Remembering the services of Hajikka

About 200 students from Indian schools participate in ICBF’s 4th Hajikka Memorial Essay Writing Contest    The Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) conducted the fourth Hajikka Memorial Essay Writing Contest at Bhavan’s Public School on Saturday. About 200 students from classes 7 to 12 and from nine prominent Indian schools in Qatar participated in the contest. The intent of the contest was to inculcate the need of benevolence in young minds. The contest also helped ICBF spread awareness about its services in Qatar. Three winners were chosen from each of the two categories, juniors and seniors, through a two-tiered evaluation process. To ensure clarity and fairness, the coded contest sheets were scrutinised through two levels of evaluation. In the first level, 6 highest scoring sheets were selected in both categories. And all the selected six sheets underwent evaluation a second time by the evaluators. The contest was co-ordinated by Ashwin Yadav, ICBF Sports and Events co-ordinator. Devis Edukulathur, ICBF president, and Mahesh Gowda, ICBF general secretary, addressed the gathering of students, parents and teachers and imparted a message on benevolence.The contest is held in memory of the Late Hajikka and is intended to inculcate the need of benevolence in young minds to help the needy, as these students stride the path towards their prospective future. It would also help to spread awareness about ICBF services in Qatar and serve as a source of innovative young ideas to expand ICBF services in future for the benefit of the society, according to the organisers. Hajikka was a social and charitable activist who is remembered for his humanitarian services spanning 40 odd years in Qatar. ICBF is conducting the Hajikka Memorial Essay Writing Contests since 2014. And every year efforts are being made to include more children to participate in this contest from more schools.The theme for the contest remains benevolence and humanity, depicting the nature of the commemorated personality Hajikka. When M V Abdul Khader Haji, addressed by people of Doha as Hajikka, passed away at the age of 67 on December 22, 2013, after 47 years of social service in Qatar, he left behind a legacy of life and death with an invaluable message. He conveyed to his fellow humans that whatever differences life had to offer, death unites all on a common ground. Irrespective of religion, nationality and language, people used to seek his assistance whenever a dear one passed away, to perform their final rites, to complete the legal entanglements and medical formalities. ICBF “considers itself fortunate till date that he worked in association with it as a part of its Death Case Task Force and was honoured to confer this advocate of humanity with the Indian Community Benevolent Forum Humanitarian Award during 2003-2004.” The participating students and school faculties will be awarded by Indian ambassador P Kumaran at a separate prize distribution ceremony April 23. The ICBF also plans to provide free medical cards to at least 100 fishermen on this day.