HAPPENING -- 8 ::

ST JUDE'S LEO CLUB TO FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION 

BY P S SUNDAR

The installation of office bearers of two Leo Clubs – St Jude’s Public School and Junior College (SJPS) as also Riverside Public School (RSPS) – conducted by Lions Club of Kotagiri at St Jude’s auditorium in West Brooke on Aug 3, 2015, was a feast to the eyes and trigger to the mind as there were many lessons for the elders to learn.

Conducted totally by the students who are members of Leo Club of St Jude’s, under guidance of Leo Club Adviser Samjith Dhanarajan, the entire event proved professional precision in public presentations.

Following Lions Prayer (Yalini, RSPS), Flag Salutation (Vishnu Priya, SJPS) and Leo Pledge (Akshara RSPS), silence was observed for world peace and the soul of Dr Abdul Kalam to rest in peace.

Rajeshkumar, SJPS Leo President welcomed.

Secretaries Tharini Suresh (RSPS) and Nandhini Meenakhsi (SJPS) presented their Annual Report highlighting the plethora of activities the members of their respective clubs (don’t forget, they are still students) had done in the last 12 months.   The fiscal equivalent of the projects, the physical effort spent, the mind-trigger utilised – all were enormous ..

... so much so, the Chief Guest, Past District Governor S Nagin commented that most clubs in 50 years had not done what these two clubs had done so far.

Awards were distributed and the Chief Guest was introduced by Mathew Kuruvilla, President of RSPS Leo Club.

Nagin spoke at great length on life-impacting aspects and then installed the office bearers of Leo Clubs for 2015-16::  DIvji Adon Samjith, Sachin Surya and Tanya Susan Mathew as President, Treasurer and Secretary of Leo Club of SJPS and Sanjay Varadhan, Sanmathi and Yalini as President, Treasurer and Secretary of Leo Club of RSPS.

The new Presidents accepted the office and the new Secretaries listed their projects proposed for the ensuing year.

Lions District Co-ordinator M Bhojarajan led others in felicitating the new office-bearers. 

In my felicitation on their specific request, besides wishing all success, I said that I would like to be present one year after to compliment them on the achievement of these ambitious projects now listed.  

The SJPS Leo Secretary proposed a vote of thanks.

The very impressive part was SJPS Leo members making students, teachers, parents, members of Lions Club of Kotagiri and visitors take a pledge holding their right hand to their heart that they will not give or accept bribe.

“This is to mark the launch of our fight against corruption and uphold the advice of former President Abdul Kalam to students to trigger anti-corruption movement in their homes”, Leo Club President Divji Adon Samjith told me.

“We have created a power-point presentation on the evils of corruption which we will screen in at least two schools or colleges every month”, he said.

“Our projects for the ensuing year include teaching villagers on first-aid usage, separating household wastes into bio-degradable and non-degradable, cleaning bus stands, helping students for higher education, enriching street children with food and clothes and helping old age homes”, Secretary Tanya Susan Mathew said.

“Our focus is on developing Nilgiris into a totally plastic-free district”, said Yalini, Secretary, RSPS Leo Club.

P P DHANARAJAN 

St Jude’s Chairman P P Dhanarajan, Principal Saro and Riverside Principal Rao Hemalatha, among others, gave guidelines to the students on projects.

D SARO

(response can also be sent to : pssundar.coonoor@gmail.com).