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.