Bhubaneswar: Volunteers from across the state came together to underscore the importance of collective efforts ahead of the International Volunteer Day, which is celebrated on December 5.

The occasion was the first anniversary of Mu Volunteer, a community of young change-makers that brought various volunteers and groups together under one platform.

"The state has been a victim of several natural disasters and witnessed remarkable volunteerism during these calamities. Odisha has been making attempts to make volunteer action more effective," said Sujit Mahapatra, one of the leading initiators of the movement and founder of Bakul Foundation.

Photo stories of 25 young change-makers were displayed at the event, and the audience had the chance to interact with them. The volunteers had been part of the leadership journey of Mu Volunteer.

They also included 11 tribal children from Koraput, who stood against child marriage and took up the challenge of eradicating child marriages in their communities.

The participants also included five youngsters, who had worked on the issue of sanitation at villages. They have now taken up the challenge of making nearby villages free of open defecation, particularly at Thekuapalli, which has a sizeable SC and ST population that cannot afford to contribute for building proper toilets.

There were also 14 volunteers representing various youth groups in state such as Patang, NYKS, WE4You, Ashayein and so on. Aparajita Mohanty from Bakul, who had used the occasion of her wedding earlier this year to set up a children's library at Chandrasekharpur, also took part in the event.

"We are now focusing on engagement with youngsters on social issues on social media," Sujit said.

Women and child development department secretary Chithra Arumugam felicitated the participants, who helped to end child marriage or reduce school dropouts.