KOCHI: If somebody decides to make a difference and go full steam ahead undeterred by hurdles, they are sure to succeed in making a big impact on the society. EKM Rescue Volunteers is one such group which is slowly metamorphosising from a WhatsApp group into a non-government organisation called ‘Koode’. The registration process for the NGO is underway and is expected to be completed by December.
Founded by Nithya Venugopal, a company secretary, EKM Rescue Volunteers has branched out from being a group that catered to rescue and relief works during the deluge of August 2018 and this year to provide services in the education and medical fields. “The WhatsApp group was formed to help those affected by the deluge and we did it by providing funds and volunteers,” said Anand Bhaskar, who works as an assistant manager with Choice International.
After the deluge, the members decided to branch out to other social activities. “We wanted to make a difference in society. After much deliberations, we realised that much help both monetary and otherwise, is needed in the education and medical fields,” he said. According to him, though the state puts a lot of efforts into education and has the highest enrollment rate in the country, a large number of students are unable to afford the much-needed extra coaching to help with their studies.
“This is where we come in,” said Anand. “Many students in rural areas and in the city who hail from financially backward families fail to match the standards of their well-off counterparts. The only thing they lack is a little bit of coaching. They are all bright students and, if helped with their studies, will be able to do very well,” he said. True to the meaning of its name Koode, the volunteers of the NGO strive to be with the needy.
“There are 200 members in our group and all of them come from various walks of life. One of our prominent members is the former sub-collector of Wayanad N S K Umesh. All our members contribute funds or extend their services,” said Anand. According to him, the group is already tutoring around 30 students under their initiative ‘Ignite’. They provide tuition to students from Classes I to XII in Communicative English, Mathematics and Science. “We aim to reach out around 1,000 students by the start of the next academic year starting. We are also developing an app called ‘Mob App’,” he said.
The app is being designed for teaching volunteers. “People from across the state can register themselves as teaching volunteers,” he said. As a part of their education initiative, the group is also sponsoring five students pursuing graduation in various colleges. “We pay their tuition fee and provide them with all the necessary supplies needed for their studies,” said Anand.
As for medical services, Anand said, “The group helps patients with their treatment expenses. We have good connections with doctors and experts. Whenever a patient approaches us for help, we connect them to the doctors concerned besides helping them to meet the expenses.” The other founding members of the group are Anand himself and Dr Latha Anand (lecturer at Amrita School of Science)