Seventy-three years ago, Mahatma Gandhi walked more than 320 kilometres to make a difference, now more than 10,000 volunteers across North America are following in his footsteps-figuratively speaking.
This Saturday thousands of people will celebrate the memory of Gandhi, one of the world’s greatest humanitarians, by performing volunteer services within their local communities.
For Nidhee, 19, a second-year life sciences student at U of T, the day will have special significance.
Culturally Indian, Nidhee was born and raised in South Africa, the nation that taught Gandhi about the atrocities of discrimination.
Nidhee heard about the National Gandhi Day of Service more than a year ago and immediately knew that she had to bring the event to U of T’s downtown campus.
“When I looked around, I didn’t notice a campus-wide event that would allow students to give back to the surrounding community. I knew the campus needed some sort of collective action. That’s when I approached Deanne Fisher, coordinator at the Student Affairs office. ”
Now, a little over a year later, Nidhee and a handful of volunteer organizers are preparing for Toronto’s inaugural Gandhi Day of Service event scheduled for this Saturday, Oct. 4, 2003.
While this is the fifth annual event for the North American Gandhi Day of Service, this will be the first official year Toronto will get to add it’s name to the list of more than 135 professional and educational organizations participating in over 50,000 hours of volunteer service.
To prepare for the event, Nidhee and the volunteer organizers contacted a number of organizations within walking distance of the St. George campus.
“Lots of people pass by places like the Scott Mission, but may not think twice about it,” said Nidhee. “But after Saturday, students will have a better idea of the surrounding community and the surrounding community will know we, as students, are involved.”
Volunteers will be dispersed to one of seven participating associations, which include: Evergreen Street Youth, Yonge St. Mission, Central Park Lodge, O’Neill Centre, Daily Bread Food Bank and the Scott Mission.
To start the day, volunteers will meet at 9 a.m. at the Front Campus, disseminate to the participating centres, and then meet back on campus for group reflection and to obtain a certificate of participation, Nidhee explains.
While there are already 35 registered participants for Saturday’s UTGandhi Day, Nidhee encourages any interested person to contact her either through email, [email protected] or by telephone, 416-979-8070. For more information log on to www.gandhiday.org.
