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Lending a helping hand
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A group of employees of US Software at Technopark have formed ThejUS, an organisation dedicated to the welfare of the needy.
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WHEN DEDICATED and selfless professionals come together, there is little they cannot achieve. A group of such professionals from US Software, Technopark, have committed themselves to helping the poor and needy. Ussociates is what they call themselves, for they want to remain anonymous - no names, no identities.
The idea of doing something fruitful came at a casual meeting of the group in 2002. The Ussociates decided to visit the wards of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital to provide financial help to the patients. "We were sceptical initially and were not sure to what extent our group would be able to help such a large institution as the Medical College," says one of the Ussociates. But with the support of some like-minded doctors, their philanthropic activities got off to a good start.
It was only much later, in May 2003, that they decided to bring their activities under the banner of ThejUS. There has been no looking back since. They also enjoyed the whole-hearted backing of the management of US Software.
The staff of US Software is divided into seven groups, each corresponding with a colour - Purple, Indigo, Quartz, Green, Gold, Orange and Rose. The members of each group are assigned different responsibilities apart from their regular work. ThejUS comes under the community welfare aspect of the Rose group, whose responsibility includes the company, clients and the community.
"Once ThejUS was formed, we decided it was time to widen the scope of our activities," says a team member. Accordingly, they numbered their community programs from CP1 to CP6, as per their area of operations.
Their school education programme takes care of the computer education of the students of the Government High School, Kazhakootam. When the members of ThejUS first visited the school, they noted that though the school had computers, it did not have trained hands to impart education to the children. ThejUS took up the challenge and embarked on a programme aimed at `teaching the teachers to teach'. Having achieved the goal in three months, ThejUS members now visit the school and guide the students on weekends.
Three months of planning has gone into making an ongoing summer camp for 70 students of the school a success. Taking short breaks from their job, ThejUS members take turns to conduct classes. Even senior managers chip in.
The in-house carpenters too have a role to play. When they have time to spare, these carpenters go to the school to undertake any repair work that needs to be done.
The other programmes of ThejUS are aimed at helping bright students who are from economically backward families, in association with Prathibhaposhini, an NGO run by retired Government officials. ThejUS also collects and distributes old clothes and books to orphans, and destitute and handicapped women, in association with other NGOs such as Abhaya, Asraya, Karunalayam, Ananda Nilayam, and Guild of Service.
ThejUS also takes under its wings students who have cleared their Board examinations with assistance from Prathibhaposhini. These students are given industrial training every Sunday, for a month, by ThejUS, so that they are better equipped to face the world.
Under the medical treatment assistance programme, the group visits the wards of the Medical College on Sunday every week to enquire about the well being of the patients. In cases where the doctor certifies the poor financial state of the patient, small donations are collected from colleagues in US Software and handed over to the patients. The activities of ThejUS have met with so much approval that often doctors call upon the group for help.
AMBIKA VARMA
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
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Kochi
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Thiruvananthapuram
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Visakhapatnam
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