Students with their customised notebooks on KIIT campus. Telegraph picture
Bhubaneswar, Jan. 9: A group of BTech graduates in the city have proved that engineering is not only about nuts and bolts, but also about having a big heart.
A group of about 70 engineering students from various colleges have come forward to design customised merchandise of various kinds, especially notebooks.
The initiative titled 'You write and let them write' under the banner Desire Foundation appeals the student fraternity to buy notebooks, and in the process, help the underprivileged students, who are not in a position to afford education.
'We ask students to buy copies and other merchandise from us and if required we customise these items according to their requirement. The profits made are being invested in the education of poor students,' said Soumik Ghoshal, a student.
To begin with, the students have started identifying the beneficiaries from the nearby slums on the basis of their parents' income. 'We have selected those, whose parents income is below Rs 1,20,000 a year,' said Sayan, another student.
The initiative began on December 10 last year, and the students managed to sell 1,000 copies in the first phase. With the profits, they distributed drawing books and crayons to the inmates at a city-based orphanage.
'In the second stage, we have been able to sell 500 copies, and the sale is going on. We have shortlisted 20 students from Class IX in a school at Unit-II. The copies will shortly be distributed to them,' said Siddhant Sadangi, another student in the team.
The notebooks are priced at Rs 30 each. The students have sourced the materials such as papers for the notebook from the cheapest outlets. 'We buy the raw materials ourselves and also transport them, thus making the notebooks available at a very reasonable rate as compared to the market price,' said Depanjana, a student.
The students also try to give it a personalised touch by putting pictures of their previous work on the notebooks. This inspires others to contribute for the noble cause, the students said. Apart from the notebooks, the students make 3D cards. The students are now planning to teach the poor kids on how to make such cards that can help then earn some money.
