This 'TEAM' of students are making a difference to people's lives

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Is there too much adversity around? That's the general perception of the times we are in. When the society at large tends to harbour the notion that the world was a far better place in the past than what it is today or likely to be in the future, there is cause to worry.

However, the truth is that for every distressing event, there is a solution, we need to just look around. If only we can strive to identify the encouraging stories unfolding around us and spread those, the world will be more inspired and congenial.

With this simple idea that positivity exudes enthusiasm, I tried to put on the hat of a raconteur to share inspiring and captivating real-life stories, which I believed could enthuse the readers. In the first of this multi-part news report, we present the remarkable enterprise of the students of Dhirubhai Ambani International School (DAIS) in Mumbai.

Students of DAIS Mumbai through their several social welfare endeavors have put up a commendable display of this all-embracing education. A young girl named Aditi Raheja took the initiative of constituting a group called TEAM composed of similar thinking commiserates fellow students. TEAM is an abbreviation for ‘Together everyone achieves more' and in accordance with its nomenclature, has demonstrated a laudable example of cooperative effort.

The journey began in 2015 at the time of Chennai deluge. The city of Chennai lay devastated with floods wrecking havoc. The roads were immersed and there was water logging all around. The incessant downpour exacerbated the misery. As is a pattern in such calamitous times, power supply was the first casualty. The concomitant ailments of food and potable water constraints, fear of epidemic looming large and the plight of the residents, had drawn the attention of the entire country. The TEAM swiftly moved into action. They raised funds through volunteers and utilized the amount to arrange for over 5000 survival kits, which were dispatched through the disaster management group. The resultant impact was perceptible.

The aforementioned rescue exercise initiated by the TEAM was not a solitary effort. The squalor conditions of the residents of Palghar, a small town in Maharashtra, presented another opportunity for TEAM to extend its noble work. The township had been afflicted with snakebites, which resulted in tragic loss of human lives. The TEAM members again gathered funds and worked towards ameliorating the sordid living environment. In about 12 days, eight permanent homes were built on rocky mud roads housing approximately 80 people. It was of immense solace to TEAM that avoidable loss of life could be averted.

The ennobling activities and subsequent success motivated TEAM to expand its network. More students from other schools gravitated towards the group and representation from 7 schools of Mumbai was soon attained. The good work has carried on and TEAM continues to make a difference in people's lives. In times of catastrophe, they have become a regular port of call. With a more expansive base, the influence it can exert to allay hazards, has also increased exponentially.

A striking feature is that young boys and girls from privileged backgrounds are able to empathize with the predicament of those whose lives are disparate and whose hardships they themselves have never or will ever perhaps experience. Their service to humanity is not restricted to mouthing clichéd platitudes. The relentless efforts in pursuit of their noble tasks embody the aphorism "helping hands are better than praying lips."

They say there is a difference between educating a society and churning out literates. Education isn't only about competence or excellence. For it to be truly transformative, it must encompass morality, sensitivity and compassion. An apotheosis of altruism, the TEAM story apart from commendation, deserves a rendition.