I would like to share with you a very successful campaign we concluded in beginning of July.

 

At the onset of Ramadan , I as President of youth community group"Students for the Earth" and one of our team leaders "Khyati  Saxena" thought of doing something different to serve humanity as well as environment.

 

We have been doing lot of environmental , social and voluntary events all throughout the year. But this time ,  we thought of doing something really different , never/rarely  heard of and which would help protect the environment as well as would help the needy means we wanted  to collaborate environment and humanitarian causes in one drive.

 

When it comes to the environment, people focus on things like plastic and paper. We thought , to be different , to think on something other than commonly known plastics , papers, cans etc. What else is there which people treat as waste but can be helpful to others.  After some brainstorming , we decided to do a drive to collect unused /good  and sealed medicines with expiry 1 year or longer . When medicines are not used, either because the doctor changed the prescription or told the patient to stop the medication, there is no reason for people to keep these medicines in their homes. This way a lot of people have good medicine at home that can be used .

 

We then named it "A Dose of Help"  .

 

We had read that Emirates Red Crescent accepts unused medicine which they give to poor patients free of cost.  Before launching the campaign , we contacted them to assure whether they still accept unused medicines or not. We got their confirmation that they very much accept medicines provided they are  sealed , unused , good condition , with expiry date 1 year or longer and clearly readable expiry date. After their confirmation ,  we launched our campaign.

 

We created an  event poster and launched the campaign by posting the poster all across on our various social media channels. We also put the poster in our buildings to have people  actively participate in this charity drive to help its benefits reach the maximum number of people.

 

We made it very clear in our announcement & campaign posters that medicines should be unused , sealed , expiry 1 year or longer and in good condition. Expiry date should be visible.

We were pleasantly surprised seeing the response from the first day itself. We had 2 drop off/collection points –my home and Khyati's home. Both the collection points were always busy receiving donations .

Khyati and I started visiting nearby pharmacies and clinics as well and were overwhelmed with their support. Various Drs. were impressed with our initiative and donated heaps of medicines .

Students , parents , colleagues of our parents all started bringing different kinds of medicines. We were clicking the pictures of the donators and were posting on our social media channels which not only was a way to appreciate the donators but also to spread a word around to encourage and  get more supporters. It indeed really worked.

We accepted till 2nd July and on 3rd July we we sorted the entire collection , thoroughly checked the following points:

a)whether the medicines are sealed  and in good condition

b) Expiry date is visible and readable

c) Expiry is 1 year or longer

d) Anything which needs to be kept in fridge like Insulin

 

 

 Medicines like Insulin were supposed to be in refrigerator and donators were sensible enough to give such medicines separately in our hand mentioning it needs to be kept in fridge.

Finally after sorting we started packing them in cartons.

I am pleased to share with you that we collected more than 1000 units of medicines with  more than 120 different types of medicines including nasal drops , paracetamol , thyroxine, insulin, ointments , cough syrups , etc.

Khyati and I spent in total about 70-80 voluntary hours for this from initial conceptualizing the event to launching it to promoting it to visiting pharmacies /clinics etc to receiving donations to clicking pics , posting , sorting , packing and finally planning the handing over event.

On 5th July (a day before Zayed Humanitarian Day), we assembled at Khalid Tower Park , Sharjah. We addressed the gathering , thanked them for their contribution and briefed them about the success and outcome of the drive. While  Khyati thanked donators for their contribution and emphasised on the strong message and objective behind such a campaign , I inspired attendees with  motivational talk on environmental values .

We reiterated during the final event that the aim was to promote environmental and humanitarian message through this drive. Unopened medicines should not be thrown in the bin but be put to better use and donated to humanitarian organisations . If thrown in bin , they would add to landfill and deteriorate environment. If not thrown , but still lying around in home, they act as clutter and add extra load to AC. As many people need medicines, throwing off unused new medicines in the trash should not be happening. Humanitarian groups in the country should be supported by all of us in the community.

 

 

3 officers from Emirates Red Crescent  came at the assembly point where we  had gathered. They were very impressed with our collection and with note of thanks , shared with us the objectives of ERC. They are going to use these for the needy , poor who can't afford these medicines. They have their own " Red Crescent Medical Centre "where poor patients are treated and cured free. So,these medicines will be distributed among the patients registered in Red Crescent Medical Centre in Sharjah.

I took this opportunity to inspire and urge the attendees to think before their every action if it is needed , what will be it's impact on environment and if there is a better/eco-friendlier option possible , told them to care for environment by adopting eco-friendly life style which does not need drastic changes in their routine/style.

As always , I also told them about this amazing environmental platform "Tunza Eco generation" , it's benefits , strengths , ambassador program and gave them Tunza E Gen leaflets and my card in case they have any difficulties creating account on Tunza E Gen .

Before handing over the collection to officers from "Emirates Red Crescent" , I requested all to take "Green pledge" with me that they would follow "Reduce , Reuse and Recycle " in their lives and they would aspire to help the needy.

We wrapped up the event with a 'Green Pledge'.

 

I would like to share with you feedbacks from few of our donators.

Grade 4 student Abhinnand Krishna said ," It nicely raised awareness concerning drug donations. Instead of wasting medicine we can save a life by donating it and I am proud and happy to participate in it".

 

Another student Neola Castelino said " As a student, since I can't donate money to charities. I thought I could try my best to donate medicines to Red Crescent. For this event, I visited many nearby pharmacies , most of them have donated a lot of medicines. Moreover, my dad's colleagues also have sent in many medicines and even my family doctor supported me in this noble cause. I feel very happy after collecting and donating the same for the needy.Due to the lack of hospitals/clinics or medicines , there are many people dying in rural areas in some parts of the country. These medicines would help at least few people. Children can contribute in many ways to the society. If there is a will there definitely is a way." 

 

Another student Kaviya Maka said  'Wonderful initiative, this is giving me a good inspiration for doing a further charity work.. Definitly I am continuing my charity work through out my life.'

 

Vismaya Sanilkumar said' By donating medicines, students such as myself are also able to do our bit for mankind.'

 

Venkatesan Sundar said ," This was the first event of its kind organized by Students for the Earth and an eye opener for me. Our family will always ensure that the left over medicines  with expiry dates beyond a year are given to Emirates Red Crescent Society".

Even after the campaign is over , we have been getting calls from donators. Seeing the success of this drive ,we have decided to do it again in Sept/Oct.

Campaigns like this have a positive impact on society in terms of its environmental, charity and humanitarian aspects. It also contributes in instilling the culture of social solidarity in people, especially in Ramadan.

In many countries there are medicines take back programs but in our region if we don't have such programs , it is worthwhile to donate  the unused medicines for such drives rather than throwing .  Medicines that are flushed or poured down the drain can end up polluting our waters, impacting aquatic species, and contaminating our food and water supplies.  Most medicines are not removed by wastewater treatment plants or septic systems. Medicines are a special type of hazardous chemical that we need to keep out of our solid waste system and landfills to prevent harm to people and the environment.  Drugs can be very toxic for people and wildlife, even in low doses. 

 

The campaign was launched  at the beginning of Ramadan on 18th June and was concluded on 5th July. 

Our this campaign/drive got lots of appreciations and recognitions in almost all media of UAE.

 

You can read the media coverage through below links :

 

Gulf News , todays paper "Community Report in Depth"

http://gulfnews.com/your-say/your-reports/youth-group-offers-a-dose-of-help-1.1560510

Gulf News , main paper , in National News:

http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/society/youth-community-group-offers-a-dose-of-help-1.1552187

The Gulf Today  dated 15th July

http://gulftoday.ae/portal/a99a1ace-60cb-434c-8367-f02ca39f544d.aspx

Published on july 25^th in "The National"

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/health/sharjah-students-medicine-campaign-for-emirates-red-crescent

Azad news

http://azadnewsme.com/en/30/6/3692/A-YOUTH-COMMUNITY-GROUP-%E2%80%9CSTUDENTS-FOR-THE-EARTH%E2%80%9D-OFFERS-%E2%80%9CA-DOSE-OF-HELP%E2%80%9D.htm?LoginUserId=2

Dubai PR

http://m.dubaiprnetwork.com/pr.asp?pr=101033

Go dubai

http://www.godubai.com/citylife/press_release_page.asp?PR=101033&Sname=Government,%20Legal%20and%20Humanity

Published in Mathrubhumi on 8^th july

http://digitalpaper.mathrubhumi.com/c/5811814

 

 

 

We are very thankful to all donators & volunteers for their contribution and support in making it a great success.

We are also thankful to media for helping us in promoting a good cause.