Kendrapara: The Raja festival is round the corner and most people are now busy buying new clothes, but there are many who cannot afford to.
So some youths of the Kendrapara Seva Samiti (KSS) came forward Sunday to help the needy by donating old clothes. A mad rush was seen at the Tinimuhani chowk as poor children, the elderly and youths made a beeline to collect the old clothes.
Manoj Kumar Nayak, the President of Kendrapara Seva Samiti, said there are several poverty-stricken people, who do not have spare clothes. One can find several mentally deranged people, trolley pullers and beggars in the district wearing torn clothes. They do not have money for new clothes.
“So the Kendrapara Seva Samiti decided to help these people by donating old clothes kept in our households. “Our aim was to donate the old clothes to needy ones and to bring a smile on their faces”, informed Pravakar Samal, a member of KSS.
Plans were chalked out last week and members of Kendrapara Seva Samiti were entrusted to collect old clothes from those who wanted to donate. The KSS members also appealed through social media to the kind-hearted to donate old clothes.
The team collected old sarees, dhoti, jeans, shirts, children’s clothes, salwar and pyjamas from members as well as the public. On Sunday, KSS members opened a stall with the donated clothes. To their surprise there was a mad rush as hundreds came to the stall and collected the clothes.
Most of the people, who came to collect old clothes, returned with a big smile on the eve of the Raja festival, said Shibashis Mohanty, another member of KSS.
“It’s too difficult for me to purchase clothes for my family to celebrate Raja as I do not have money. Being a rickshaw puller it is too difficult to provide for my six-member family meet. I came to know Sunday that the Kendrapara Seva Samiti was donating old clothes, which were of good quality at a stall at Tinimuhani. I went to the stall and collected clothes for my family for the Raja festival,” said a beaming Ghanashyam Sethy.
“I have only one saree and do not have another one to change after bathing. But, when I came to know that some youths have been donating old clothes I went to the stall and collected two sarees and some clothes for my children. God bless these men for helping us. We badly need clothes to cover ourselves being women,” said Gita, a resident of Kelasahi.
PNN
