Cloth box' mania grips youth

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ‘cloth box,’ the brainchild of a  group of  youngsters here, has caught the imagination of many others in various parts of the state. Five youths  had joined hands and set up a cloth box at Poojappura junction in January  under an   initiative titled ‘Aashrayam’  to distribute used or new clothes to the needy. The  box, painted in sky blue colour, was sponsored by Fazil Musthafa, an NRI, where the public were requested to drop clothes.    The  cloth box  was born out of the vision that clothes are about dignity, not vanity, according to the group.

“After a video of our initiative surfaced through the social media, many people enquired about the possibility of setting up cloth boxes at their place. Boxes have now been set up at Mananthavady, Sulthan Bathery, Kannur and Malappuram.  A new box will  be placed at Thrissur by the end of this month,” said Aashrayam member  Seyyad Siddique,  a Gulf-returnee, who is doing social work.   The other members are  Seethu,  MBBS student (the sole girl member), Eminesh, who runs a workshop,  Rajkumar,  aeronautical engineering student, and Blesson Samji, who is currently in Poland.

Director of Employment and Training Dr Sriram Venkataraman interacts with the members of ‘Aashrayam’ in front of the cloth box installed at Keston Road in Thiruvananthapuram.

Many have extended their support  to the project and joined the group.   The members themselves manufacture the boxes in one of their workshops.   A box costs around  Rs 25,000  and can be sponsored by any willing person. “Clothes are separated according to their quality and only the best  are chosen for distribution.   These  are distributed to orphanages and tribal hamlets in  the state. Last month, clothes were sent to the Kozhikode mental health centre. Our plan to  distribute clothes in Attapadi  have not materialised yet because of financial constraints,” Siddique added.

‘Aashrayam’  has joined hands with S4S, a like- minded charity organisation comprising youngsters, in opening a cloth box in front of ‘Brand Factory’ near Kowdiar. The box sponsored by  newly-wed couple Unni and Soumya was inaugurated   on the day of their marriage last week  by Dr Sriram Venkataraman, director of employment and training.

“No one can force such thoughts on people, which  should come from within. I was happy to associate with their programme because it  can inspire a lot more people.  Those  who are part of such charity programmes can also approach the department concerned with their project if they are facing any fund crunch,” said  Mr Venkataraman. “At the end of this holy month,  we are planning to distribute clothes and rice kits to financially backward families at  Kattakada,” said  Siddique.