Fallen Leaves, a youth driven organisation, which aims to put a smile on the faces of the under privileged children, has been organising a ‘MahaBazar’- a mock shopping mall for these children and the collection drive for the same is being held from June 25 to July 21. The shopping mall will be set up at Ranchi Club on July 28.
What was started by four friends in 2014 today has strength of about 50 members comprising college going students from across the city. Rajat Vimal (21) is a marketing student at XISS, Vivek Agarwal (22) and Ayush Budhia (21) are pursuing their graduation while Shreysee Banka (24) is working with a corporate house in Ranchi.
Children from 5- 18 years’ of age are brought together for a day at this bazaar set for them. ‘MahaBazar’ aims to not only bring a smile on their faces but also teaches them money management, budget and shopping. The main theme is ‘To share with dignity’ without obliging anyone.
At this mock shopping mall it gives these children the right to choose and buy what they want. “At the moot shopping mall, the children get a chance to buy what they like based on their needs. It also aims to teach them the value of money and inculcate a habit of prioritising things in them.” said Rajat.
The mock shopping mall will have stalls for clothes, stationery, toys, sports and a bakery counter. The bazaar will also have stalls like ‘Papa ki pant’ and ‘Maa ki saree’ where the kids can get clothes for their parents as well. There will be offers like buy two jeans and get a pair of trousers free for your father.
The children visiting the mock shopping mall will be from the various orphanages’ in the city. This year there will be about 1,000 children from Adim Jati Mahilla Ashram in Khunti and Parasnath School, Bandgao.
On entering the mall, the kids will be given ‘A Bag of Happiness’ in which they collect all the items they wish to buy and take it to the billing counter.
They are also given a one- time use mock debit card with a value of about Rs 1,000. Each item is marked at Rs 200 limiting the maximum buying capacity to five items per child.
“The idea behind the debit card system was to teach them the value of Rs 1,000. In this amount they can get five things- three clothes, one sports item and one thing from the bakery. For example, they need to decide to either buy a football or a pair of sports shoes. This in turn will also teach them to form a team- if one buys a football, some of them can buy shorts while others can get shoes which can all be shared, “added Rajat.
Fallen leaves collects material for the bazaar from the people of Ranchi. The NGO has about 24 collection centres across the city. Clothes are sorted as per age, size, gender and then priced and packed. Various retail outlets also give their dead stock for this cause. The first ‘Mahabazar’ was organised in 2016.
“This is the fourth year when we are setting up a ‘MahaBazar’ for these children. There are various drop centres at places like Spykar and First Cry where people can easily donate. We generally put posters at popular places and also advertise on various social media platforms,” remarked Vivek.
The organisation also has other programmes all through the year. ‘Make a Wish’ is organised before Diwali and in December.