Volunteers of the day – Shalvika Singh, Manoj Kumar Sharma, Arif Hussain, Amaan Siddiqui, Biswaroop Roy, Divya Bhatia, Komal Goyal, Madhu Sahu, Sumit Kumar, Vikas Babu and Satender Rana (Dev) started the day with the patriotic song ‘Sare Jahan Se Achchha, Hindostaan Hamaara’ followed by the brief on the day’s activities and the competition.

The first session of the day was ‘Healthy Living & You’ in which the children were told the tips and precautions for healthy living. The benefits of early to bed and early to rise, timely breakfast, appropriate lunch and dinner were elaborated with examples. The children were also told how street food could be a threat to health. They were also asked to beware of mosquitoes which could cause fatal fevers of Malaria, Typhoid or Dengue.

The Second Session of the day was a One Minute Speech Competition on the theme “Meri Shaan Tiranga Hai’ and the children were told to speak on any topic related to the country and its dignity. Thirty five great orators registered their resounding presence through their adult-like meaningful and serious speeches. One of the participating girls put everyone in an emotional silence by making an indirect but clear reference to the recent Bulandshahr incident saying that she feels insecured in the current environment of the country. She made an appeal to the girls and the boys to refresh the environment with good deeds and good feelings so that brothers could go to places with their sisters without any fear and fathers could switch from half breath to full while their daughters are not at home.

The best six orators were felicitated with big colourful umbrellas, night lamp and walky-talky while ten others were appreciated with attractive and multi-purpose plastic boxes. Extra-long graphic ball pens and the packets of cream biscuits were given to all the children at the end of the activity. Dr. Gopal Krishna Dwivedi guided and accompanied the volunteers as the faculty coordinator of Utthan Lab.