DIAMOND HARBOUR WOMEN’S

UNIVERSITY

SOCIAL OUTREACH

PROGRAMMES

2016-2018

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DIAMOND HARBOUR WOMEN’S UNIVERSITY: AN

INSTITUTION WITH A MISSION

Diamond Harbour Women’s University is an institution with a mission. Since its very

inception, it has been fighting social injustice and discrimination and striving to create a

more just and equal world. It has been tirelessly working for the betterment of women

and other underprivileged sections of society. The University provides education not just

to equip its students for the job market but also to ensure a holistic development of their

personalities and enable them to grow as socially responsible human beings, with an

unwavering commitment towards the goals of equality and justice. With these ends, the

University has been organising social outreach programmes to provide moral and

material support and succour to marginalised sections of society, and to disseminate

information and awareness among them, and to make their lives better in all respects.

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DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

The Department of English organised its first social outreach programme on 26th

November, 2018, where the students of PG II, Semester III visited Drishti--a school for

children with learning disability, in Salt Lake, Kolkata. The interaction with these children

and the informative and inspiring talk delivered by, Special Educator and Principal of the

school Susmita Nag, deeply impressed upon the girls the need to shoulder the

responsibility of making the lives of these children, and of other children like them,

better. Some of the girls even pledged to become volunteers and return to the school in

the near future to contribute in some way to promote self-advocacy among these

children, who still remain relegated to the peripheries of society, because of a general

lack of awareness and tolerance."

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1 A student of the English Department at Drishti

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The Department of English at Drishti

DEPARTMENT OF BENGALI

The Department of Bengali has been reaching out to the young inmates of an

orphanage maintained by the Ramkrishna Mission, Shibpur, Howrah, since June 2018,

catering to their needs, and striving to make their lives happier. It has been providing

books and arranging for their meals on a regular basis. The students of the department

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have been enthusiastically participating in this initiative, teaching the young minds,

serving them food and bringing joy, care and affection to their lives.

A student of the Bengali Department at the Orphanage

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A student giving lessons at the Orphanage

A student serving food at the Orphanage

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DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

The Department of History along with the Department of Women’s Studies participated

in an outreach programme in Birbhum on 29 October 2018. The students, accompanied

by a few teachers, visited the tribal villages adjacent to Santiniketan and spoke to the

women, seeking to understand the problems that plagued them, the challenges they

daily faced in their day-to-day existence, enquiring about their educational status and

domestic lives, about the role of non-governmental organisations and self-help groups

in providing them employment and facilitating their empowerment.

The Department of History along with the Department of Political Science conducted a

Gender Awareness Programme at Sundarban College, Kakdwip, South 24 Parganas on

12 October 2018. Dr Anandita Biswas of the Department of Political Science explained

to the assembled students the constitutional provisions and laws framed by the state to

ensure equality and justice to women. Dr Aparna Bandyopadhyay and Dr Sonali Naskar

conducted an interactive session with the students with the objective of dispelling some

of their misconceptions regarding gender roles, and making them aware of the

patriarchal ideas and values deeply embedded in their consciousness.

The Department conducted a workshop on Gender Awareness at Sunadarban Hazi

Desharat College on 15 December 2017. The teachers of the department were

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accompanied by Ms Subhasree Raptan and other members of the Goranbose Gram

Bikash Kendra, a not for profit organisation based in Canning that works for the rescue

and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking.

The Department of History conducted a Gender Awareness and Legal Literacy

Programme at Acharya Prafulla Chandra College, New Barrackpore, on 5 December

2017. Ms Subhasree Raptan of Goranbose Gram Bikash Kendra spoke on the menace

of trafficking and their efforts at rehabilitation of victims of trafficking.

The Department of History conducted an interactive session with students for creating

Gender Awareness at Dhruba Chand Halder College, Dakshin Barasat, South 24

Parganas, on 27 November 2017. They were accompanied by Ms Amrita Basu

Raychaudhuri, Guest Faculty, Department of Women’s Studies. Ms Raychaudhuri

discussed some of the laws relevant to women with the objective of creating legal

awareness. The issue of trafficking, a burning problem of the district was addressed by

Ms Subhasree Raptan.

The students of the Department of History participated in several awareness

programmes conducted by the West Bengal Police under the banner of Swayangsiddha

in March and April 2017. Swayangsiddha is an unprecedented initiative taken by the

West Bengal Police to prevent trafficking and child marriage through non-punitive

modes of action. Swayangsiddha embraces the strategies of awareness dissemination,

community policing and youth led action to stop child marriage, human trafficking, and

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rescue girls already trafficked to other parts of India and abroad. In April 2017, Diamond

Harbour Women’s University became the official partner of Swayangsiddha.

Felicitation of Ms Subhasree Raptan of GGBK

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A poster on Swayangsiddha

Dr Sonali Naskar at the Gender Awareness Programme organized at Dhruba Chand Halder College

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Gender Awareness Programme at Sundarban College

Dr Sonali Naskar interacting with students at Dhruba Chand Halder College

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The faculty and scholars of the History Department at Palashboni, Birbhum

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2018 ON THE THEME “BEAT PLASTIC

POLLUTION”

The Department of Geography, Diamond Harbour Women’s University, celebrated

World Environment Day 2018 in collaboration with West Bengal Pollution Control Board

through a series of activities on 04.06.2018, 29.06.2018 and 04.07.2018.

DAY 1 [04.06.2018]: CLEANING OF RIVER FRONT AT DIAMOND HARBOUR

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The Department of Geography of Diamond Harbour Women’s University took an

initiative to beat plastic pollution along the river front Ganga at Diamond Harbour, South

24 Parganas, West Bengal. To accomplish our initiatives, we visited the river front of

Ganga and cleaned the river front in association with Diamond Harbour Municipality.

We tried to make the local people aware of the hazards of plastic pollution by displaying

placards and posters as well as by interacting with them.

DAY 2 (12.04.2018): SPECIAL LECTURES ON THE THEME “BEAT PLASTIC

POLLUTION”.

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In an attempt to celebrate World Environment Day 2018, the Department of Geography

of Diamond Harbour Women’s University organised a Special Lecture on 12th June,

2018 at Conference hall, Academic Building, DHWU. The programme was conducted

with the active support of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board. The theme of the

Special Lecture was “Plastic Pollution”. Two eminent speakers were invited to enrich

the audience with their valuable speeches on this occasion.

Dr. Kalyan Rudra, Chairman, West Bengal Pollution Control Board spoke on “Pollution

of Ganga and Its Management”. At the very first phase of his deliberation, Dr. Rudra

highlighted the importance of River Ganga in our day to day lives. He then focused on

the course of the river and chalked out the causes of pollution of the river, how the

quality of the water of Ganga is steadily deteriorating day by day. Not only that, Prof.

Rudra also showed the percentages of various pollutants responsible for the pollution of

the river. In the second part of the lecture, he assessed the management scenario of

the pollution of the river. He suggested some management strategies to combat

pollution of the river.

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Dr. Gokul Chandra Debnath, Scientist F, Indian Meteorological Department, Kolkata

shared his views on “Disaster and its Impact on Environment’. At the very outset, he

made the audience realise the subtle differences between Environmental Stress,

Hazards and Disasters. The types of disasters along with their spatial coverages were

also focused in his lecture. Dr. Debnath elaborately scrutinised the causes of disasters,

the sources of energy, the origin and development of cyclones, super cyclones, tropical

cyclones, thunderstorms, hurricanes, heat waves, cold waves etc. in a very

comprehensive manner. He also discussed the climatic hazards of South Bengal. The

impact of disasters on the environment was also assessed in detail by the eminent

speaker. Last but not the least, Dr. Debnath suggested ways in which the harmful

effects of disasters could be minimised.

As a part of the World Environment Day, the Department of Geography in collaboration

with West Bengal Pollution Control Board organised Poster Competition on ‘Beat Plastic

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Pollution’ and ‘Plantation Programme’ and a Cultural Programme on ‘Save Tree Save

Earth’.

DAY 3 [29.06.2018]: CLEANIG AND AWARENESS ON PLASTIC POLLUTION OF THE

RIVER FRONT AT DIAMOND HARBOUR

On 29.06.2018, we again visited the river front of the Ganga at Diamond Harbour to the

local people aware of the destructive impact of plastic on riverine environment and to

clean the river front. All the students and teachers of the Department of Geography

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participated in the cleaning programme. We made the local people aware about the

plastic pollution and its hazardous consequences on environment.

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

On 29-08-2016, the Department of Education along with the students of the session

2015-2017, visited the Calcutta Blind School, Behala, Kolkata. The visit to the institution

was in keeping with the syllabus of the Masters Degree (2014-2016) as a paper ‘Special

Education’ was taught to the students of the third semester. The students had an

opportunity to witness the different methods of teaching and the various teaching -

learning processes employed in providing education to the blind children. The students

of the Department engaged themselves in conversations with the students and the

teachers of the Blind School. In the process they were provided with first hand

information regarding the various methods, challenges and issues involved in the

process of teaching the blind students. The authorities of the school also gave the

department an opportunity to see the various skill development training programmes

available in the school for the students. Training in activities such as mushroom

farming, making small electrical devices and various arts and crafts were provided to

the blind students. Also training in music, computer operations and mathematical

abilities were given to the students of the school.

The Department of Education, along with the students of the session 2015-2017, also

visited the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, Taratala, Kolkata, on the 27-09-2016 and

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28-09-2016. A talk was given by the teachers of the Institute to the students of the

university focusing on the concept of cerebral palsy, its treatment and how to provide

education and skill development programmes for students with cerebral palsy. An

opportunity was provided to the students to visit the entire institute and also interact with

the students and teachers of the institute. The students and teachers of both the

institutions had an active interaction regarding the various measures and issues

involved in providing education and skill development for the students with cerebral

palsy.

The students of the Education Department at the Calcutta Blind School

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At the Blind School

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The Department of Education at the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

The Department of Philosophy conducted a social outreach programme on 4th January,

2019. The faculty and 18 students from the 3rd Semester batch visited the Nabasan

Anganwadi Shishu Aaloy (Centre Number 128) located at Sarisha, Diamond Harbour,

West Bengal, as part of the programme. The teachers and the students interacted

closely with the facilitator and the little children of the school. We tried to understand

the current challenges of the school and their basic needs. The interaction helped us

realize the need to conduct more such programmes to contribute to society and also

make our students aware of their social surroundings. In the end, the children were

handed over some basic stationary items like exercise books, pencils erasers etc. We

are thankful to the school authority and the facilitator for arranging for a timeslot and

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providing us the opportunity to interact with them and be a part of their relentless efforts

to make this a better place to live for all those children who visit their facility. We are

also grateful to the University authority for extending the necessary cooperation to our

department in making this programme successful. Below are some glimpses of the

programme.

The students of the Department of Philosophy at the Nabasan Anganwadi Sishu Aaloy

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The faculty of the Philosophy Department at the Nabasan Anganwadi Sishu Aaloy

The children of the school

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DEPARTMENT OF WOMEN’S STUDIES

The Students of the Women Studies Department have been actively participating in the

outreach program in collaboration with the NGOs. Already two team visited the NGO

Beautiful Mind a parental organisation of the person with special needs.The purpose of

the collaboration is mainly adopted with an intention to enable them to get acquainted

with the pattern of living , of the children with special needs. The students not only

share with them their life style, they also like to be a part of the different programme

organised by Beautiful Mind as a part of their awareness camp. The Photograph

showing the participation of the students in Beautiful Mind at an awareness camp on

adult Psychology conducted by Dr. Jairam, a Psychiatrist of

Apollo Gleneagles Hospital.

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Our Plans for the Future

In the years ahead, we plan to reach out to the tribal population in South 24

Parganas, Birbhum and Purulia, to children of sex workers, persons with

disability, to refugees and other peripheral sections of society in a more

concerted and organised manner. We will ensure that social outreach in

the coming years becomes a multi-disciplinary and multi-departmental

initiative and we will encourage our students to participate in our efforts in a

bigger way. We would like to make social outreach a mandatory part of our

curriculum. Finally, we are hopeful that the faculty and students of the

science departments will be infused with a similar zeal for reaching out to

the marginalised and will conduct social outreach programmes on a regular

basis. In these ways we will strive to make the world a better place for all.