The Oasis Coordinator of NSS, Dhiren Hajare, spoke with the Oasis English Press about the organisation’s work for the upcoming fest. For the 50th edition of Oasis, NSS is planning to conduct three events instead of the two they normally conducted in past editions of Oasis. 

The first event, Shop for a Smile, aims to provide a market to NGOs from around Pilani, Jaipur, and Delhi. NSS has bought products from these NGOs and will sell them during the fest. The profits earned will then be donated to the NGOs. The second event is the Eye Donation Awareness Camp, in collaboration with the Eye Bank Association of Rajasthan, where people will be asked to pledge to donate their eye(s) during this event. The third event, Mine Field, is a recreational event which also serves to sensitise people to the struggles of a visually challenged person by blindfolding them and subjecting them to various obstacles.

Outlining the preparatory work, Dhiren stated that planning had started around two and a half months ago. For Shop for a Smile, a database of NGOs for collaboration was prepared. However, this was not difficult as a similar list had already been created for the BOSM event, Junoon. The NGOs were contacted and NSS was in correspondence with them about the products, range, availability, and other logistics. As for the Eye Donation Camp, the process was smoother since an agreement was already in place with the Eye Bank Association of Rajasthan. The only event that required more effort was Mine Field as it had to be planned from scratch since it is a completely new event. 

Speaking about his experience as coordinator, Dhiren said that the most enjoyable aspect of his work was working with people of different ages, mindsets, and attitudes. ‘I really enjoy communicating and interacting with new people, and NSS led me to that and therefore it is great.’

When asked if he had any message to share with the general BITSian, he said, ‘Interact as much as you can on campus, because that’s how you would develop intellectually. These are the most important flexibilities which BITS gives, like 0% attendance policy, multiple clubs of our interest, so we should make use of it very wisely.’