“Helping, fixing and serving represent three different ways of seeing life." Many of us believe that poverty is the main cause of misery in today's world, with the eradication of which, life shall be serene. But, how many of us really work for its eradication? We, at NSS Hansraj, stepped forward in the same regard through our social entrepreneurship projects. The Social Entrepreneurship Wing launched Project Jugnu. Jugnu is an innovative project wherein poor women, from the slums of Delhi, make recycled candles out of waste wax. The women are paid for their work with the money received on selling the candles. Project Kalam, the second project of The Social Entrepreneurship Wing works in the same elegant way. The beneficiaries, here, make eco-friendly pens from old newspapers and get paid for their service. Both the projects involve skill development of the poor which shall help them to become self-reliant and enable them to earn for themselves. Here is a short video to provide you with an insight into the working of our projects.

With the aim of providing social and economic support to the women of the slum area of Majnu Ka Tilla, the Social Entrepreneurship Wing of NSS Hansraj started this project wherein the aforementioned women are provided with raw materials to create candles of various hues, shapes and sizes, and assistance in selling these handmade candles to earn a living. It has been observed that the status of women in most slums is pitiable. It is saddening that they slog mindlessly without reaping any social or monetary benefits. Given the staunchest patriarchal set up of these slums, the advantages do not trickle down to the women of these areas. Thus, NSS Hansraj realised the importance of providing such women with adequate support, resources and means to be self-reliant. The project did a splendid job in the last session and was continued in the current session with an aim of higher results. A new type of candles was introduced this session which were made in glass mason jars. The new idea was a step forward in making decorative candles. These candles are easy to make and also ensured lesser wastage of wax. The candles were then decorated with thin jute ropes which gave them an aesthetic look and proved beneficial in attracting new customers. For the new candles, markets of Sadar Bazaar and Chandni Chowk were surveyed to find suitable mason jars. The beneficiaries were taught to make candles in mason jars and were also specified new color schemes that go with aesthetic looks. The new idea proved to be more beneficial than it was thought of as now the beneficiaries could directly make candles without the help of any mould which reduced cost and time. The women boosted their income through this new idea and sales grew to almost twofold than last session.

Kind eyes get hurt and kind hearts pain when they see the condition of the unfortunate. Out of that pain, arises a willingness to help those in need. With the initiation of Project Kalam, NSS Hansraj attempts to pour happiness within the society's framework. This project of the Social Entrepreneurship Wing targets the two biggest evils of society - Poverty and Pollution. It aims to employ underprivileged women. They make eco-friendly pens, from old newspapers, which contain seeds. After usage, the pen can be buried in soil to give birth to a beautiful plant. The newspaper, on decomposing, shall become manure for the soil. The women, thereby, earn their living on their own, and the environment is saved from the harmful plastic of ordinary pens. Project Kalam is a further addition to the list of already flourishing projects of NSS Hansraj that are helping us fight social evils of the society.