THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Action Council of Vellarada, an NGO working against illegal quarrying of the Sahya mountains, got a new supporting voice in visually challenged Anja Pfaffenzeller from Germany and Tafadzwa Nyamuzihwa from Zimbabwe, both students at the International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs (IISE), Vellayani.Anja and Taffy, as they are fondly called by friends, set up a unique stall at the social exhibition, ‘Change for Change’, jointly organised by the IISE and the Humanities Forum of the Government Model Boys Higher Secondary School at the Model School. They had a model of the Sahya mountain, complete with the recorded chirpings and songs of a multitude of birds commonly seen in the mountain range and a white covered box with an opening in the front.Anja said: ‘’Put in your hand through the opening and you can feel how Vellarada would be, if quarrying is permitted.’’ We did and we found a bare dry ground with just a lump of a hill. And if you listened carefully, you would hear just the sound of howling wind. No birds, no animals.Taffy was tirelessly inspiring the Model School students to write a slogan for the Save Sahya Movement. Every student who wrote a slogan on the white chart got a pen with the inscription - ‘Save Sahya’. Anja’s and Taffy’s stall, ‘Speak Up’, was just one of the many at the exhibition, who were trying to communicate socially relevant messages using multi-media and games. The Better Bags Campaign (BBC) team, led by polio-affected K R Raja and partially-sighted Nicholas Kimuyu from Kenya, joined up with the Zero Waste Centre at Kovalam and put up a huge plastic monster to create an awareness on the dangers of plastic. ‘’By this exercise the students get to closely work with the social organisations and learn the various processes and problems in making a social change possible,’’ said Noora Michael, alumni co-ordinator at IISE. Marcuss Edibogi Akor from Nigeria, who led the Beyond the Ocean (BTO) team, got together with the Sebastian Indian School Project to focus on social welfare for families belonging to the BPL category. Eco-friendly handicrafts, made from newspaper and coconut shells, were instant crowd-pullers. The earrings, bracelets and necklaces were truly appealing.The Wings group, which tied up with the NGO, Disabled Care, was seen marketing ‘Jingely’ juice of lemon and ginger, developed at the Disabled Care unit at Mudavanmughal. The 300 ml bottles cost Rs 45.The other groups that took part in the exhibition include Sangamam, which paired up with Chilla, working for the children of sex workers and Positive Connections that paired up with CPK+, working for the people living with HIV/ AIDS.
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