Collegian develops village in Bengaluru

Rahul Prasad, final-year student of RV College of Engineering visited Bhadrapura, a small village 3km off Mysuru Road, in Ramanagara district when he was 20. Rahul was part of a medical camp for children of the district, and remembers taking classes on hygiene with fellow volunteers.

Now he is 24. There is a palpable change, and he knows he is driving it. Last year, after many such hygiene camps, Rahul realized nothing had changed; Bhadrapura needed more than soap and toothpaste, it needed continuous engagement to bring in positive results.So the lad adopted the village, with all its 140 households, and is garnering the support of volunteers and corporates to change lives here.

Rahul's organization, Juvenile Care Charitable Trust, which works for the uplift of underprivileged children, has signed an agreement with the jurisdictional Manchanayakanahalli panchayat development officer, to take up work. While Rahul is a regular visitor to the village, his volunteers drop in during weekends to participate in welfare activities.

"We've identified three major issues bothering the villagers. They lack hygiene, with clogged roadside drains turning into breeding e grounds for mosquitoes. Open defecation is still a reality, despite the village being within 50km of IT City. The nearest hospital is about 8km away," explains Rahul.

Source: Times of India