Sonapur: The Regional Directorate of NSS, Guwahati in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Assam Don Bosco University, Sonapur, is organising a five-day North East NSS Festival from March 18-22 at the Tapesia Campus of the University.
Patricia Mukhim, Editor, The Shillong Times, was the chief guest of the festival. Other dignitaries who graced the occasion include Fr. (Dr.) Stephen Mavely, Vice Chancellor of Assam Don Bosco University, Fr. (Dr.) Biju Michael, Registrar of the University, Dr. Tushar Rane, Chief Field Office, UNICEF Assam, Vara Prasad, CEO, Assam Cancer Care Foundation, Saiyyad Ali, State Director, Nehru Yuva Kendra, Mizoram, Dipak Kumar, Director, Guwahati Regional Directorate of NSS and Dr. Riju Sharma, Director of Humanities and Social Sciences, Assam Don Bosco University.
Addressing the NSS volunteers from the eight states of the North East, Mukhim said, “Voluntarism must begin at home. It must begin with me. It must begin with you. We don’t have to depend to do things on anyone that is personal to us and only then we can take it to the world. When we volunteer for something, there are some impacts that are tangible, that you can see and experience. There are other impacts that are intangible but having positive impacts. Experience of giving is a great act. It has a very positive impact on the person you give and on you as well. The law of nature says, we only get back what we give.”
“We must be touched by the situation around us. If we want a better world then we have to be involved, but that involvement can sometimes be painful. We have to pay a price if we want to change the world. It’s not going to come easy. We have to make peace. This region is used be known as a conflict zone. We have to make this a peace zone. All of us have a duty to show the world that we are capable of making peace”, she added.
Over 500 NSS volunteers and 12 NSS programme officers from across the Northeastern states are participating in the five-day festival.
Life skills education along with games, adventure sports and trekking, literary, art and elocution competitions, and an educational tour of the city are the key components of the festival.
