IAS officer launches initiative to adopt flood-hit Kerala families

The small acts of kindness from ordinary people made all the difference when Kerala battled the fury of the floods last month.
In the aftermath of the calamity, an IAS officer from Kerala is tapping into that social capital to mobilise support and succour for affected families.
Prashanth Nair, Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, has launched a 'Compassionate Keralam' portal to bring together kind-hearted people who are willing to spend their time and money to help Kerala get back on its feet.
One of the initiatives 'Extend Your Family' is asking people to offer a helping hand to one flood-affected family in distress.
"The idea is to adopt a family and help them tide through the crisis as though they are an extension of your own family. There are affluent and kind-hearted Keralites across the globe, and we are providing a credible platform to connect families," Nair told Khaleej Times.
"You get a loving family, which is not yours by blood. But they need your emotional as well as financial help. You don't make it look like charity. We are trying to connect families that are different in their religious and social backgrounds so as to break these barriers that exist in the society."
Those willing to help can register on the website www.compassionatekeralam.org and also nominate affected families that need support.
The more than 6,000-strong army of volunteers working under the umbrella of Compassionate Keralam will identify deserving families, and connect them with those willing to help. Through the website, people can also donate in kind, sponsor a child or offer their time for volunteering and other services.
Nair said his latest posts seeking support for Compassionate Keralam's initiatives are already receiving a good response. "With the first post itself, 700 people have signed up for the 'Extend Your Family' initiative. Our aim is to reach out to 10,000 families through this project. And I am confident we will, as there are many people who are looking for an opportunity to help," said Nair. But one thing Nair is particular is that the platform is not for self-promotion.
"There are no intermediaries, no cash, no selfies. One core principle we stick to is the dignity of the families have to be protected. When you help someone, it is not for charity but is a social commitment. You will not see photographs of our activities anywhere That is not the intention," said Nair.
The tech-savvy IAS officer is no novice to these kinds of experiments in social engineering. A social media icon endearingly known as 'Collector Bro' while he was serving as the Collector of Kozhikode between 2015 and 2017, Nair had successfully galvanised public action for the common good.
Through his volunteer-based, crowd-funded project  'Compassionate Kozhikode,'  Nair had kickstarted a slew of social initiatives to address hunger, poor roads, over-crowded buses, filthy ponds and neglected hospitals in his district. A single post by Nair on his Facebook page would see thousands of young volunteers line up as volunteers, committing their time to address the problem in hand. Nair, who knows the power and potential of social media, agrees 'Compassionate Keralam' is an extension of  his pet project in Kozhikode.
"The principle is one and the same. Everyone has a compassionate side to them. In the current context of flood and the destruction it caused, I think people have understood the importance of being compassionate to fellow human beings. This is a golden opportunity for us to become a good society," said Nair, who is currently based in Delhi.
"There is a core team behind this project, some of them even based abroad. Everyone is a volunteer here, including myself. I may be more visible because of my bureaucratic background," said the officer.
For details, call Compassionate Keralam Helpline: 00914714124199
anjana@khaleejtimes.com

• India

Anjana Sankar

anjana@khaleejtimes.com