89-hour radio drive collects 3,000kg stationery items for needy kids

Among the individuals who participated in the drive was a couple who had lost their son some years ago.

Dubai - The stationery collected was handed over to the UAE Emirates Red Crescent officials in their office in Al Garhoud on Monday.

A radio drive to collect stationery items by an Indian FM channel showed the humanitarian side of the people in the UAE.
Over 400,000 stationery items, about 6,000kgs, have been collected under the drive, launched by the 'Pencil Man of the UAE', K Venkatraman (fondly called Venkat), in partnership with the Emirates Red Crescent, to support the education of underprivileged kids across the world.
The drive saw a large chunk of contribution from Tamil FM 89.4 (3,245kg) along with a generous contribution from schools, individuals and corporates. The stationery collected was handed over to the UAE Emirates Red Crescent officials in their office in Al Garhoud on Monday. 
Talking about the emotional connect, Venkat, the Dubai-based chartered accountant (CA) and philanthropist, said: "It was as if people from across the UAE were waiting to do good. We were surprised when we started getting calls from people living in labour accommodations who said they wanted to contribute few pencils. The essence of the drive can be seen from the fact that people contributed from one pencil to whole truckload of things. It was the emotion of giving that came out beautifully through this drive."
RJ Nimmi, head of programming at Tamil FM, started non-stop 89 hours and 40-minute broadcast online to promote the cause and invite listeners to donate stationery items for underprivileged kids. "We started Wednesday evening 4pm and with a target to get 8,940 items for needy kids. As we ended the longest show ever by a single RJ in this region on April 15 morning at 9.40am, we were surprised to see that we had surpassed our target and collected 229,843 stationery pieces, said Nimmi.
"My RJ marathon was an act of giving back to the society and my radio station. We asked listeners to donate stationery and the response was overwhelming as we saw 5,000 people walk into our office in just four days. I was allowed a five-minute break every one hour. So I accumulated my breaks and took a 60-minute break after every 12 hours," she added.
"People started pouring into our radio station from early morning until late night. The cause we partnered for was something that all families and students could relate to as the school session is starting and they wanted to contribute so people came in big numbers," said Sona Ram, managing director of Tamil FM. 
Aditya, who served as an auditor for the collection, said: "Last four days were emotional for us to see the humane side of the people of the UAE. It didn't matter how much they gave, it was the feeling attached to their contribution. Along with seven others, we have been sorting out the stationery items. It was quite tiring but the crowd that came to contribute that kept us going. I had donated stuff but never participated in collecting and doing the actual work. This experience has changed me forever and I will work more to give back to the community."
"We will send these items within the UAE to underprivileged kids and also to our schools and refugee camps in Jordan and Yemen," said Mohammad Al Zarooni, general manager of UAE Red Crescent Society.

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