Mission compassion

Alumni meet-up becomes a trend whenever movies like Classmates, Lukka Chupi and 96 hit the screens and prompt people to call up their old classmates. Together, they fix a date and venue, arrive before the scheduled time, share old memories, laugh at their long-forgotten pranks and leave for home with memories that linger for days and then disappear, till the next year or sometimes, the next film. But for the former students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), Malappuram, alumni means a lot more than an annual meet-up. Their 1,600-member-strong association not just holds the occasional get-togethers.

A recent luncheon they hosted saw a handful of men and women — former and serving teachers and students of the school — cheerfully chatting about good old days. What made the gathering special was the venue — the courtyard of a new home they built together. The word ‘together’ is no understatement; the 600 sq. ft. house was literally built from the scratch by pooling engineers, builders, architects, government officials and entrepreneurs from all the batches since 1995, under the project which they named ‘Mission Lend a Hand’.

“Last year, the father of a boy in the school passed away. When the teachers went there, they were shocked to see the state of his dilapidated house. There was neither a proper structure to call it a home nor even a door. When the association came to know about the matter, we informed the members through our social media groups about it and together, we decided to renovate it,” recalls Surjith, president of the alumni association.

A team of architects and civil engineers paid a visit to the home in Manjeri and realised that a renovation was impossible. They had to build the home from the scratch. Surjith says, “The next plan was fund mobilisation. All the alumni members were alerted; Navodayans from various parts of the world contributed their little bit. At the end of 10 days, the total funds raised by the alumni touched nearly Rs 13 lakh. People of Thrikkalangode, too, crowd-funded Rs 73,000 to help the family.”  The plan was to build a budget home with quality raw materials. Explaining how the project progressed, Surjith says, “Public areas of the home use the maximum space whereas private areas have just sufficient space for the family. The construction is based on the growing home concept. Whenever there’s a need for extension, the family can build rooms or add space without making much alteration, by just removing the detachable sunshade or truss work.”

The alumni association president adds that they were very particular about cost-efficiency. “We recycled the bricks from the foundation and walls, procured country wood and locally available materials. Without making any compromise on quality, the construction could be completed under Rs 8 lakh.”

On the 120th day, the construction was completed. The key of the house was handed over to the family in a low-key ceremony. With two bedrooms, a common bathroom, hall, sit-out area and a garden space, the house appears very spacious as well. Visitors flock in every day just to see the beautiful home.

Now that their Mission Home is accomplished, the alumni members are happy. “As part of the mission, we could help a few struggling friends join professional courses and earn well-paid job. We also promote organic farming by purchasing rice directly from the farmers of Angadippuram panchayat,” he adds.

The mission is not meant to just lend a hand, but to unite the scores of alumni of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Malappuram, scattered across the globe. And they are glad that they have been able to maintain the spirit of Navodayanism!