A long held desire to positively contribute to the community, Drive for Change is a book and music instrument drive started by a group of volunteers and spearheaded by Tiapong Tzudir and Livika Shohe with an aim to spreading joy, love and knowledge to the young hearts for the children at Rintaniemi Neighbourhood Children’s Home, Dimapur.
“This is a volunteer’s driven initiative where they could reach out to different stores, café and Students’ body in around Dimapur and Chümoukedima to keep boxes at their stores/ cafés where individuals can donate any used or new books and music instruments/equipment,” says Victor Thong, Administrator, International Neighbourhood Service.
Rintaniemi Neighbourhood Children’s Home, Midland,Dimapur is an undertaking of international Neighbourhood Service Society. The Home currently takes care of 32 children within the age 5-19 years from different districts of Nagaland like Dimapur, Peren, Wokha and other states in the country such as Manipur, Assam and Odisha.
According to Thong, the Drive for Change was born after the Volunteers recognised the need for more access to books and increase reading proficiency and provide music class. With the Drive, the Home was able to start a small library with around thirty books and provide music classes to some of the children with two guitars.
Speaking to Nagaland Tribune, Tiapong Tzudir, noted that the Drive is a collaborative endeavour with Livika Shohe, with whom they volunteered together at the Rintaniemi Neighbourhood Children’s Home. “This is something we both deeply desired to do. There is a shortage of reading opportunities in our society, and we wanted to introduce children to the joy of reading. With our collective efforts and with the support of the Administrator, we made possible,” said Tzudir.
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Understanding that these underprivileged children often attend schools with limited educational resources, Tzudir stated that there is an opportunity to provide them with education that extends beyond their classrooms confines and enhances their skills. “Donating books for children’s goes beyond enriching their academic knowledge, it also enriches their lives by instilling hope, inspiration and the potential for a brighter future,” said Tzudir.
Drive for Change has organised a special event on October 6 at Nagaland Coffee, another event on October 7 at A.T Patisserie Boutique & Café where people can come and donate items, interact with the volunteers to know more about the Organization and sign up to volunteer for the library, reading program and music program.
While many people may not be able to provide financial assistance to those in need, Tzudir firmly believed that working at the grassroots level, taking initiatives like book drives can ensure others too have access to valuable resources and opportunities.
What you can give:
Books: Gently used or new children and youth’s books of all genres and reading levels
Musical instruments: Any used or new musical instruments like guitars, keyboards, drums, sound, equipment and more.
