\'Try\', a name of hope in the midst of despair

Helpfulness is one of the ingredients that play a vital role to make the society a better place to live in. We cannot  imagine any society without this virtue as it provides the binding force to make the society a united one. Like many other species, humans have cultivated this virtue from the very beginning of their history. All the developments we enjoy today are prefect examples of this merit which our ancestors exercised standing shoulder to shoulder with one another. And we are doing the same to build a better future for our successors.

In recent years, students of Khulna University of Engineering  and Technology(KUET) has initiated a social welfare organisation named 'Try', which has secured its place among lots of hearts through a variety of humanitarian activities. It may be a name of only three letters, but through social activities, it has become the only rainbow of hope for a lot of people's cloudy lives. A team of dedicated volunteers are always available who work hard to bring happiness in other's lives. And now one can hear the name of this club, its highly praised social activities from anyone living inside or outside the KUET  campus.

'Try' initiated its social activities in 2014, distributing clothes to the local needy people to help them celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr in a festive mood. They provided clothes to the poor people of Koyra upazila of Khulna district in the same year to protect them from biting cold of December. In June 2015, the organisation arranged a fruit carnival participated by dining hall staff. In the same month, they raised funds by arranging charity movie shows in association with KUET Film Society and by selling t-shirts of their organisation. The money was used to provide Eid clothes to every dining staff  and motor vehicle drivers of the campus. They also arranged an iftar party for them.

2015 was a year of great tension for all the students of KUET as two of its students Tajul Islam (Computer Science and Engineering) and Tanvir Ahmed (Leather Engineering) were diagnosed with leukemia and kidney failure respectively. 'Try' managed to raise more than fifteen lakh taka for them from KUET campus alone. It also managed a huge number of volunteers who worked throughout the country to collect money for their proper treatment. Both of them have returned to the campus with a sound health. In the same year, 'Try' distributed panjabis to local rickshaw pullers to have a colourful Eid-ul-Azha.

In 2016, 'Try' has become more active to surpass its records of social activities in the previous years. In January, the members distributed 225 pieces of blankets and 330 pieces of sweaters to the Sidr affected people of Morelgonj, Bagerhat. In February, ‘Try’ launched a school named 'Lonthon' (meaning lamp) to provide proper education. In May,  it organised an event named 'Try to serve them, who serve us everyday' where the members provided all the dining staff with delicious foods. With all the encouragement from faculty members, fellow students and well-wishers, the volunteers and members of 'Try' are becoming more ambitious in achieving their goals. "We want to expand our arena of social activities in future and our volunteers are working hard for that. Making 'Try'one of the most active organisations of this region is our main target. We want to involve ourselves to bring smile in the faces of deprived people. We hope that every teacher and student of KUET will stand by us one day to make our dream a reality," said the president of this organisation Atikur Rahman Mabil.

The writer is a master's student of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), [email protected]