Meet Omkar Narvekar, a 27-year-old Mumbaikar who is celebrating Ganesh Utsav not only with an environment-friendly idol but also by asking people to offer reusable and helpful items as prasad to Bappa. Through his NGO 'Let's Imagine Together' founded along with mother Purnima, he aims to contribute to education of kids in remote parts of Maharashtra, for whom procuring stationery materials is not just 10 minutes away unlike those in cities like Mumbai.
Bappa 'Sahitya' More Ya!
Every year, the NGO asks people to donate notebooks, pen, pencil, erasers, and more during their campaign 'Bappa Sahitya More Ya'. The aim behind gathering these stationery items is to facilitate the education of needy kids in Wada and Vikramgrad, Maharashtra.
In 2019, it started with Ganesh Utsav celebration at Omkar's residence in Dahisar, when his mother suggested to embrace the festival in a sustainable way and to contribute to someone's education. Now, over a dozen homes and a few public pandals across the Mumbai Metropolitan region have joined this initiative to gather pen, pencil and other stationery items as prasad.
Education, the best prasad
"Traditional prasad which includes fruits, flowers and sweets might become stale and get wasted over time, but education as a gift would never go waste," says Omkar as he reflects on his NGO's contribution in promoting education in rural India.
Telling us more about the initiative, he says, "We are celebrating the festival with a sustainable touch and by doing something good through this auspicious occasion. We ask people to bring stationery items as prasad which could be donated to school kids in Wada and Vikramgad in Maharashta." "This is our effort to not let the education of these students stop due to unavailability of resources. They need to else walk for kilometres long to purchase a notebook or a geometry box," he adds.
As it has been five years into this stationery collection drive done during Ganesh Utsav, we asked how have things changed over the years and whether people are supporting this idea.
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100 books, 50 pencils...
"Until 2022, we used to carry the collected items in our car. But our efforts are winning recognition and we see more and more coming forward to support. Last year, we booked a tempo to transport the full lot of items which were donated for the school kids. This year too, the response is on a similar note," Omkar mentioned while pointing about that 100 books, 50 pencils, 70 pens, and 10 art books were collected this year at his house alone.
Efforts towards bringing better education
He also told us there are plans underway to hold a student exchange programme for these kids from Wada and Vikramgad where they could learn about the life and culture of Mumbai and vice versa. "We request interested schools to come forward and collaborate in bringing better education to these kids. We don't need a huge group of students or a whole classroom or something. All we need is 20 students for this programme," Omkar says.
Why give education but not food or anything else? Omkar reveals that most people ask him this question. He addresses this point by highlighting the power of education and how it empowers the learner.
"If we feed them, they'll eat one day and be hungry the next day. But with education, we want to strengthen the foundation and make them stand by themselves. When someone is educated, they'll have a lot of opportunities. Also, their own thought process and their own voice in the society would help them empower themselves. So, we want to make sure that everyone is educated so that they can be independent.," he concludes.
