Dubai Student Volunteer at Indian School Over Summer Break

Dubai Students Volunteer in Kerala Schools During Summer Vacation

Dubai: A group of Dubai students are making their summer vacation more meaningful and productive through an educational initiative called the School4School project.

Six students and a teacher from GEMS Our Own High School Al Warqaa, Dubai, participated in the volunteering program led by K. Venkatraman, known as the Pencil Man of the UAE, at two schools in Kerala, South India.

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Their schedule was packed with enriching activities designed to benefit local students, including setting up a basic science lab, teaching basic coding, promoting sustainability, and conducting sessions on Artificial Intelligence and Model United Nations (MUN).

The group included grade 11 students Tamann John, Sarang Pillai, Sarvesh Varun Mani, and Jamin Cherian, as well as Edwin George of grade 10 and Daniel Davidson of grade 9. They were accompanied by their teacher, Sini Haridasan, the school’s coordinator for the School4School Project.

On Tuesday, they were joined by Abhilash P. Lovely, Yash Susanna Bandary, and Shivadatt Sumanesh, their seniors who recently finished grade 12.

The volunteering services were offered at St. Joseph’s UP School in Kadavanthra and St. Thomas Girls High School in Perumanoor.

Volunteering Activities

One of the students, Sarang Pillai, said: “School4School is an initiative we’ve been working on for the past three months, involving numerous meetings to set up this social program. Our school has embraced this project, led by six students. We were supported by some of our alumni who joined us for a day at St. Joseph UP School.”

“We transformed an old abandoned room into a science lab with charts and working models aligned with the syllabus, thanks to resources arranged by Mr. Venkat. We hope this will make learning more engaging for the students. On the second day, we conducted an environmental conservation session to raise awareness about the global crisis and the role students can play.”

The students also led a tree plantation campaign on the school campus.

Another student, Edwin George, added: “We held public speaking sessions to build students’ confidence and help them speak up when given the opportunity. We also conducted sessions on AI and its applications, recognizing its importance in today’s world. We plan to collaborate online with each school over the next three to four months as a follow-up.”

The Dubai students also visited GEMS Modern Academy, Kochi (GMA), and collaborated to develop a sustainable school plan. Students formed teams to discuss and devise sustainability solutions in areas like energy conservation and waste management, then presented their plans. A voting session selected the best plan with group input. Both schools plan to implement the solutions over three months, followed by an online meeting to share the results and impact.

Cherished Project

“School4School is a project close to my heart,” said Venkatraman, a chartered accountant and entrepreneur known for leading donation campaigns of pencils and other stationery for underprivileged students. He has previously set Guinness World Records twice—first for the largest donation of school supplies and secondly for that of legumes.

He said the new initiative involves privileged students from various schools in Dubai and around the world. “These students visit schools in other countries, engaging in activities such as setting up science labs, promoting environmental conservation, and improving communication skills, benefiting the less privileged.”

Venkatraman, also a member of local advisory boards in three Dubai schools, said the two beneficiary schools were identified with the help of Sapna James, a social worker in Kochi.

“I proposed the idea to schools in Dubai, and as a pilot project, Our Own High School took up the initiative. I extend my gratitude to the principals and students of all participating schools and Sapna for facilitating this."

While some of the students' families hailed from Kochi, the rest traveled from other parts of Kerala for the initiative, said Venkatraman.

Despite the torrential rains and challenging weather conditions in Kerala, he said, the students persevered, making a difference in the lives of their Indian peers.

“To share one’s learning with others is the greatest gift and service. It gives me immense pleasure to see our senior students spending their holidays with two schools in Kerala,” said Dr. Anjuli Murthy, principal of Our Own High School, Dubai.

“I thank Mr. Venkat for facilitating this program. We will continue with such initiatives which will positively impact all students involved,” she added.

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