THE DYFI has raised an amount of Rs 10,95,86,537 for  the chief minister’s disaster relief fund(CMDRF)  by collecting scrap, reselling garbage for recycling, and doing different kinds of jobs. Even as the first Coronavirus cases surfaced in Kerala and the state government stepped up its defence, Kerala’s young people were at the forefront of the efforts. The DYFI-led campaign ‘Njangalund’ (we are here), which was started to provide assistance to the needy during the lockdown, is still on. An around-the-clock call centre was organied in the DYFI state centre to coordinate the efforts of the volunteers. The tasks they took on was manifold: they cleaned up buildings and transformed them into hospitals and quarantine centres, made and distributed hundreds of thousands of face masks, and played a key role in the iconic ‘break the chain’ campaign. Thousands of DYFI members who registered for as the government’s Sannadham volunteers are still engrossed in their tasks.

When the DYFI decided to raise money for the CMDRF, it was not clear initially how we would go about it. During this tough time when nearly everyone was going through the financial crisis, asking for donations did not seem acceptable. We wanted to come up with a fundraising idea that would involve everyone without putting them to too much trouble. Thus was born- ‘Recycle Kerala’.
Pre-monsoon cleanups and environment protection has always been on DYFI’s agenda. In this campaign, we combined fundraising with these two concepts. Our aim was to use what could be termed ‘household trash’ to rebuild the state. Right from the first stage, the response from the public was enthusiastic. DYFI members collected 1,542.7 tonnes of refuse from homes and public spaces. This also helped in cleaning up these places to a large extent. Recyclable material was also collected from beaches and water bodies, and 6.642 tonnes of these were sold. DYFI volunteers in Kerala’s Malappuram district cleaned up all the entire stretch of the district’s coast, as well as a significant portion of the Canoli Canal.

Everyone whom we approached cooperated wholeheartedly with our efforts. Old books, magazines, notebooks, recyclable plastic, metal scrap, and even vehicles in disuse were among the items donated. Film artistes, filmmakers, intellectuals, religious leaders, media persons, politicians, sportspersons, and the entire society shared in our enthusiasm.

Especially heartwarming are the stories of Mariappan and Kumar, two farmers from Munnar, who gave over their entire cabbage crop and E Narayanan from Poomala who did the same with his pineapple harvest. In Kaattayikkonam near Thiruvananthapuram, a homemaker parted with the goat that she had been raising, as did many others who donated livestock.  A Kottayam native sold the trees in her compound to make a donation.

The Bishop of Kannur, Dr Alex Vadakkumthala donated a sizeable amount of old items and newspapers from the Bishop’s house. Along the same lines, Saifuddin Al Khaasimin, the chief Imam of the Cheraman Juma Masjid at Kodungalloor donated several kilograms of scrap from the mosque, including an old motor. Inchoormana E G Vishnu Namboodiri, trustee of the Annapoorneshwari temple at Kothamangalam, Ernakulam, contributed nearly 50 bronze lamps and 100 kilograms of paddy to the DYFI’s effort.

Several committees raised lakhs of rupees by buying handloom dhothis in bulk and reselling them to people in their locality. The profit so made was contributed to the campaign, while the weavers who were going through a lean period registered sales to the tune of Rs 90 lakh. Other such efforts include the sale of handmade umbrellas, aquarium fishes, and prawns sourced locally. Not only did they manage to raise a good amount for ‘Recycle Kerala’, but they also manage to provide a fillip to entrepreneurs and small businesses.

‘Lock Arts’ was the DYFI’s creative intervention during the tough days of the COVID lockdown. A series of challenges were organized, encouraging people to create art from easily available material. A good many of these creations were sold and the proceeds donated to the campaign. A painting by P K Nishanth, district president of DYFI Kasaragod, was purchased by Sreesanth. Another artwork by DYFI Thiruvananthapuram district secretariat member V S Shyama was bought by famous media person K V Madhu.

Footballers, Anas Edathodika, Muhammed Rafi, Sahal Abdul Samad, and C K Vineeth donated the jerseys that they had worn in iconic matches and these later fetched lakhs of rupees at auctions.

The young people of Kerala set a shining example by engaging enthusiastically in physical labour to raise money for this cause. They cleaned wells, worked in fields and farms, painted houses, and tarred roads, happily donating their hard-earned money to the campaign. DYFI members who owned shops or drove cabs donated a day’s earnings.

The members of Kozhikode’s Perambra block’s Nochad committee carried stones and earned Rs 60,000. Our comrades from Karikkod and Thiruva, Kaduthuruthy block, Kottayam, transported bricks and earned Rs 41,317, while Pothanikkad local committee, Kavalangad block, Ernakulam raised Rs 18,600 by cutting and loading rubber trees. Thiruvananthapuram’s Chala Block’s Karimadom local committee alone contributed Rs 1 lakh. Their rather unconventional idea was that of collecting poultry waste from the city’s farms and selling them to firms in Tamil Nadu that deal with such waste. Young people, including women, caught fish and collected clams. Thrissur-based travel blogger Sujith Bhakthan recorded an interesting journey where he saw our women comrades lining the roadsides with homegrown jackfruits for sale.  Thiruvananthapuram’s Anavoor local committee collected Rs 30,000 from the sale of jackfruit chips. Thalassery block committee raised a sum of one lakh rupees from the sale of books.

‘Recycle Kerala’ captured the collective imagination of the people of Kerala due to the sincere efforts of the state’s DYFI members. Covid-19 has transformed the way we get things done. Neither the state secretariat nor the state committee of the DYFI was able to meet under the same roof even once to organise such a massive campaign. All the meetings were online even at the district level. Containment zones were assigned and reassigned, making travel plans unpredictable. There were immense difficulties in collecting and reselling the materials owing to the lockdown. And yet, the DYFI was able to rise to these challenges admirably. The contributions of four district committees crossed the Rs 1 crore mark. It is a matter of pride that despite the circumstances, our contribution to the CMDRF exceeded Rs 10 crore.

The amounts collected by the district committees are as follows: Kannur – Rs. 1,65,64,557, Kozhikode – Rs 1,20,01,266, Thiruvananthapuram – Rs 1,15,00,000, Thrissur – Rs. 10729328, Malappuram – Rs.9707910, Kollam – Rs. 8125806, Palakkad – Rs 80,38,668, Kasaragod – Rs 64,21,884, Ernakulam – Rs.64,00,000, Pathanathitta – Rs. 6184337, Alappuzha – Rs. 6000000, Idukki – Rs. 3519480, Kottayam – Rs.22,49,092, Wayanad – Rs.21,66,707. Seventeen block committees exceeded Rs10 lakhs and several local committees collected amounts in lakhs.

DYFI members are sworn to engage in effort with their entire heart and soul when called for. The UDF and BJP have let loose many false accusations regarding the CMDRF, with even the leader of the opposition calling for a boycott. They even engaged in concerted efforts to upturn the state’s Covid defence. Their intention was to create doubts in the minds of the general public and undermine the fund’s credibility. The success of ‘Recycle Kerala’ is, in that sense, an affirmation of society’s faith in the government’s proactive interventions.

It is right in front of those who haggled for a few days’ salaries and burnt government orders in protest when asked to contribute, that the fiery young people of Kerala picked scrap and laboured in rain and shine to raise crores of rupees. The DYFI exhorts other youth organisations to take up such sustainable and environment-friendly campaigns that can make a mark much deeper than fickle political mileage.