Youngsters perform a street play in Bhubaneswar on International Volunteer Day. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 5: Weekly visits to an orphanage in the capital have become a ritual for college-goers, Nishikant Nayak and Anish Kumar Rout.

They teach maths and science to 15 children here. But today, their visit had a special meaning as it coincided with the International Volunteer Day — an international observance designated by the United Nations since 1985 to thank volunteers for their efforts and increase public awareness on their contribution to society.

Like Nishikant and Anish, thousands of youngsters in Bhubaneswar celebrated the spirit of volunteerism by reaching out to the less fortunate and spreading the message of love and fellow feeling.

Gautam Doshi, a student of C.V. Raman College of Engineering, and his friends celebrated the day by presenting saplings to children at two orphanages.

“We split ourselves into two groups and visited the Jeevan Jyoti Ashram and Satya Sai Balashram. At both places, we planted tulsi, marigold and cashew saplings and created awareness among children about the vanishing green cover and the importance of planting trees. We told them that one who plants a tree, plants a hope,” said Gautam, who is also a member of Uddan Odisha, a voluntary organisation established by college students.

The two-month-old group has been conducting several art camps, drawing competitions and other creative workshops for children.

“It is the moral responsibility of every youngster to do his bit to make the world a better place. It could start with something like donating books to poor children, planting a sapling or even cleaning your backyard. A small change can make a big difference,” said Chandan Mohapatra, another volunteer of Uddan Odisha.

Utkal University student Gayatri has been volunteering at the annual Anjali Children’s Festival for the past three years. She said one does not need to be part of a group to be a volunteer.

“One should always question oneself about what they have done for society. Bringing a smile to someone’s face is the greatest feeling ever. I feel volunteering should not be confined to just one day. Nor do I restrict myself to one group. When I am not participating in an event, I engage myself in community activities such as cleaning the university campus,” said Gayatri.

The volunteers of Bakul Foundation and several other youngsters gathered at the Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD) to observe the day. Social leaders and youngsters, who have done exemplary volunteering work, were felicitated on the occasion.

Street plays, film screenings and “Music for change” by Vignanz, a rock band, were organised to motivate the youth and suggest ideas for initiating change.

Disability rights activist Sruti Mohapatra, environmentalist Radhamohan and other social leaders spoke about the importance of volunteerism, while the participants shared their vision and personal experiences.

“Instead of being worker-volunteers who do things as instructed, we should try to become executive-volunteers, who suggests ideas and implements them on their own,” said Shakti Prasad Badajena, a student of National Institute of Technology in Rourkela.