26th August 2018—a bus filled with the members of RedX, Manipal set out to spread joy in the slums in Beedinagudde as a part of their clothes donation drive. A group of residents of that neighbourhood had gathered up and eagerly awaited the bus’ arrival. Children formed a more significant part of the crowd and were thrilled at the sight of the boxes filled with clothes and immediately queued up to collect them.

A few members of the RedX management committee were sent into the slums to call for more people by chanting “Batte” meaning clothes in Kannada. It was necessary to control the crowd to ensure an orderly distribution of the garments. The kids were incredibly excited to see photographers, and a few of them also struck a couple of poses for the cameras.

A kid collects his t-shirt

On receiving the clothes, the kids compared them with the ones obtained by their friends and engaged in friendly banter. Moreover, a few of them also showed off their Rakhis to one another. The members of RedX also interacted with the kids and made sure that everyone received a set of garments. Furthermore, the children played with the empty boxes and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. One of the members said that the fact that they could make those people happy reflected that they had succeeded in their endeavour.

A child flashes his Rakhis

“We have a few local members in our team who knew about the locations, and they played a vital role in organising the event,” said Ahlad Satyam, Corporate Relations manager of RedX. He added that it was difficult to have such an event twice a year so, it was something they did annually.

Members of RedX with the children of that locality

At the end of the distribution of garments, the members of RedX got a few pictures clicked among themselves as well as with the children and headed back to campus. They looked forward to organising more such events in due course of this semester.