike currency notes in denominations of 100 and 50 with which they could 'shop' at a special stall set up at the mall. Here freshly laundered clothes and utensils donated and collected by the students and the Pantaloons store were put up on sale, tagged with an MRP ranging from Rs250 to Rs1000.
"The maids had bought many garments for themselves and their family members and gained a rich shopping experience," said Founder and National head of College Unstoppable, Hardeep Pathak.
College Unstoppable is a movement towards spreading kindness with members from various colleges and is spread across five cities and 30 colleges.

Team Cool Devils :BUS-STAND KA BAPU (2nd March)

THE TEAM-‘COOL DEVILS’ OF COLLEGE UNSTOPPABLE- L.D.C.E GAVE A GREAT START TO THEIR “KINDNESS EVENTS” BY PLANNING AN ACT AGAINST “EVE TEASING” AND PERFORMING THIS ACT AT THE BUS-STOPS OUTSIDE THE “L.D. COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING” GROUNDS.

THIS ACT WAS UNDERTAKEN SO AS TO LEAVE A MARK ON THE MINDS OF PEOPLE AND MAKE THEM AWARE ABOUT THIS SOCIAL CRIME OF EVE TEASING.

ALSO,ALONG WITH THIS ACT, THE “COOL DEVILS” INITIATED ANOTHER KINDNESS ACT OF OFFERING WATER TO THE “PEOPLE AT THE BUS STOPS”, “RICKSHAW WALLAHS”, “PEDDLERS”

THE ACT PERFORMED BY THE “COOL DEVILS” AFFECTED THE PEOPLE THAT GATHERED AT THE ‘BUS-STOPS’ IN SUCH A WAY, THAT THEY AT ONCE DECIDED TO “ARISE,AWAKE AND RAISE THEIR VOICE AGAINST THIS CRIME AND FIGHT AGAINST IT TILL IT GETS REMOVED FROM ITS ROOTS.
THUS,THIS ACT ENDED WITH AN AMAZING VICTORY CRY OF “HALLA BOL” AND LEFT A ‘NEVER FADING IMPRESSION’ ON THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE WHO WITNESSED THIS ACT.

THE SWEET SMILES ON THE FACES OF THE PEOPLE THERE WAS THE BIGGEST AWARD FOR THIS TEAM.

THIS WAS ONE BIG, CONCRETE STEP TOWARDS SPREADING “AWARENESS” AND “KINDNESS” THE “UNSTOPPABLE WAY” !!

LDCU Big Picture and Kindness Forum (26th Feb'10)

This was the first meeting and orientation seminar for the new members of LDCU team. The meeting was held to give the members a basic idea about LDCU and to help them get an experience of kindness activities. Presentations on College Unstoppable and icebreakers were executed to help the members bond as a team. The whole team of LDCU divided into three sub-teams – COOL DEVILS, FUNGINEERS and CHATUR PANCHIS. These teams planned their strategies for the coming weeks and divided themselves into knowledge bankers, rain makers and news makers to understand the structure and job profiles of the team. Kindness activities were performed by the teams on the same day.

Fungineers went to IIM crossroads to spread awareness about traffic rules and safety among people violating rules and driving without helmets. The team got varied reactions and excuses from people with some accepting their mistake and saying ‘I am sorry’ to some giving lame excuses like ‘helmet is not good for my hair’. The team also interacted with kids and families living on the streets near iim crossroads.

Cool Devils cleaned the campus walls which were covered with lots of posters after the technical festival of LDCE. These posters were taken out with great care so that the backside of these posters could be reused for making books and other recycled material. The team collected kilos of waste from the campus and also initiated their activity of making recycled books.

The team Chatur Panchi started with distribution of smile cards to the street vendors outside LDCE and interaction with the university bus stand staff. Antismoking awareness was also spread. The team then headed to gulbai tekra slum area where they interacted with the kids and families to know more about their problems and hardships in life. The kids sang songs for the volunteers and posed for photographs with them.

There was an experience sharing session after the activity. The team of the day was given to the team Cool Devils. The three teams will be competing with each other till 10^th April after which the best team will be awarded.