Kapil Prajapat (23) from Sirohi, Rajasthan, has been caring for birds for nearly six years now.

While he was still in school, he encountered a dying bird. He gave the poor creature some water, and within minutes, it revived and flew away. This experience left a lasting impression on the young boy, inspiring him to start the campaign ‘Aao Milkar Pyaas Bujhaye’.

In 2019, he started his NGO ‘Expo Team Sirohi’ to protect and help thousands of birds in the blistering heatwaves.

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His team gives out free bird feeders all year round and runs several summer campaigns. So far, he has set up 9,000 bird feeders in the city so far. He reaches out to villagers and residents of the area to refill the feeders and take care of the birds.

You can help Kapil in his good work too. Click here to reach him.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; Feature image credit: Vishal Khandelwal)

Dr Sunil Shroff’s voice softens as he narrates a life changing incident that happened back then. 

The 70-year-old urologist and renal transplant surgeon was about to perform one of his first few ‘deceased organ donations’ on a 12-year-old boy who died of a cobra bite. The surgery was scheduled at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute (SRMC & RI) in Chennai.

Dr Shroff explains how after the initial treatment failed, the young child was declared brain dead at the hospital. The doctors there waited for five days for him to recover, but he, unfortunately, did not. 

They hesitantly approached the grief-stricken father and asked him whether he would donate the boy’s organs, which he consented to. Two kidneys, a heart and two corneas were harvested and transplanted in five individuals, giving them the gift of life.

It made the hospital famous as it was only the fourth hospital to perform such a procedure in the country. This unique case of organ donation from a snake bite victim was published in an international journal as well. 

From there began Dr Shroff’s dedicated mission to promote deceased organ donation and transplantation in India. To facilitate his mission, he established the not-for-profit MOHAN (Multi Organ Harvesting Aid Network) Foundation in 1997. 

At present, Dr Shroff is a senior consultant of urology and transplantation at the Madras Medical Mission Hospital in Chennai. He is also the managing trustee of MOHAN Foundation. Notably, he was the first Indian surgeon to perform a successful kidney transplant on an HIV positive patient. 

According to data with the MOHAN Foundation, 10 lakh people in India suffer from end-stage organ failure every year. Only 16,041 receive live-saving organs annually.

How it all started 

Dr Shroff was born and brought up by his grandparents in Sahibganj, a small railway town in Bihar. 

He describes himself as a fearless, risk-taker and a free-spirited child. “I once saved a friend who was drowning in the Ganga river. Also, responding to a dare from my brother, I jumped from the first floor. I am surprised I survived! These qualities in me shaped my life and career,” he says.    

Years later, when he got married and became a father, he found that he could not support his family as doctors did not get paid well in India at the time. He left for the UK where he lived for 12 years and completed his Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) and Diploma in Urology in the UK in 1990.  

“I had promised my mother I would return to India. Also, I felt a strong sense of belonging to India though I was well-settled in the UK. My colleagues would often tease me about the kidney transplant scandals in India. That hurt my feelings as when you are abroad, you become the representative of your country. I wanted to come back home and do something to change the situation, so I returned in 1995,” he explains. 

Boost for deceased organ donation

It was an opportune time to return. The government then had just passed the Transplantation of Human Organs & Tissues Act (THOTA), 1994. The law accepted brain death as legal death which was a huge boost for deceased organ donation. 

After a natural cardiac death, only a few organs and tissues can be donated (like the cornea, bones, skin and blood vessels), but after a brain death, eight solid organs, including the vital organs like kidneys, heart, liver and lungs, and almost 50 tissues, can be donated as well.

“The Act also made commercial dealings in human organs a punishable offence. It is the toughest law in the world as far as organ donation is concerned. The number of scams in kidneys have come down considerably,” says Dr Shroff. 

As a renal transplant surgeon, he became aware of the huge shortage of kidneys in India. “I would see the agony and desperation in the eyes of caregivers and family members when no suitable kidney donor was available in the family. So, we had to have an alternative to ‘live donations’. The answer was deceased organ donation,” he says.   

But there was no support system or awareness in the country at that time. The doctors themselves felt that brain death was too complex to be accepted by the public. They did not feel that deceased organ transplantation was possible in India, he rues. 

Establishing MOHAN Foundation

“That’s why we set up the not-for-profit MOHAN Foundation. It was meant to raise awareness about brain death and deceased organ donation. However, we soon realised that was not enough,” says Dr Shroff. 

“We needed to train ICU doctors and nurses in identifying brain death, organ retrieval, counselling and support families at the time of their grief. Along with this, we also had to put systems in place at hospitals, and sensitise not only the general public but also the medical fraternity on this topic,” he adds. 

The MOHAN Foundation focuses on deceased organ donation for two reasons. 

One, in the case of the heart, lungs, pancreas and intestines, the organs have to come from a deceased person. Live donations can only take place in the case of a kidney and part of the liver. 

Two, deceased organ donation and transplantation is a complex process that needs coordination between multiple stakeholders, he explains. 

“We have used technology extensively. We have software that finds out which patient on the waiting list should be given the next available organ. We use apps to identify and certify brain death. We also use AI to predict organ failure,” says Dr Shroff. 

The foundation has counselled more than 12,000 families successfully to donate the organs of their loved ones who are declared brain-dead. The conversion rate of such cases is high at 60-70%.  

The organisation has sensitised over 250 million people on organ donation and trained around 4,000 grief counsellors or transplant coordinators and more than 61,000 medical professionals on organ donation. 

The foundation has issued over 2.5 million donor cards. It has a helpline number: 18001037100 where queries on kidney, liver and other transplants are answered. 

MOHAN Foundation has offices in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Imphal, Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Jaipur, Mumbai, and the USA.

It has also inked MoUs with nine state governments, including Uttarakhand and Manipur. In 2011, when the law was being amended, the foundation came up with several recommendations. 

Now, the authorities ensure that hospitals have transplant coordinators before giving licences. Since April 2018, when a person applies for a driving licence, there is a pop-up from the transport authority asking whether he or she would like to pledge organs. The ICU doctors are also morally obligated to ask for organs from the family in case of a brain death. 

Significant rise in numbers 

According to the Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation, India has witnessed a significant increase in deceased organ donations post COVID-19. It surpassed a milestone by transitioning from three-digit donations to four digits for the first time, having had a total of 1,037 deceased donors in 2023. 

In 2023, India conducted a total of 12,526 kidney transplants, 10,896 from living donors and 1,630 from deceased donors. Additionally, there were 4,173 liver transplants, including 3,338 from living donors and 828 from deceased donors. There were 221 total heart transplants, 191 liver, 21 pancreas and 14 small bowel transplants. 

Challenges faced

According to the Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, some of the challenges in deceased organ donation are:

• Huge demand-supply gap.
• Poor infrastructure, especially in government hospitals.
• Lack of awareness of brain death among stakeholders.
• Poor rate of brain death certification by hospitals.
• Lack of awareness and negative attitude towards deceased organ donation.
• Lack of organised systems for organ procurement from deceased donors.
• Maintenance of standards in organ retrieval, tissue banking, and transplantation.
• High cost of transplantation, especially for uninsured and poor patients.

As per the DGHS, the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) takes responsibility for the following actions:

• Maintaining the waiting list of terminally ill patients requiring transplants – with details of hospital, organ needed, blood group and age of patient, urgency, and seniority in the waiting list.
• Matching recipients with donors.
• Networking with transplant centres, retrieval centres and tissue banks.
• Coordination of all activities required for procurement of organs and tissues, including medico-legal aspects.
• Assigning the organ retrieval team and making arrangements for transporting the organs to the allocated locations.

Counselling the family

Initially, Dr Shroff set up a protocol called the ‘Ramachandra Protocol’ while asking the family’s consent for organ donation. The doctors would start by asking for eye donation first since it was already popular, and then for the other organs. 

“Talking about organ donation is not easy at a time of grief. We need to treat the grieving family sensitively and support them. We have to first convey to the family that their loved one is brain dead. We need to then explain what brain death is. We let the message sink in,” he explains. 

“After five to six hours, before we switch off the ventilator, we ask the family whether they wish to donate the organs. We tell them that they can save many lives,” he adds. 

Most brain deaths are due to road accidents. Doctors have two to three days after brain deaths to do a transplant surgery. Certifying a brain death is a complex process. 

After that, the counsellors start a conversation with the family. If the family is convinced, multiple organs are harvested and distributed for transplant as per the waiting list of recipients. There is a lot of team work involved which is done by coordinators trained by the MOHAN Foundation. 

“Age is no bar for organ donation. Our oldest donor was an 88-year-old trustee of the Gangaram Hospital. When he was declared brain dead, his kidneys and liver were transplanted. However, we are cautious about taking the heart and lungs of a donor who is above 60,” explains Dr Shroff. 

Appearance on KBC

In line with his work, Dr Shroff appeared on the Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) show in October 2020. 

“The programme was aired without a live audience on account of COVID-19. I had requested for the set to be lit fully in green as that’s the colour for organ donation, and I won Rs 25 lakh for the foundation,” he shares.

“After the episode was aired, the MOHAN Foundation helpline kept buzzing for several days. We had 30 counsellors answering these calls 24×7. Some people donated huge sums of money to the foundation, while the organ pledges went up as well. It was very good publicity for our cause,” he relates. 

For their work, Dr Shroff and the MOHAN Foundation have been felicitated with several awards over the years. 

To name a few, in 2015, the foundation was honoured with the British Medical Association South Asia Award for establishing a cadaver programme in India. In 2021, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from Grant Thornton Sabera. 

In 2023, Dr Shroff received the Dr K C G Verghese Excellence Awards for Community Service. The MOHAN Foundation also received the ‘Best NGO Award’ in 2023 from NOTTO, DGHS on the occasion of National Organ Donation Day.    

Dr Shroff is the Asia convenor of the ‘Tribute to Life for Commonwealth Organ Donation Project’. He is primarily responsible for establishing the ‘Indian Organ Transplant Registry’ in collaboration with the Indian Society of Organ Transplantation. This registry, a first in Asia, has been crucial for compiling data on kidney transplants in India and analysing their outcomes.

Dr Shroff believes that Indians are very emotional people; very giving people. “There is just some distrust with the healthcare system that has to be taken care of. More people will definitely come forward to donate the organs of loved ones,” he says with conviction.  

“As a surgeon, I am deeply humbled to be part of this programme. During organ donations, I witness both ends of the spectrum – the profound grief of losing a loved one and the overwhelming joy and hope when a family member receives an organ. It truly embodies the cycle of life,” he says.

Edited by Padmashree Pande.

“No one thinks like this for us; we have just gotten used to the heat every year.” – A Delhi Street Vendor

Imagine working tirelessly under the scorching sun with no escape from the heat. This is the harsh reality for countless street vendors, rickshaw pullers, and labourers across India.

But hope arrives in the form of ‘Warriors Without a Cause’, a remarkable NGO founded by four young friends from Delhi — Anusha Attree, Bhavini Singh, Khushi Singh, and Vanshikha Mehta. 

These college students, barely out of their teens, didn’t let their age stop them from making a real difference.

Moved by the struggles they witnessed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they decided to do something to help people. They began by using their own money to provide masks and sanitisers in slum areas.

Having witnessed and understood the urgent needs of underprivileged people firsthand, the four of them established a Government-registered NGO dedicated to social welfare.

Since then, their efforts have expanded rapidly.

They now operate in six cities including Delhi NCR, Noida, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Chandigarh.

Their work encompasses education and awareness, healthcare and sanitation, and employment initiatives. They teach children in slums, conduct financial literacy workshops, hold free medical boot camps, organise sanitary pad distribution drives, and provide employment opportunities to the jobless.

In the CRRI Delhi slum, the NGO teaches skills like crocheting and knitting to over 30 women, selling their products at markets and exhibitions, thereby providing these women with consistent monthly employment.

Through these initiatives, they have helped a staggering four lakh people in the last three years.

Last year, they launched the ‘Beat the Heat’ campaign to help street vendors and cart owners endure the sweltering summer heat. They distributed umbrellas, caps, drinks, and water to those working under the scorching sun.

The campaign has already reached over 50,000 people, providing essential relief to those most affected by the heat.

This year alone, they have distributed 5,000 umbrellas, but the need is still great, considering the extreme heatwaves India is currently witnessing.

Join the movement to make a difference in the lives of street vendors trying to make a living in this record-breaking heat! 

With a donation of just Rs 350, you can give them an umbrella to protect themselves from the scorching sun.

Donate now to become a part of this life-changing initiative:

Edited by Pranita Bhat

While the inconvenience becomes more bearable with age, the horror of staining continues for most of our lives. This is a familiar story to any woman, and it was the same for Ira Guha, the founder of Asan, a menstrual cup company.

“I used to be quite athletic as a kid and run around. I loved being outdoors and was an active basketball player in my school. I remember being in Chhattisgarh for a state-level game and being on my period. There were no bins in the school, so I had to carry the soiled pad in my bag,” she shares with The Better India. 

Walking around feeling disgusted and embarrassed all day are some of her core experiences that shaped her as a woman in the menstrual hygiene business, she says. With her company Asan, she has helped over 15,000 women in 60 villages in Karnataka switch to menstrual cups so far. 

“The cup is designed to make periods comfortable for every woman. When it comes to rural women, menstrual cups can help make periods easier and healthier for them,” she emphasises. 

The foundation of Asan 

Born in Bengaluru, Karnataka, she moved to the UK when she was 18 to pursue her higher education. “I was working as a management consultant in London and kept visiting home every once in a while. In 2016-17, the movie Padman was getting very popular and there was a lot of conversation around menstrual hygiene,” she says. 

Recalling one of her visits during this time, she says, “I remember that our cook was on leave and I had called to ask the reason. She told me that she had a rash due to using cheap sanitary pads.”

Curious, Ira asked her to bring the pad once she recovered to check its quality. 

“I could never imagine using that pad, as it was very harsh and the material did not seem to be absorbent. It was at that time that I introduced her to menstrual cups. I was using one in the UK but there were no brands at the time selling them in India,” she explains. 

The maid had questions and Ira patiently answered all of them. “When I asked her if she wanted to try one as I was carrying a spare, she instantly agreed. Over the course of her next period, I asked her if she noticed any difference and she had some good reviews,” she says. 

The maid was able to do her work better and in her words “didn’t feel like she was on her period”. 

This struck Ira and she continued to carry menstrual cups for women in India. “At one point, I was carrying 10-15 menstrual cups on one trip,” she recalls. 

“It was quite organic, I was distributing them among gardeners in the society, more domestic workers who heard about it etc. Fast forward a couple of years, I quit my job and went to study at Harvard. I was telling about my work in India to a professor who suggested that I should design my own cup,” she says. 

She shares, “So I developed the Asan cup by working with an engineer at the Harvard Innovation Lab. We thoroughly studied existing menstrual cups in great detail, focusing on the highest quality cups available globally.”

What makes Asan different? 

Talking about the research process and the hurdles she faced, she says, “During product development, I faced the challenge of getting qualitative feedback on the usage of my cups, as I had distributed many cups throughout India. I needed detailed feedback about issues like leaking, overflowing, and comfort, but people weren’t sharing these openly with me.”

To solve this, Ira included every single one of her friends in the user group. “I had women across the US and UK, primarily contacts of my friends, who were willing to provide detailed feedback,” she says. 

Another major challenge was the scepticism around people using menstrual cups.

“Many people told me that India wasn’t ready for such a product and that women should stick to traditional methods. I overcame this challenge because I am a user of the Asan Cup myself, and it has transformed my life. I can sleep through the night, swim, do yoga, and run half a marathon comfortably.” 

She adds, “My experience, along with the positive feedback from my early user group—including domestic workers and other women who adapted to the cup instantly—showed me that not only are women ready for this, but they are also calling out for it because the current products are of poor quality.” 

It is Ira’s personal experience and the experiences of women around her that gave her the conviction to challenge those who said “Indian women weren’t ready and insertable products”.

“As a woman, I knew the need was there,” she asserts. Ira came out with the Asan Cup in the year 2017.

A utility-based product, Ira enlists the benefits of using an Asan Cup. “First, the Asan Cup costs just as much as six months’ worth of pads but can be reused for ten years. Secondly, sustainability: One Asan Cup’s life is equal to using 2,500 pads or tampons. Thirdly, effectiveness: One Asan Cup holds up to three times more than your average pad, so you can go up to 12 hours without changing it,” she says.

“Number four is safety. Unlike pads and tampons which may contain undisclosed ingredients, the Asan cup is made of medical-grade silicone, certified safe for health.” 

“And finally discretion and convenience. The compact size of the Asan cup ensures discreet use, allowing users to maintain privacy about their menstrual cycle, avoiding the potential stigma associated with visible pads or cloth rags,” she adds. 

Not to mention the reduction of sanitary pad waste which is reversed by the use of a menstrual cup, she explains.

How to reach rural women? 

To reach women in rural areas, Asan also has a comprehensive behavioural change model.

“We have a programme to onboard and educate people on using the Asan Cup. The key to our behavioural change model is that education must come from a trusted source. For example, as someone from Bengaluru whose first language is English, I might not be a trusted source in a village.”

She adds, “This is why we hired local social workers and asked them to use the cups themselves. They then trained rural women on how to use the cup, which eliminated scepticism because the information was coming from a trusted source.”

For every Asan Cup the company sells, they donate one for free, primarily through their NGO partners in rural areas. “We also collaborate with various NGO partners, offices, and factories to offer subsidised schemes, making the Asan Cup more accessible.”

Ira engages with women from SHG, trains them and then sends them to villages to introduce women with the Asan Cup.

“Each recipient receives a clutch storage pouch, a user manual in their local language, and a detailed educational session conducted by a local health worker. They also receive the health worker’s contact for follow-up sessions over the next six months. This comprehensive programme ensures that everyone has the resources and support needed to safely use the Asan Cup,” she says.

So far, she has reached out to 15,000 women in 60 villages in Karnataka and Kanakapura. “Every single woman in those areas are using the Asan cup,” she says. 

Nagamma, 36, who hails from Kanakapura, complained that she can’t wear her favourite white sarees fearing stains during her periods. 

“But I have been using the Asan cup for several months now and the scenario has changed. The line between the period and non-period days has blurred. I have recommended it to my niece now as well. The pads used to give me rashes on the thighs but now there are no such issues. The best part is I wear whatever colour saree I want without any fear of stains,” she says. 

Jayalakshmi, 38, highlighted that she had to put the used pads in a plastic bag and burn them. “I had no other choice, I just burned them when no one was watching. But not with the Asan cup, there is no need for that. Additionally, I used to hate travelling to work while wearing a pad in the heat but now I don’t feel any discomfort,” she shares.

While Asan continuously reaches women in rural India, Ira believes that her work is not over. “There are still hundreds of thousands of women using rags and lacking any access to menstrual hygiene. If even one woman is without access to menstrual hygiene, my job is not over. As a company, we want to eradicate period poverty in India.”

(Edited by Padmashree Pande; All pictures credit: Ira Guha)

Around the same time, Prashant Sharma, a programme manager in an IT firm, happened to be visiting his in-laws in Chennai with his wife and two-year-old son. The worried father had to scramble for water for over a week to provide for his toddler’s needs. 

He recalls how people rushed towards the water tankers and paid extra to ensure that they received it. However, the water they got was often salty and unclean which needed to be boiled several times before being used.

This incident left him spending days in search of solutions. 

“I wondered about what we could do. Since water is a finite resource, how could we make its usage more circular?” Prashant shares with The Better India.

The solution the 50-year-old found was using greywater, which is basically domestic wastewater from wash basins, washing machines, showers, kitchens. 

A DowntoEarth report estimates that India generates about 31 billion litres of greywater everyday. 

The sustainability enthusiast found that recycling greywater in schools, colleges, homes could be a viable solution that could help us tide over the water crisis in the future. This recycled greywater can be used to recharge groundwater, water plants, clean, in landscaping and gardening, in the toilet flush and more.

With his idea in place, Prashant quit his corporate career and founded a non-profit called ‘Positive Action For Child And Earth Foundation’ in 2022.  Through a sustainable and natural recycling method developed by Prashant, he claims that the schools in Delhi and Uttarakhand are today saving six lakh litres of freshwater yearly.

‘We can’t afford to be passive spectators anymore’

While Prashant was earlier working in IT companies in India and London, his tryst with sustainability and waste water recycling started in 2010. He became actively involved in sustainability initiatives in his borough (local authorities). 

He was the designated sustainability champion of the area, where he conducted awareness and waste segregation campaigns, recycling initiatives, and taught people how to compost, among other activities. 

He continued this work along with his job in different companies including Shell, IBM, Accenture, British Petroleum.

The 2019 water crisis and his bad experience made him start looking for sustainable solutions. At the same time, he also realised that corporate life wasn’t for him anymore. 

“Working for a paycheck wasn’t cutting it for me anymore. When you reach a certain level of financial security, you should consider giving back to society, and for me, that was greywater recycling,” Prashant shares. 

He also shares that climate change has reached a stage where “we can now no longer afford to be a passive spectator to the carnage being done to our environment.”

“Water is obviously one of the biggest problems in the world today. I saw firsthand in Chennai how desperate people can become when there’s no water. I also visited a lot of villages after 2019 and looked at ways I could contribute. I found my calling in water conservation,” shares Prashant.

During his research, he found that greywater was something that could be recycled. 

“If 100 litres of water are being released, almost 70 litres of that is greywater, i.e. non-faecal water with minimum impurities, which can be easily recycled. Urban India generates about 70 litres of greywater per person per day, but in almost 100 percent cases, this greywater is simply mixed with sewage,” he adds.

Usually what happens is that this greywater gets mixed with the sewage water and is sent to Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) or just discharged openly, impacting livelihoods, crop productivity and an increase in vector borne diseases, explains Prashant. 

He adds that STPs are one of the most polluting industries, “consuming about three percent of the world’s energy.” Therefore, recycling greywater near its source is sustainable and a possible solution to solve the global water crisis. The DownToEarth report also states that “reuse of greywater for toilet flushing alone can reduce the freshwater demand by 10-20 percent.”

Greywater recycling is also very simple, starting with using cooking water to water plants, and for flushing. It also requires no electricity or chemicals. It treats the waste water at source, making it a decentralised solution.

Once the idea was set, Prashant worked on a nature-based solution to recycle greywater- Constructed Wetlands (CW), which are built using natural filter materials like activated charcoal, stone, grit, sand. 

Constructed wetlands are man-made wastewater recycling systems which resemble natural wetlands in treatment. 

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“Wastewater is recycled through natural processes involving soil, vegetation, and microbial communities. We use natural filter materials and plants that are easy to integrate

aesthetically into the existing buildings and are scalable,” explains Prashant.

He first targeted schools as that is a place where a lot of greywater is generated and there is enough space to recycle it.

“Each child generates about 8 litres of greywater every day in a school. So consider a school with 4,000 students, which is an opportunity to recycle 16,000 litres of water per day and create a positive impact,” he adds. 

How it works

The basic idea is to divert the greywater before it mixes with the sewage water so that it can be recycled.

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The first step that Prashant takes is to conduct a greywater audit to calculate the amount of water that the school or organisation generates per day. The second step is to identify the easiest way and place where this water can be recycled. The third and final step is to design, build, test and operationalise the solution. 

“Since schools have a lot of floors and many bathrooms, we need to find a source where we can recycle the water easily without much civil work and expenditure,” he adds.

In Prashant’s model of constructed wetlands, all filtration activity occurs below the ground, alleviating the problems of water stagnation, bad odour and risk of mosquito breeding.  

So far, his foundation has worked with schools in Delhi and Uttarakhand, government colleges in Sundargarh, Odisha and Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Nainital, recycling over 6 lakh litres of water per year. This year, Prashant expects the number to increase to 10 lakh litres per year. 

The organisation is self-funded and Prashant charges the schools/colleges only for the civil work. He hopes to turn it into a consultation service with an annual maintenance contract like the ones that water filter companies charge. 

His working model is simple — providing greywater recycling as a service. 

For the first two school projects, Prashant borrowed money from friends and family to build the solutions. He is now working with village administrations and the ashram on a revenue-based model.

“Wherever people can pay, we are taking a small fee. We want to generate revenue instead of depending on funds from larger players as this will enable us to fund initiatives in villages and communities who can’t afford it,” shares Prashant.

So far though, he is managing as his wife has a corporate job.

What keeps him going is the response on the ground. “The response has been very positive everywhere I’ve been. Right from villages to cities, people are fed up with stagnant water and want a solution,” shares Prashant.

According to this water conservationist, “The purpose of living has to be more than making money, it has to involve fulfilling the needs of people who are within your sphere of influence.”

You can email Prashant on pash.childrensearth@gmail.com or call him on 9711086014.

Edited by Padmashree Pande, Images Courtesy Prashant Sharma

It is now a decade since that bold decision, and Upadhyaya couldn’t be prouder of the ripple effect her efforts created — impacting more than 3,000 women through her platform Guna Organics and also playing a role in eight rural nooks being branded as ecovillages. Her venture Guna Organics under Vishwadeep Trust integrates organic practices and solar technology in farming.  

Upadhyaya’s journey has been fraught with obstacles and wins, the former often being precursors to the latter, she points out. Take for instance the time she was forced to relieve herself near an animal shed in Tukla village. 

Women’s sanitation woes became evident to her and she began advocating for public toilets. Today, the set of public toilets for women that stand in the Tukla and Urbis villages is the result of months of effort. 

While the villagers of Ladakh know her as the woman who has fought the authorities on their behalf, Upadhyaya says she is simply a changemaker. She calls herself a social entrepreneur who set out to reduce the chasm between Indian metropolitans and their rural counterparts — a feat that seemed impossible in 2014 when she started. 

She recalls another incident where she came face to face with the difficulties the locals of Ladakh faced. 

“I was shocked to learn that the villagers walked 35 km for a litre of oil. Imagine walking for five hours for a single litre!” Appalled, she began approaching the authorities for an oil extraction machine, and within months the villagers’ woes were eased. 

When the ask was delivered, their smiles were all the validation she looked for. 

Devastation — a motivator 

Upadhyaya recalls the 2010 floods in Ladakh as the experience that compelled her to return to India from the UK where she was working. On 6 August 2010, what seemed to be a case of bad weather, raised alarms when the water level crossed 14 inches in two hours in Ladakh leading to panic and destruction. 

Termed ‘an extreme geological event’, several farms, fields, animals and homes were washed away, leaving behind an impoverished region. 

In the days that followed, Upadhyaya and her sister Shree Upadhyaya were flooded with requests for money, food, medicines and aid. And they were more than happy to help. Their charitable act extended well beyond their stay in the region. 

But while it was good work, she wondered if it was sustainable. “I didn’t want to leave the people of Ladakh at the mercy of the government,” she says, adding that she couldn’t keep doling out money either. 

To this end, in 2014, Guna Organics became her way of formalising the support she wanted to extend to the people of Ladakh. 

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A space where green initiatives sprout 

While the floods of Ladakh had fuelled Upadhyaya’s decision to help the rural folk, it was a statistic that helped her fine-tune the diaspora she wanted to focus on. 

“A woman farmer spends 3,485 hours in a year on one hectare of farmland. A male farmer works for 1,212 hours on land the same size and a pair of farm animals clock in 864 hours.” 

The drudgery of women farmers is evident. “In addition to this, they have to attend to their families, cook, and please their in-laws. The list is endless,” Upadhyaya argues. 

She then goes on to draw parallels between the plight of these female farmers and women entrepreneurs in India, where she says “only 3 percent out of 14 percent women entrepreneurs are funded out of which 1 percent sustain.” 

The system’s fragility became apparent to Upadhyaya. 

One small step in the right direction is all that is needed for change to follow. A firm believer in this, she decided to get the women farmers of Ladakh to transition to organic farming practices, explaining the perils of chemicals to them. 

Naturally, this was met with scepticism. “The farmers were scared. They felt there was a negative attitude towards organic farming, and that the pesticide lobby was very strong.” 

The same reluctance cropped up when Upadhyaya wanted to introduce a solar dryer in the villages through her initiative. But she was met with queries like would it work, how would the fruits look and taste after they were sundried? Would there be customers for these dried fruits? 

The questions were many. In time, the farmers finally saw an opportunity in the solar dried fruits and Upadhyaya was relieved. 

The slew of awards — the Social Impact India Award (2017) by the British Council and Entrepreneur Excellence Award by I.I.T. Delhi (2017), Earthday Network Star (2020) among others — that colour her journey is great, she admits. But they cannot be compensation for the drudgery that women farmers go through on a daily basis. “Help them instead,” she adds. 

This is where Guna Organics steps in. 

Upadhyaya says, “We have introduced certified organic and organic solar-dried products into the mainstream market, enhanced livelihoods by 33 percent and reversed migration from 27 to 75 households.” 

“We even conducted the Beat Plastic Pollution campaign, provided green training and skill-based training to corporates, schools, factories, farmer producer groups, and exporters helping them achieve sustainable development goals,” she adds. 

Along the way, there have been multiple boosts to her efforts, sometimes in the form of people’s support, and other times in the form of mentorship opportunities. The most significant, she recalls, is being a part of the cohort of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) — a first-of-its-kind, unified access portal incubated by NITI Aayog. 

The platform brings together women from different parts of India to build a nurturing ecosystem that enables them to realise their entrepreneurial aspirations by providing them with mentorship, access to funding opportunities, personalised guidance and networking opportunities with industry experts. 

Elaborating on the wealth of experience she gained from WEP’s Unnati program, a collaboration
with Microsave Consulting and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), which focuses on supporting women-led enterprises in the green sector, she says, “We were 15 women in green ventures who were a part of this. We are all trying to bring about a change. It is great to be around people who have the same struggle as you.”

She adds that there are a host of useful online courses and customised sessions made available for women through WEP and its program partners. She adds, “They have put us in paired each one of us with mentors who help us foster connections with relevant industry experts. The aim is to make us fully ready.” It is associations like these that champion the revolution Upadhyaya is attempting to create. 

And this lies against the backdrop of the eco-villages she has been instrumental in creating. 

A microcosm of change 

Defined as “an intentional, traditional or urban community that is consciously designed through locally-owned participatory processes in all four dimensions of sustainability (social, culture, ecology and economy) to regenerate social and natural environments”, an eco-village is a challenging concept. 

But when Upadhyaya set out to give Takmachik village in Ladakh a sustainable makeover, she understood that social, cultural, and ecological systems weren’t the only factors to navigate. The villagers’ mindsets needed a change too. 

So, along with instilling sustainable measures  — renewable energy resources, recycling, plastic alternatives and sanitation drives — she began convincing the villagers to broaden their horizons when it came to farming. 

“The people of Ladakh were dependent on the apricot; rightly so, a major portion of the revenue is generated through its sale,” she says. But a little probing led her to discover that a kilo of apricots was retailing for just Rs 150. 

And thus began the journey of sun drying, optimising the hygiene quotient and teaching the locals to market the fruit to customers using words like ‘organic’ and ‘solar dried’. Currently, the fruit retails for Rs 465. 

She also nudged the women farmers to explore other crops, like soybeans and oyster mushrooms. 

She saw these alternatives as an antidote to the epidemic of anaemia that grapples the Ladakh region. Through these initiatives, Takmachik became an eco-village.

Once the first eco-village of Ladakh was seeing results with its eco-friendly practices, Upadhyaya was flooded with requests to replicate the model in the other villages too. 

As morning settles in Ladakh, the birds’ banter can be distinctly heard. 

Upadhyaya is grateful for these ‘better’ days. The horrors of watching entire families and homes being wiped out, not just once in the flash floods of 2010 but in all the others that followed, is a fresh memory. 

“There have been days I have hugged the villagers, telling them that we would come out of the situation,” she says, adding that creating the eco-villages is like fulfilling that promise. 

Today, Upadhyaya’s work is visible in the villages of Takmachik, Urbis, Domkhar Do, Domkhar Burma, Hanu Yokma, Hanu Thang and in Haryana, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. 

But championing rural prosperity has come with a price. Upadhyaya recalls many unwelcome visits from the local mafia trying to thwart her plans, often under the speculation that her efforts had a religious or political intention. 

But she says her team’s support in the face of this has been unwavering. 

“Our trainers conduct workshops in the local language and have regular monitoring visits where they encourage the farmers to continue organic farming and using solar technology,” she says. 

Upadhyaya adds that having watched her go to the authorities numerous times to push for government grants and access to water and oil, the villagers trust her. They know she is on their side. “Because they have themselves seen the positive impact, they have been clinging to it,” she explains. 

Today, as better toilets, improved livelihoods, and sustainable farm practices keep the flag of Ladakh flying high and proud, Upadhaya sees this as a collective win. They say it takes a village. In her case, it took eight. 

Edited by Padmashree Pande.

From diverse weaves and pottery styles to metal art and wool works, every Indian state is rich in its traditional art form. Historically, craft-based work has been a powerful medium to create employment for rural women, who have been leading the handicraft and handloom industry with their unwavering commitment.

India is home to seven million artisans. Of this, a whopping 56.13 percent comprise women. However, these artisans, particularly rural women, don’t get fair and steady pay because businesses are informal and they lack the know-how to reach more customers and create market linkages using technology.

One such artisan is Muthulakshmi who hails from Anbu Nagar in Aruppukottai block in Tamil Nadu. Muthulakshmi who specialised in weaving the famous Arupokkotai saree through power loom was initially dependent on the local vendor for orders. Each month she weaves at least 10 sarees on her loom.

Driven by the desire to expand her business, Muthulaskhmi, who had been only using her smartphone to take phone calls, was inspired by her children’s adept use of these phones. The 40-year-old was keen to learn more about its features and utilise the smartphone to scale up the business.

Her quest to utilise the smartphone to scale up her business led her to seize the opportunity of digital upskilling training initiated by the non-profit nasscom foundation, which aims to empower marginalised rural communities through technology-driven initiatives. During the 10-day training programme, Muthulakshmi learned about online payments and how to create social media accounts and a YouTube channel to digitally promote her business.

She says she now aims to expand her business on e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, and take her products to a larger customer base for further business growth by this year-end.

“I learned to open websites and create an ID and channel using my smartphone. I have also learned how to do business through Amazon and Flipkart. With this, I expect a boost of 30 percent in my earnings,” says Muthulakshmi, who currently earns up to Rs 8,000 per month. She is optimistic about the future and plans to take her sarees to a larger market by year-end.

A step towards financial empowerment

Nasscom foundation in collaboration with L&T Technology Services launched the Digital Upskilling of Rural Women Artisans project last year to focus on preserving traditional arts while fostering a brighter future for women through skill development, enabling them to participate in the digital economy.

This initiative is part of a broader project to digitally upskill 900 women artisans involved in saree making and palm leaves basket making in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district; pearl jewellery and bamboo making in Gujarat’s Dahod; and garland and crochet making in Karnataka’s Raichur. It covers a wide range of projects, including digital literacy, financial literacy, entrepreneurial skills and awareness about government schemes.

K N Prabhakaran, Chief of CSR at L&T Technology Services observes, “Enhancing digital literacy and expanding access to digital technologies are crucial steps in addressing the digital divide and empowering women from all backgrounds to benefit from the digital transformation. Our collaboration with Nasscom foundation on the Digital Upskilling of Rural Women Artisans project aims to promote art while fostering digital literacy, financial literacy, entrepreneurial skills and awareness on access to government schemes and proficiency with technological tools and platforms. By skilling and integrating social commerce solutions for artisans, this initiative significantly enhances livelihood opportunities and supports economic growth in rural communities.”

The training aimed to help women artisans increase their understanding and skills to effectively utilise digital devices and applications to create a space in an online platform, thereby enhancing their livelihood opportunities. 

As part of the 10-day training, these women were taught about internet usage, digital devices, social media, banking​, investments​, cyber frauds, cyber safety, access to markets, preparation of business plans, access to important government schemes​, the importance of artisan cards,​ and more. 

Eramma, another beneficiary, who hails from Raichur, Karnataka, runs a woollen work business from home.

“Before I embraced digital tools, I found it hard to earn an income and improve our livelihood under financial and societal constraints. When I heard about the training programme through a community mobiliser, it was like a ray of hope. Choosing to join the programme was fueled by my longing for a stable future, my dream of giving my children a good education, and my ambition to grow my business,” she says.

“This training represented a critical turning point for me as it opened doors to possibilities that I had once thought were out of reach. One area of great interest to me was utilising social commerce like Facebook and WhatsApp, which has allowed me to display my work. In future, I plan to engage directly with customers through digital platforms and set up product catalogues. I expect this will significantly boost my sales,” she adds.

Nidhi Bhasin, CEO, Nasscom Foundation says, “The project has digitally upskilled 900 rural women artisans in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat, empowering them to participate in the digital economy. By providing training in digital, financial, and entrepreneurial skills, we strive to create a lasting impact. Our ongoing collaboration with L&T Technology Services aims to strengthen this initiative further by offering exclusive mentoring and guidance to select women artisans, with a vision to extend this transformative support to women entrepreneurs across other districts and states.”

The key objectives of the phase 2 is to provide handholding to 450 select beneficiaries from phase 1 whereas 150 handheld beneficiaries will be supported with exclusive mentoring, platform onboarding, and network enhancement.

Furthermore, 90 selected beneficiaries from the cohort will also be provided ‘Access to Finance’ in collaboration with financial institutions, ensuring that rural women artisans can thrive in the digital economy and achieve long-term success.

Edited by Pranita Bhat. All photos: nasscom foundation.

Ladu ji goes on to explain why this is a miracle.

“There was a time when even two bicycles couldn’t pass simultaneously. What else can you expect from a two-foot-wide road?” he asks. I agree. So, naturally, watching the path accommodating trucks and lorries is amusing for the villagers. The farmer is quick to hail his ex-sarpanch (a decision-maker elected by the village) Chhavi Rajawat for this phenomenal work.

He stresses though that this isn’t the only transformation she has brought about. “Our village has water thanks to her.”

Before Rajawat took over as sarpanch in 2010 — at the time making headlines for being India’s first sarpanch with an MBA degree — the village was experiencing one of its worst droughts. “Madam ensured a pipeline in every house and water in every pond,” Ladu ji says.

Home isn’t the only place where he has been witnessing the results of Rajawat’s work. His fields too have benefited. Promising to send me pictures of his thriving pulses, the farmer credits the steady supply of water for this. “Earlier my fields would dry up completely. But not anymore.”

It suffices to say that in the two terms that Rajawat headed the village as sarpanch, 2010-15 and 2015-20, she shaped, both, policies and dreams. As she points out, the victory is personal. After all, this is her native village.

While she was chasing corporate dreams — Rajawat worked for a slew of multinational companies after completing her MBA degree — one question continued to baffle her.

Despite government funding for rural development increasing over the years, why were villages not progressing? Why was development in retreat?

Conversations with the villagers led her to the answer. “I began to understand that responsibility and ownership were slowly regressing in rural landscapes,” she explains.

Rajawat’s stint as sarpanch witnessed 800 households getting pipelines, around 800 homes getting toilets, numerous ponds being revived, and 100 roads being built.

Just when the villagers assumed the spate of development had reached its peak, Rajawat revived a defunct college and is already planning for a digital literacy centre. “Miles to go,” she emphasises.

Knowledge does not discriminate

It is a Monday morning when I call Geeta (44). Her delayed response, as she explains, is because she is busy sketching out a curriculum for her Class 5 students. It’s been a year since Geeta has been working at this school. “I am the happiest I have ever been,” she smiles. After being unemployed for years, she is relieved to have a well-paying job.

Following Class 12, Geeta quit her studies for five years. Her father’s untimely demise and her in-laws’ unsupportive behaviour were the reasons. But, it was a friend who stepped in and motivated Geeta to take up studying once again; transferring Rs 3,000 into her bank account and asking her to channel the money towards her education.

Working at a construction site in Jaipur at the time, Geeta was forced to return to Soda in 2020. The dearth of work during the COVID lockdown made it impossible for her to continue. When she reached the village, news of a ‘new’ college taking in applicants reached her. One conversation with Rajawat later, Geeta was convinced this was the place for her.

“Chhavi ma’am encouraged me to pursue my D El Ed (Diploma in Elementary Education). Everyone around me was keen to see me study. I began noticing how the village mindset had evolved.” Geeta went on to complete the two-year course and secured a job at the village school.

While imparting education to 10-year-olds is her first priority, another goal is to dispel stereotypes that force women to sacrifice their dreams. Currently, there are 550 students at the college. They are engaged in one of the three courses offered here: BEd (Bachelor of Education), a D El Ed (Diploma in Elementary Education), and a BA (Bachelor of Arts) programme.

Watching these young girls echo Geeta’s enthusiasm to study further, is all the validation that Rajawat seeks. “In 2015, I noticed a complete mismanagement in the college. The head had run into a financial crunch and was on the verge of shutting it down. No one was too bothered by this since girl child education wasn’t a priority in the village.”

However, Rajawat was well aware of the odds against which the girls had enrolled in the college course. Returning home without a degree would only welcome taunts from their families.

“When we speak of development, it is very important for young women to have access to good education. Tomorrow, they will be mothers who will be impacting the next generation. If they set out to become teachers, imagine the responsibility on their shoulders,” she says.

With this in mind, Rajawat took over the college, working tirelessly with a team that was as passionate about the cause. The journey was anything but easy. “My staff did not have smartphones, so training and co-ordinating was tough. Doing it during the pandemic when access to resources was limited added to the challenge,” she adds.

To ensure that the students are getting a quality education, Rajawat employs teachers from Jaipur; organising a shuttle service that picks and drops them every day. In addition to this, she has also channelled funds towards setting up a computer lab.

The lab is one arm of Rajawat’s dream digital literacy centre. “Technology is changing globally, and we are diving into AI (artificial intelligence). But, at the same time, students in the villages are not familiar with using even a basic computer. It’s unfair.” She hypothesises that the digital platform will bridge the gaps that exist in literacy.

Another plan in the pipeline is an agriculture centre, where students can fine-tune their knowledge about climate change, quality of soil, irrigation practices and organic farming. Rajawat understood the importance of these factors when she attempted to bring water to the village more than a decade ago.

An oasis of hope

In 2010, Ladu ji’s routine involved waking up each morning and joining the hordes of villagers making their way to the village reservoir. Once at the site, a long day of digging and desilting awaited the group.

The monsoons that followed had them amazed as 12 acres of desilted land filled with water, lasting them for an entire year’s needs. “I still remember that day,” Ladu ji says.

Tracing back to how the water project took shape, Rajawat says it was the drought of 2009 that was the precursor. “It was one of the worst droughts the village had experienced. Our animals were dying, there was no fodder and people were consuming the groundwater, which had been declared unsafe for anything, even irrigation.”

“You can’t blame them. How else would they survive?” she argues.

It was a tense time. During this unimaginable hardship, Rajawat taking charge as sarpanch was a ray of hope for the villagers. She shares the ground map she put in place to alleviate the villagers’ woes.

“We have a main reservoir which spans 100 acres and several smaller ponds. The first step was to desilt the reservoir to ensure that we could harvest as much rainwater as possible from it as the surface water is used for all the village needs including irrigation.” Months of desilting led to success.

Rajawat’s operation had a dual vantage — the productivity of farmers increased to 75 percent, she shares, and the villagers’ belief in her was strengthened.

Here was a sarpanch who kept their word.

This was just the beginning of Rajawat’s good work. In 2010, she also spearheaded a sanitation campaign through which she began raising funds for the construction of toilets. Her strategy was bold and unique. “I knocked on the door of every home and told the beneficiaries that they had to contribute to the project. I added that if they did not have the money, they could contribute their time to dig the pits.”

Creating a sense of ownership went a long way. While Rajawat insists that these developments are tiny in the larger scheme of things, she emphasises, “The progress of a country is equal to the progress of each of its citizens.”

Edited by Pranita Bhat

He learnt to walk on his knees, worked hard as a student and graduated with a diploma in mechanical engineering.

In the 2002 Paralympics, he also won India a gold in discus throw and a silver in swimming.  

Hailing from Bengaluru, this 64-year-old is a social activist, who dedicated his life to helping the disabled. 

Despite the challenges, Dr Rajanna committed himself to empowering others facing similar challenges. His relentless efforts in social service were recognised by the Karnataka Government in 2013, when he became the first disabled Karnataka State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities. 

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Today, as an entrepreneur, he leads a business that employs over 350 people, many of them are persons with disabilities. 

This year, his extraordinary contributions and unwavering commitment were further honoured by President Droupadi Murmu, who conferred him with the prestigious Padma Shri award for exemplary social work.

After receiving the award, he said, “This should not just remain as an award but it should aid me further in my social work. There is no political reservation for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) and I hope that this award prompts the State and Union Government to appoint a PwD as a member of legislative council or the Rajya Sabha. We do not just want sympathy, but the opportunity to exercise our rights.”

Through his relentless efforts, Dr Rajanna has shown that with resilience, courage, and a heart dedicated to service, one can turn personal trials into triumphs.

Edited by Padmashree Pande

The 87-year-old retired anesthesiologist has devoted her post-retirement years to making Indian roads safer. “While many are familiar with road safety protocols and first aid, few know how to perform them effectively,” she said in a conversation with The Better India.

Dr Maya trains people in road safety through her organisation ‘Sahayta Trust’. Working relentlessly for the past three decades, she says she has trained 1,33,000 people in road safety, CRP (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), sequential handling, and protocol dealings with accidents.

With a zeal for life and a passion for working for society — stronger than ever — Dr Maya reflects on her journey and shares what led her to this path.

When saving lives became her mission

Born and raised in Ajmer, Dr Maya was a starry-eyed child who dreamt of doing something great. “Given the times that I was born in, my family was very supportive and liberal. I scored good marks on the school board exams and got admitted to medical school in Ajmer and Delhi,” she recalls.

She grew up in luxury, which allowed her the freedom to choose her own path in life. So she decided to pursue a career in medical science.

“I did my internship in Ajmer, where I met my husband. We decided to get married and moved to Jaipur,” she recalls.

In 1968, Dr Maya gave birth to her son. “After that, I chose to pursue a diploma in anesthesiology because it was a career that I could manage while raising a family. By the time I completed my diploma, I had also given birth to another child, my daughter,” she says.

In 1972, she also did an MS in anaesthesia. “I was also giving lectures on anaesthesia at a medical college in Jaipur where I came across an opportunity. It was a fellowship in London for paediatric anaesthesia. With my family’s support, I was able to attend that,” she says.

After completing her fellowship, she returned to India and began working in Jaipur. “The role of an anesthesiologist is often seen as a behind-the-curtain job. However, for me and in medical sciences, the patient’s life depends on us,” she emphasises, highlighting her deep interest in lifesaving work.

In 1975, she earned the honour of becoming superintendent and spent the rest of her career managing the hospital while serving as the head of anaesthesia at Sawai Man Singh Hospital.

“It was around the time of my retirement in 1985 when the Rajasthan Police Academy in Jaipur contacted me and requested I give a three-day course on road safety and lifesaving. I readily agreed to the request, unaware that it would shape the course of my post-retirement life,” Dr Maya reminisces.

The course was very successful and all the senior officers posted on highways in and around Jaipur were sent to her for yet another course. “A photographer had come to take some pictures of the event. It was a few months later that he rang me up and told me that I had saved his life,” she shares.

The photographer had been in an accident and could feel bleeding in his inner thighs and back. “The people around him were not sure how to help him and were taking pictures of him. He explained someone to lift him and put him in a certain position that slowed the bleeding,” she narrates.

This timely move reduced the blood loss and saved the photographer’s life. “His words and appreciation made me realise the importance of offering such courses. It also revealed the sad reality of the state of road safety in India. Not one of the persons in the crowd knew lifesaving steps,” she says.

With an intention to change the scenario of road safety in India, Dr Maya started the Sahayta Trust. Since then, she has given free courses, seminars, and lectures to over 1,33,000 individuals.

“All these courses are conducted free of charge. The aim is to raise awareness about CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), proper handling techniques, and protocols for dealing with accidents. We also inform participants about the various laws that protect a lifesaver from police investigation,” she explains.

Anil Kumar Gill from Gudha Godji, a small town in Rajasthan, participated in the seminar on road safety. “I was going about my day, working in my shop, when I got to know that a team from Jaipur had reached our small town. I was keen to know what they were sharing and had to try it. We are always aware of the safety threats on the road but attending the seminar helped me understand what can be done to save a life,” he says.

“We were told how we can give CPR and first aid to an injured person. We were also given instructions about who we can contact for help if a person needs to be taken to the hospital. They also told us about the various road safety rules and laws, which I had no idea existed. I think such seminars are very important as there is a lack of awareness in rural areas,” he adds.

How you can help?

Talking about how there is a lack of awareness among bystanders during an accident, she says, “People have a misconception about helping a person who has had an accident. There are clear laws that save the bystanders from any kind of investigation, but there are not many people who know this.”

Pointing out that this lack of awareness brings hesitation in people to help the injured person, she adds, “Even if you can’t give mouth to mouth to a person who has collapsed, say due to heart attack, giving CPR can save their life.”

Explaining what levels of intervention Sahayta Trust does, Dr Maya says, “We have different ways of reaching out to the public. We do seminars both online and offline; we also conduct workshops and classes. Additionally, we also do rallies and street plays to raise awareness.”

The module that the trust follows for the seminars and courses is Maya’s speciality. “In a small course, we prioritise giving them the instructions of what to do in the first 10 seconds,” she informs.

“Check for head injuries and bleeding; once you have secured what the problem is, you can act accordingly. If a person’s lungs and heart are giving out, resorting to CPR is the best way. Time is of the essence when there is internal bleeding. If a person is suffering from cardiac arrest, only an external CPR can help,” she says.

Apart from courses and training, the trust also works with government agencies to ensure that there are emergency services in public places like malls and airports.

The major hurdle that Maya faces is to bring people to attend the workshops. “The Indian public is always in a hurry. It is very hard for them to take time and reach us. We see a low rate of response as they don’t have time to keep visiting our courses,” she says.

“India is leading in road accidents and road deaths. To combat this lack of response, we are working on a model where we train people, especially from rural areas, in lifesaving. And then they reach out to more,” Dr Maya informs.

The trust provides the person with pieces of equipment and mannequins to the ‘Sanjeeva’ (lifesaver), and they, in turn, help us spread the word.

However, Dr Maya Tandon shares that she can use your help to cover the cost of equipment as well as to make our roads safer. Here’s how:

Dr Tandon is always seeking financial assistance to train villagers living near highways, as they are often the first responders to attend to the injured. You can donate here. 

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; All pictures credit: Dr Maya Tandon)

“These girls are capable of extraordinary things and they are just normal human beings who deserve the exact same rights, dignity and opportunities as anyone else on this planet,” says Robin Chaurasiya, co-founder of Kranti, an NGO revolutionising the lives of daughters of sex workers.

One of the girls whose life has changed thanks to Kranti is Sandhya Nair. Raised in Kamathipura, Mumbai, Sandhya is the daughter of a sex worker. Throughout her childhood, she was bullied and shamed in school and outside for her mother’s profession.

Her struggle began right from getting admission into a private school where her mother had to lie about her profession. Being upfront would result in no school admitting the child. As much as her mother tried to shield her, when the school and her classmates realised the truth, life became hell for young Sandhya.

“It started with bullying over my skin colour. They would call me different names, including a ‘black crow’ and more,” she shares. It got so bad that her classmates once pushed her head into a commode as they told her, “You belong here, stay here.”

Teachers too ridiculed her and made her sit on a separate bench at the back. While this abuse continued in school, she was sexually abused at home.

“I was raped multiple times when I was between 10 and 16 years old. My abuser would warn me that if I told anyone about it, no one would believe me. Every time he abused me, he told me that I deserved this. I heard the same thing everywhere that I deserved all the abuse because of my background,” she adds.

Things changed for her when she moved to Kerala in Class 10, away from abuse and a city where no one knew what her mother did several years ago. However, the trauma of the first 14 years of her life led to many difficulties including her studies.

The light in the tunnel appeared for her in the form of a newspaper cutting about Shweta Katti, who became the first girl from an Indian red-light district to secure an international scholarship and study abroad at Bard College in New York. Shweta asked Sandhya to reach out to Robin, who simply asked her to catch the first train and come to Kranti.

Kranti provides shelter, education, support and opportunities for girls between the ages of 12 and 21. The NGO has its own school with six teachers. Learn more about how Kranti turned her life around, along with 27 others:

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Currently, Kranti has moved to a permanent home in Himachal, which can house over 50 girls and is raising funds for the same. If you wish to donate, click on the button below:

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Packaged food has become integral to our lives, whether we like it or not. Therefore, making conscious decisions to opt for packaged foods that won’t pose additional risks is essential. It’s a small step, but it can have a significant impact on our health and well-being.

Recent reports have emphasised the critical importance of carefully reading food labels. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) released dietary guidelines for Indians on May 8, cautioning that the information provided on packaged food labels can often be misleading. “Health claims on packaged food are designed to catch the consumer’s attention and convince them that the product is healthy. Always read food label information to know about the contents inside the pack,” the guidelines state.

Don’t be fooled by labels like ‘healthy’ and ‘no sugar added’. One man who has been trying to decode these food labels and teach Indians how to read them is Revant Himatsingka aka ‘foodpharmer’ on Instagram.

For the past year, this 32-year-old has been leading the charge in promoting health literacy and raising awareness about the importance of reading food labels before making purchases. Through his Instagram page, he has gathered a following of over 2.2 million people.

Having left behind a lucrative Rs 2 crore job on Wall Street, this certified health coach is on a mission to spark a “health revolution” in the country.

“Indians are educated but not health literate. I’m therefore focusing on health literacy, with my major target being children. You should develop healthy habits in children from day one and keep them away from junk to reduce the likelihood of developing health issues later,” shares Revant.

Holding large FMCG conglomerates accountable

Growing up in a 90s Kolkata, Revant had a regular childhood, which included biscuits, packaged foods, and drinks like Bournvita. The young boy was then blissfully unaware of the harmful effects of the food he consumed, like millions of Indians.

He slowly learnt the importance of nutrition over the second decade of his life, which he spent largely in the US. Revant moved to New York for his undergraduate degree in finance and management in 2011. It was also the time that he started taking an interest in food and nutrition, which eventually got cemented with a health coach certification in 2015.

He also started reading food labels carefully during his grocery store runs. “I wanted to eat healthy and started paying more attention to the ingredient list. I soon realised that most companies are saying something on the front of the pack, while the back states a different story. I slowly learnt about the ingredients like the emulsifiers, colours, etc,” he adds.

He was angered when he realised that while the company states that the product is natural, organic, and very good for you, the truth is far from it. This led to intense research on the topic of nutrition and food labels over the past decade of his life.

“I had an interest in creating social impact and looked at various avenues where I could provide help. I realised that health is one of the most important pillars of life, and what we eat directly impacts it. Therefore, I decided to focus on solving this problem in a structured manner,” Revant tells The Better India.

In fact, his desire to create impact first materialised as a self-book called Selfienomics in 2016, which interestingly had information on reading food labels! While he had realised the importance of this topic, it was seven years later that he decided to make it the mission of his life.

Before his ‘Bournvita’ video that led to him becoming a bonafide viral sensation on the internet in April 2023, Revant worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. His stint at the management consulting firm, in many ways, laid the groundwork for his content today. “As a consultant, I often worked on projects in the grocery space, so I know first-hand about the false marketing that takes place,” he adds.

Working in consulting meant solving problems in a structured manner. Revant decided to use this skill to help solve the larger issue — reading and understanding food labels. With this plan in place, he quit his job and returned to India, much to the chagrin of his family.

But he was clear about his mission and took on the baton of teaching Indians what he calls “the most important life skill”. His problem lies with packaged food that masquerades as healthy.

In April 2023, he kicked off his stint as ‘Foodpharmer’ with a video about Bournvita, manufactured by Mondelez. The video highlighted the excessive amount of sugar in the drink, yet calling itself ‘healthy’, adding that it could cause diabetes. The video went viral across social media platforms, leading to legal trouble for the former consultant.

Mondelez sent him a legal notice asking him to take down the video. Left with no choice, Revant took it down and issued a statement. However, he had achieved what he set out to do — create awareness among Indians.

Stay away from sugary drinks 

Despite the legal notice, Cadbury reduced the quantity of added sugar in Bournvita by 14.4 percent in December 2023, validating the content creator’s efforts. The Central Government also directed e-commerce firms to remove Bournvita and other such drinks from the health drinks category.

Another major product that reduced its sugar content by 22 percent was ‘Maggi rich tomato ketchup’. Revant made a video highlighting the fact that the product had more sugar than tomatoes!

These actions have been a shot in the arm for the content creator, who has since educated Indians on many other packaged products. His problem, he says, is with the false marketing by companies, which promise nutrition, strength and more for your child, when actually, it’s just filled with sugar. His problem is not with chocolates or Coke as much as with drinks like Bournvita and biscuits that are fed to children daily.

“We usually have chocolate or Coke on the weekends, but a child is having two glasses of Bournvita per day. Yet, we consider the one glass of Coke a problem, not realising the amount of sugar content in the 14 glasses of bournvita we’ve given our child,” he stresses.

To educate people about sugar consumption, Revant has created a sugarboard, which shows the amount of sugar in popular soft drinks. This has been replicated across many schools, ensuring that children stay away from these drinks.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Revant Himatsingka (@foodpharmer)

He’s now also working with experts to include nutrition in school curriculums.

From earning Rs 2 crore to zero

While the 32-year-old has been relentless in his pursuit of making Indians ‘health literate’, there have been numerous challenges. Imagine quitting a Rs 2 crore job in the US and coming back to legal notices and legal fees.

Just like any other family would react, his family too thinks that coming back to uncertainty was a “crazy decision”.

Since he hasn’t done sponsored posts so far, Revant has not been able to monetise his content creation on Instagram, he shares. But he has been slapped with more than five legal notices from Multinational corporations (MNCs), leading to massive legal fees.

The support and change he’s seen in his followers is what keeps him going, he shares. “People are now questioning the need to give these so-called ‘health’ drinks to children. They have started reading labels, and that is my biggest victory. Companies too have been pressured to change their packaging and sugar content,” he adds.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Revant Himatsingka (@foodpharmer)

While he agrees that changing existing products would be difficult, he hopes that new startups will carefully select the ingredients they add to their offerings.

To educate even more people, he has started a health movement called ‘Label Padhega India’ (India will read labels), where he’s partnered with celebrities and influencers to spread the word.

“If the majority of us start reading labels, companies will be forced to stop false marketing and start giving us better quality food. Let us all unite and transform India from the diabetes capital of the world to the health capital of the world,” reads the slogan of the movement.

Even as he goes all guns blazing against conglomerates and forces them to rethink their packaging, he urges parents to teach children the art of ‘decoding’ food labels. “The most important skill in the 21st century is not coding, it’s decoding,” he remarks.

Edited by Pranita Bhat; Images Courtesy Revant Himatsingka

How many species of flora do you think reside within this 25-acre land? Take a guess.  

“Over 850 species and counting,” reveals Chaturvedi. In this forest-like ecosystem that he has spent the last few years cultivating, bamboo and cactus befriend each other, while crickets, butterflies and insects stop by to pay their respects to the honeysuckle. The air is crisp and the walk is therapeutic for Chaturvedi, who pauses to put his experience into words; then proceeds to say that they won’t do justice.  

Who is most taken aback by Chaturvedi’s optimistic view are the naysayers who were convinced that this particular posting in the highlands of Uttarakhand would be a test of the IFS officer’s patience. Their discouragement, and the fact that most of Chaturvedi’s predecessors had detested being in charge of the god-forsaken area, made the officer sceptical. 

The harsh terrain, coupled with the remoteness of the place, did nothing to ease his woes. 

But in the nine years since he assumed the role of conservator of forest research (Chaturvedi was promoted to head of the wing in 2020), this terrain evolved into a blessing. As Chaturvedi and his team discovered, not only was it a favourable home for Nainital’s ‘miracle plant’ Patwa, but also a host of other plant species that are in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red list and classified as ‘threatened’ by Uttarakhand board. 

The team has been working closely to conserve plant habitats and protect them from illegal trade. They are also innovating ways to grow them in their natural habitats and in their research centres as well. The goal is to scale these plant populations at their original sites.

While today, Chaturvedi’s work in this domain is being applauded, in 2015, his path looked very different. That same year, The Better India highlighted the officer’s scope of work in the field of anti-corruption. Impressive and courageous though the operations were, they resulted in chargesheets, suspension orders, low gradings in Annual Performance Reports (APAR), dismissals and frequent transfers. 

The objective was always the same: to halt Chaturvedi’s crackdown on corruption. 

But with a firm belief in the fact that “for true democracy to prevail, adhering by the rule of law was the way forward”, Chaturvedi never backed down. And in 2015 he was awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for emergent leadership. 

A leader then and now, the Uttar Pradesh native has prided himself on displaying integrity even in the most sticky spots. Early on, he resolved never to see transfers as a punishment. “Every transfer is part of your career and as a servant of your nation, it is your duty to do it with utmost commitment and professionalism,” he had said five years ago. 

Today, not only has he stayed true to those words, but has found purpose in his work here in the Haldwani area. 

Blazing a trail in conservation 

As head of the research wing of the forest department which focuses on the conservation of threatened plant species, the 50-year-old officer is at the helm of biodiversity protection. 

“This is crucial in this area. Uttarakhand has over 43 types of different forests and three major agro-climate zones: tropical, temperate and alpine. The altitude of the place ranges from 300 m up to the 6,800 m high Nanda Devi Peak. As you can see, the flora here experiences a very diverse climate.” 

The unique geography of the region has promoted the growth of endemic plant species (species which are found in a particular geographical area and not anywhere else in the world). “By nature, these plant species that thrive here are classified as ‘threatened’ or ‘critically endangered’ because of the specific habitat they require,” Chaturvedi explains. 

The scope of his work includes identifying these ‘endangered’ plant species and then charting out a survival guide for them. 

While the conservation of the Patwa plant has brought Chaturvedi’s work to the fore, he emphasises that it is one of the many plant species his team is working on. “Each of them has unique medicinal properties and is found on challenging terrain.” 

And while the job is tough, Chaturvedi has a stellar team backing him. One of his junior research fellows and “brilliant minds”, Manoj Singh, shares the intricate process they follow to conserve these plant species. 

“We identify the plants based on their family and genus, then proceed to collect their specimens.”

However, some factors play spoilsport to this — illegal trade, growth of invasive species, and wildlife feasting on the fallen fruits and seeds. “When the birds eat these seeds and fruits, it disturbs the natural regeneration of the plant. There is no chance of a new crop.” 

Singh and Chaturvedi lead the team to collect these fruits and seeds and take them back to the centre where they conduct experiments to cultivate these plants through vegetative propagation. 

“The terrain, weather and climate are challenging,” Singh points out. “Especially when, after restoration, we proceed to rehabilitate the plants back in their natural environments. While these altitudes are conducive for their growth, it is a tough terrain for us to access.” 

Chaturvedi adds that they zero in on the plant species after thorough research through Vedic literature as well as the IUCN lists. Once they demarcate the areas where the plants thrive — taking care not to publicise it too much — they take the GPS coordinates of the place and in the months that follow, conduct studies on the plants.

One of the plant species conserved is the Himalayan Gentian (Gentiana Kurroo), a striking blue-coloured flower, that has highly medicinal roots. 

“This is why it has been subjected to excessive over-exploitation and is on the verge of extinction,” says Chaturvedi, adding that the plant’s ability to treat liver problems makes it a target of trade. “Due to the efforts of the Research Wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department, approximately 600 Himalayan Gentian specimens have been successfully conserved across three different regions in the state.”

The Atis (Aconitum heterophyllum) is another high-value medicinal herb endemic to the Himalayan region, whose roots have the power to treat various ailments such as fever, malarial fever, cough, cold, colic, and headache. Another sought-after plant is the Golden Himalayan Spike (Eremostachys superba), whose root is given to lactating cattle to boost the production of milk. 

“One of the most prized plant species is the Jatamansi (Nardostachys jatamansi). It has valerenic acid and valerinone which make it an excellent source of the drug valerian, a top-selling herbal supplement. The rhizome and the oil extracted from it are used in the perfumery and cosmetic industry,” Chaturvedi explains. 

Some of the other plant species under the purview of the forest department are Lilium Polyphyllum whose tubers are abundant in steroids; Mitha Vish (Aconitum balfourii) whose dried tubers are used in the treatment of rheumatism, fever, gastric disorders, swelling and sciatica; Naagchatri (Trillium govanianum) whose roots contain potent steroids; Tamil palm (Trachycarpus takil) which is one of the few palm species that survives in frost and snow; Tree Fern which is said to be a living fossil as it has recorded geological and environmental changes since ancient times and was a primary food source for dinosaurs due to the starch content of its stems. 

Along with this, there’s also Tumri (Pittosporum eriocarpum) which is used as fuelwood; Van Satuva (Paris polyphylla) whose rhizomes are anthelmintic, antispasmodic, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory and of course, Patwa. 

A miracle in the forest 

The Meizotropis pellita plant traces a route through the narrow stretches of the Nainital and Champawat districts and is concentrated at the hillock ‘Patwadanger’ from which it derives its name. 

Chaturvedi adds, “In 2012-2013, a small demonstration plot of 0.50 hectares was established in the Sariyatal nursery, where 500 saplings developed from seeds were planted. Currently, approximately 490 plants survive in this area, with a survival percentage of 98 percent.” 

The plant within itself holds great possibility due to the soil binding properties of the root system, a characteristic that could prove useful in minimising soil runoff from hill slopes. Add to this the antioxidant properties possessed by the plant’s roots, stems and leaves, and it is a golden foliage. “Currently, there are 800 Patwa plants that are thriving,” Chaturvedi notes. 

Illegal trade has been the biggest contributing factor to the slow death of this miracle plant. Highlighting the problem, Chaturvedi says, the plant habitats bordering Tibet and Nepal lead to a surge in cases. But even as he adds that cracking down on these cases lies beyond his jurisdiction, he is reminded of a childhood anecdote. 

“If you want to shorten an existing line, just draw a bigger line next to it.” 

To this end, Chaturvedi learnt early on that the only way to ensure that the plant species of Uttarakhand thrived despite all odds was to ensure their propagation was amped up. “Since day one, we have made it our motto that if there are 100 plants in the initial habitat, we will grow 500 in our centres.” Currently, 2,200 endemic plant species are being conserved across the forest wing’s seven centres. 

Through his term in the forests of Uttarakhand, Chaturvedi has also been instrumental in developing India’s first moss garden in Nainital which boasts around 90 different types of moss species, an open-air fernery in Ranikhet with 200 different types of ferns and a grass conservatory in Ranikhet with more than 100 grass species. 

“We always underestimate the importance of grasses, but the latest research shows them to be more effective in carbon sequestration than trees because they store carbon in their roots instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.”

But Chaturvedi shies away from accepting applause. In fact, he says, if there is anyone that deserves the praise it is Mother Nature. “I have huge respect for her. She has designed each and everything in such a connected manner; every moss, every lichen, every insect, every pollinator. They are all so beautifully interconnected with each other that if you take out even one string, the entire chain will be disturbed.”

Edited by Padmashree Pande.

Ishita is a student enrolled at Pathshala, a foundation led by Juin Datta in Vadodara. This organisation is committed to offering free education to underprivileged children, particularly those from migrant workers’ families.

“We offer a comprehensive range of essentials to our students here — from quality education, shelter, food, and clothing to promising opportunities for the future,” she says. “There’s no stigma attached to joining school late because we operate differently from conventional schools.”

Working on the principles of project-based learning, the school eschews traditional grading systems in favour of levels. “For instance, I might be at Level 4 for Gujarati but Level 8 for math. Age isn’t a determining factor here; what truly matters is your willingness to learn,” Ishita explains to The Better India.

Ishita is just one of the 97 children residing in the hostel provided by the Pathshala Foundation. The majority of them hail from migrant worker families unable to afford quality education. Thanks to Juin’s efforts, these children now have access to opportunities for a brighter future.

More than just a ‘Pathshala’ (school) 

Pathshala’s journey began a decade ago as a mobile initiative providing free education. Juin elaborates on the inception of this initiative and recounts her decade-long endeavour.

“We were a bunch of chatty ladies,” says Juin, recalling 2013, when the idea first came to her. “I was a school teacher back then and would get together with some friends from my community to have raving discussions about the world.”

The group of friends Juin refers to was a mix of teachers and other professionals who would meet periodically. “After one of such discussions, I realised that we were merely talking and not doing anything beyond that. As we were a bunch of teachers, we decided to do what we knew best — teach. So we started to go to a construction site and start teaching kids of the workers for free,” she adds.

The response to their efforts was good, so the group divided their efforts and started to teach in three different locations in Vadodara. “Within some months, from a dozen kids, we went to teaching hundreds. But the problem was that every six months, these workers would move and hence the kids would be left with no education,” she says.

It was one of the students’ mothers who requested Juin to take her child under her wing and provide education as they were to migrate once more. Inspired by it, in 2014, Juin decided to resign from her job and dedicate herself to assisting underprivileged children.

“This was how the idea of a hostel was born. A very kind philanthropist from the city helped us to get a property for rent,” she says.

“The free residential school operates, unlike traditional institutions, employing a unique educational model,” Juin explains. “Given the diverse backgrounds of our students, some of whom commence their education later in life, we’ve adopted a levelled system of instruction. In our approach, a student’s level in a particular subject is determined by their proficiency rather than their age, ensuring no one feels misplaced or ashamed for joining later.”

“We also prioritise sports and project-based activities, offering opportunities for learning beyond the conventional curriculum, such as painting, judo, and karate,” she adds.

Juin goes on to explain the entire process of how a student is assigned a particular lever and how they navigate the system.

“When a child joins Pathshala, we assess their current knowledge and comprehension abilities in languages and mathematics. Based on this evaluation, we place them in appropriate levels corresponding to their proficiency. Consequently, each child studies at different levels for various subjects. Upon completion of Level 5, a student becomes equivalent to be eligible to sit for Class 8,” she informs.

From Class 8 to 12, the school adheres to the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) syllabus, she adds.

Students take psychometric tests to discover their career inclinations, guiding their subject choices when they enter Class 8. This personalised method ensures their interests and strengths are considered. Alongside languages and math, students explore diverse subjects through practical experiences and research.

“For instance, recently, the students completed a board game project where they designed and created their own board games, complete with unique rules. Students are encouraged to delve deeply into subjects of their choosing and conduct in-depth studies according to their interests,” she explains.

Ameen, who is currently living in Pathshala hostel and has been with Juin for over four years, shares his perspective, “The most enriching aspect of our education is a class where we learn without textbooks. We select a topic, discuss it, and learn from each other and our teachers. Moreover, our educators stress on understanding concepts deeply rather than just memorisation.”

A second chance at life 

“While these kids have a safe place here to thrive, the reality of their lives still lingers,” says Jui.

She continues, “Many hail from Uttar Pradesh and travel frequently, leaving their children under my care. Yet, upon returning to their homes, these children confront challenges they shouldn’t have to face at such tender ages.”

She recalls a distressing incident during their summer vacation when she encountered one of her students begging on the streets. “Most of the children who stay with us leave for summer vacations to their homes. While we try to give them the best life here, the reality of the poverty they were born into hits hard. It was during one of these vacation days that I saw one of my students begging. It was heart-wrenching, and I felt upset. I spoke to their parents, but the mother simply told me, ‘How will they eat if they don’t beg?’” she shares.

That’s when Juin realised the stark contrast the children experience in their transition from hostel to home. It stressed the gravity of her work, as it dawned upon her that good education serves as their only ticket to breaking the cycle of poverty.

Further reflecting on the issue of hunger, Juin says, “I once had a conversation with a young boy under our care who confessed that chewing gutka (tobacco) helped curb his hunger. That statement shattered me. I couldn’t begin to comprehend the mental anguish that boy endured.”

She adds, “This is what the foundation aims to fight. It is not just about educating them but also making them independent.”

Juin explains that once the children are prepared to leave Pathshala, she assists them in acquiring vocational education to secure employment or gain admission to college for further education. “This is the only way we can ensure that these children have a good life not just at the hostel but beyond it too,” says Juin.

Juin also informs that they have implemented initiatives like ‘Udyam’ for skill development training and ‘Unnati’ for hands-on entrepreneurial training.

“Our policy is to support them until they achieve economic independence. Pathshala is fundamentally a value-based institution, dedicated to nurturing children’s happiness in life,” she shares.

Sejal Verma (21), one of the few students who have completed their education and moved out of the hostel, shares, “I’m currently working part-time and earning enough to support myself. I’m also pursuing a course at ITI Vadodara. However, none of this would have been possible if I hadn’t gained admission to Pathshala on time. I had passed my Class 8 exam from a Government school but did not know how to read the alphabet!”

“In many ways, I restarted my education at Pathshala. Once I completed my boards, they helped me get admitted into ITI, and I still visit the hostel. It feels like home to me, and I keep visiting the children on various occasions like festivals and school functions,” she adds.

‘We rely on the kindness of humans’ 

“We had only seven children with us when we started, and now, we have grown to 97 kids,” says Juin.

It was when she observed the number of children growing in the hostel that she decided to move to a bigger place. “We only had around one and a half lakh rupees on hand and were searching for funds. But our motivation to help these kids kept us going. Fortunately, we encountered generous individuals who were willing to support us. The person who rented us the initial hostel also helped us acquire the land,” she says.

Recalling the kindness of people around her, she adds, “There were times when we did not have enough money to pay for the construction. The construction leader would come up to me and say the money will come, you focus on getting the building constructed.”

Juin emphasises that it has been with the help of such people that the hostel continues to thrive. She says, “We get donations which we rely on to earmark a yearly budget. This has allowed us to hire professional teachers and not just work with volunteers to provide the students with consistency in learning.”

“Even today, the place runs solely on the kindness of people,” she remarks.

Transforming the lives of these children doesn’t have to be Juin’s solitary journey. You too can help to educate the 97 children under her care. Sponsor one child’s education for just Rs 2,000 per year. Your donation will cover their NIOS and board exam fees.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; All pictures credit: Anisha Roy)

After hearing her out on the phone, Dr Alam shouts out instructions to someone: “We need to move fast.” A few minutes later, the roaring of an engine is indicative of a boat preparing to head to its next destination. As the white vessel powers through the waters of the Sundarbans (one of the largest mangrove forests in the world located in West Bengal), the team inside — the doctor, a nurse, an x-ray technician, a lab technician, a pharmacist — busy themselves keeping medicines and equipment handy.

Elaborating on the unique concept, “In a month, we treat 34,578 patients in total,” Dr Alam tells The Better India, shying away from taking credit for this massive volume. “There are four boats in total and the schedule for each is set every Monday. Throughout the week, we travel across the 30 islands of the Sundarbans, covering six blocks in the North and 13 in the South. On Sundays, we return to the mainland where we stock up on supplies, medicines, rest and recharge for the next week.”

Dr Alam has been doing this for the last 10 years. In fact, he was one of the first doctors to be appointed by the couple Mohammed Abdul Wohab and Sabitri Pal — the founding members of the SHIS Foundation (Southern Health Improvement Samity) started in 1980 — when Wohab, a lawyer, and Pal, a teacher, bonded over their intentions to champion change in their community.

‘People were dying in front of my eyes’

380 mm of rainfall in 24 hours.

West Bengal hasn’t been able to forget 27 September 1978. Thousands died, starved and were left homeless as the torrential rain washed away entire houses. Wohab, who lived in Howrah at the time, recalls the harrowing ordeal. “It was heartbreaking to watch people and their cattle drowning in the water. All around, flood victims were taking shelter in other’s homes and schools, and even climbing up trees to avoid drowning.”

No one knew what the next week, much less the next few days, would bring. It was in this chaos that Wohab watched as a man, who seemed like a foreigner, was rowing his boat through the floodwater, distributing food packets to people. This attracted the lawyer who was working as secretary to a village-level governing body at the time.

As he would soon learn, the man was Grandjean Gaston, a nurse from Switzerland. “Brother Gaston had been battling a heart condition and had decided to dedicate his life to the poor in India,” Wohab explains. He wanted to follow suit.

And so, that year, inspired by Gaston’s story, the couple decided to recalibrate their plans; and moved back to their hometown in Bhangar, South 24 Parganas. The goal of this move was simple: Spot areas where their communities lacked resources and bridge those gaps.

As the flood waters began to recede, they left behind many challenges for the residents of West Bengal. The chill in the air and the bacteria breeding in the murky waters had only added to the existing battle against tuberculosis (TB) that the community was fighting.

“People were dying in front of our eyes,” Wohab recalls. “It often started with a cough and before the person knew it, they were detected with TB. As we spoke to people in the neighbourhood, we understood that almost 50 percent of people with chest problems did not go for a checkup until they started vomiting blood. And once they reached this stage, it was, more often than not, too late. We also found that there were only three doctors in the Sundarbans at that time and more than three lakh patients.”

The couple wanted to help. They had heard about doctors in Kolkata who were distributing medicines for free. “Sabitri and I started making trips to these clinics to collect the medicine samples which we distributed in a small room that a tea shop owner had lent to us. Through the weeks, people from across Sundarban islands would come to get an antidote to tuberculosis, cold, cough and fever.”

But when the patient numbers began to surge to an overwhelming peak, the couple was faced with the challenge of switching gears yet again.

It was around this time that French writer, Dominique Lapierre, was documenting the life of Gaston for his upcoming novel. When Gaston relayed the story of Wohab and Pal and their work to Lapierre, he was impressed. In the next few months, the couple was looking at four fully-equipped boats and two mobile emergency ambulances — Lapierre’s gift to their cause.

And that is how the SHIS Foundation’s Boat Clinic was born.

The last 43 years have witnessed the couple extending the foundation’s reach by including many programmes under its ambit. These include a tuberculosis control programme, an eye care hospital, a school for girls, a centre for disabled children to learn, and skill development programmes for the women of the Sundarbans.

A clinic that comes to your doorstep

Dr Alam elaborates on the joys of this unique work setup; even as the fluctuating call network suggests the remote locations he has to head to for consultations. “I won’t disagree that it is challenging. But for those of us who have grown up in the Sundarbans, there is no greater joy than treating our patients.”

He recalls one of his recent cases of a pregnant woman. “We gave her primary treatment in the boat clinic but she needed immediate attention. Since we do not undertake serious medical cases in the boat clinic, I referred her to the nearest Government hospital. We arranged for local transport to get her there and she delivered a healthy baby.” It is stories like these that make him smile. 

While pregnancy cases top the charts, the other cases include young couples wishing to begin their family planning, women seeking help with oral contraceptives, patients who need stitches and dressing for their injuries, and those who need antibiotics. Running a clinic set up in the constricted space of a boat is not ideal, but the terrain makes it the only option feasible.

Each boat clinic includes two medical beds, a mobile X-ray, a small pathological unit, a medical store room, and an oxygen cylinder. 

Since its inception, eight lakh patients have been helped by this innovation. As Wohab explains, nothing is voluntary. The doctors and all medical technicians appointed for the boats are paid a salary. “This is to ensure that it is a continuation of service and the patients will not be stranded.”

It is heartwarming to watch a community that was once starved of medical attention now on the path to better healthcare services. But bringing about this radical change hasn’t been a day’s job, notes Wohab, as he dives into the setting up of the SHIS Foundation, and how he and Pal transcended the obstacles that showed up.

Investing resources: both financial and emotional

Spread across 1,40,000 hectares at the confluence of the deltas of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers, the Sundarban mangrove forest sees a heavy intersection of tidal waterways and islands. While this is a picture of a perfect ecosystem it also means tough commuting for the locals. The people of the delta must walk for hours to avail of any facility.

But since 1980, when Wohab and Pal started the SHIS Foundation, they have been trying to bring these services to the people’s doorsteps. Today, their resilience is reflected in the many programmes helmed by the foundation.

One of these is the tuberculosis control programme. The key objective of this project is to create demand and social support for TB diagnosis and improve access to diagnosis and treatment of TB through Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) — the tuberculosis control strategy recommended by the World Health Organisation.

Through its clinics and volunteer base, SHIS is attempting to help hinder the progression of tuberculosis right at the onset. Wohab shares that the programme is one of their biggest chapters aside from the boat clinics. “More than 40,000 people have been able to manage their TB through the medicines that we provide them.” He adds that they procure these medicines from the Government for free.

Another project is the community delivery centres, through which SHIS ensures that expectant mothers have a safe, compassionate and nurturing environment where they can deliver their babies. Currently, three community centres are operated at Bayermari in Sandeshkhali, Jumainaskar in Kakdwip Block, and Rakhalpur in Patharpratima Block. Each centre has all the necessary medical equipment for a smooth delivery and a stabilisation unit.

The eyecare hospital is another project where SHIS is seeing success. In compliance with NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals) standards, the hospital provides great quality eye treatment to the poor in Sundarbans. This includes checkups, glaucoma management, intra-ocular lens implants, eye camps, etc.

In addition to this, the foundation has helped rehabilitate 44 dacoits and thieves, and engage them in skill development. In an attempt to restore women’s sense of agency, they have secured loans for women who wish to start a self-help group and earn a living. Their initiative for deaf and mute children encourages them to study, and some of them have even graduated, says Wohab. They also have a centre where girls are taught and helped to complete their school and college education. “Over 700 children have been helped in total and many of them have secured Government jobs,” Wohab adds.

The educational endeavours are based on the belief that the youth of the Sundarbans are bubbling with creativity that mustn’t be stifled. These programmes are a step towards helping these children to channel their talents in a constructive direction.

Each time the couple has encountered adversity — sometimes with diminishing funds, other times with the climate playing spoilsport — they are reminded of why they started. From a humble initiative in a tea shop, the foundation has evolved into a place where new possibilities are given space to grow.

If you’d like to support them with funds, here’s a link with the details.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

In a bungalow in the heart of the city’s Chembur suburb, a group of people are gathered around the breakfast table, their eyes puffy and swollen. Sleep has been elusive. 

When little Vanshika felt ill following her chemotherapy session, it wasn’t only her mother who stayed up through the night. The others all chipped in. Thus the tired eyes.  

This morning, everyone’s glad that Vanshika is feeling better. As breakfast is doled onto their plates, the stress of the last few days lies forgotten. 

At first glance, anyone would assume the group is a ‘close-knit’ family. “You can call them that,” says Ankeet Dave, one-half of the duo that started Access Life in 2014. 

Since its inception, the not-for-profit organisation has been providing multidisciplinary supportive care to families who leave their homes to head to various hospitals across the country for their child’s cancer treatment which often spans months or years. 

During this time, Access Life’s eight centres — three in Mumbai and one each in Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Bengaluru and Manipal — witness love at its best, notes Girish Nair, the other half of the duo behind this noble initiative. 

“It is beautiful to watch the lines between religion, language and caste blur, as the families unite to fight one battle against a faceless opponent. The topmost priority is the recovery of the children. Everything else comes secondary,” he notes. 

Girish and Ankeet see relief etched on the parent’s faces when they are told that they will be sharing the space with others going through the same ordeal. It is an undoubted anaesthetic to what would otherwise be a lonely and harrowing experience.  

Take for example Vanshika’s mother. 

Once wrought with fear when her daughter would develop chills and fever during her chemotherapy sessions, she now consoles the other mothers. “It is just the medicines taking a toll. It will pass off,” she can be heard saying. 

Meanwhile, Vanshika is a little ray of hope to the other children in the early stages of cancer treatment. They return her smile. If she could get better, they know they will too. 

For many families like Vanshika’s, the centre has been a staunch support through their toughest times. When they arrived in Mumbai for the first time in December 2023, their minds were clouded with uncertainty. 

It was surreal to think that just a year-and-a-half ago, their lives had been a picture of happiness when Vanshika was born. But this joy had been substituted with worry ever since her mother spotted a slight swelling on the one-year-old’s stomach. A host of doctor’s appointments awaited them. Each claimed the same thing — Vanshika had a tumour. She needed surgery. 

The “life-altering” diagnosis saw the family head to the famed Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. The hospital provides excellent treatment to cancer patients at a subsidised rate, making it the first choice of many. 

This high turnover means parents often have to wait for hours to get their child a consultation. Bear in mind that these are people who have left their lives in rural India behind and do not have a place to live. Like them, Vanshika’s family knew that in all probability the sidewalk outside the hospital would be their home for the next few months. 

But then a social worker told them about a bungalow in Chembur which would host them for free. To date, the family stands indebted to Ankeet and Girish for giving them a roof and so much love as they dealt with life’s curveballs. 

It all began with a thought  

The story of Access Life is a corollary of the ‘butterfly effect’, you’d agree. In 2012, a finance management professional (Girish) and a media professional (Ankeet) met during a project. The Mumbai-based duo soon became fast friends. 

Their conversations revolved around doing something in the volunteering space and it was during one of their visits to a paediatric cancer hospital that Girish and Ankeet saw month-old babies being administered heavy chemotherapy drugs. 

This “eye-opening” experience fuelled in them a desire to reach out. “We just wanted to do something nice for children who had cancer,” Girish shares. While donating beds and helping with funds was initially what they considered, an interaction with a social worker introduced them to a much larger issue that needed attention — housing. 

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She pointed to the scores of people who opt for a nomadic lifestyle outside the hospital while their kids undergo treatment. “They don’t have any other option,” she said. The duo was appalled. As Girish points out, “This shouldn’t be the case. Chemotherapy significantly compromises the immunity of the children. Imagine living on the street during a time when they should be given utmost care. It increases the chances of secondary infection.” 

Further conversations with these families revealed that these uncomfortable living conditions compound their other stresses, eventually leading to them abandoning the treatment altogether. 

“If only there were a place for these parents to live while their children recovered.” 

And with this thought, Access Life was born. 

The idea of doing something so noble was exhilarating. But Ankeet and Girish hadn’t accounted for their lack of knowledge in the development sector. “As we began to understand, it wasn’t going to be as easy as renting out a place for these people to live and then going back to our jobs,” Ankeet says. 

This first dawned on the duo when their request for a space was met with a series of rejections. But they kept knocking on doors until nine months later, one finally opened. Today, the Gurunanak Centre in Chembur is still operational and the one they are most proud of. 

One would wonder how two guys in their thirties — a phase of life when one is getting settled — raised funds for a non-profit. “Girish sold one of the flats he owned,” Ankeet says, noting that his friend shies away from mentioning this. 

Eight families find their home 

Through the years the Access Life centres have been privy to miracles. They watch closely as bonds are formed, and friendships are forged as children get better and go home. As new families arrive, they continue to hope that life will be as kind to their child. 

Currently, 140 families live across the centres while a total of 2,000 kids have benefitted through Access Life’s initiatives. No matter how tough the day has been with chemotherapy sessions and drug trials filling their schedules, the parents and children look forward to the evenings. 

Laughter and joy stop by at the centre, sometimes in the form of events that are held, other times in the form of toys and games that are distributed. 

Disease does not dictate the terms at these centres, hope does. 

It is heartwarming, Ankeet and Girish express, that the parents who were once lost in the chaos, are now confident that they can overcome anything. The duo urge them to make themselves at home and recall the initial days of setting up — figuring out which utensils they must have; which amenities are needed and finding a caretaker as well. It was a learning curve, not just for the duo but also for the families. 

“They come from different parts of rural India where they cook using firewood. Some of them have never operated a gas. So, we had to teach them how to do it,” says Ankeet. The duo still recall when on the first day, one parent enquired if there was farmland nearby. “Obviously, there wasn’t. We then understood that he wanted to relieve himself but didn’t know how to use the bathroom in the house, which we quickly taught him.” 

A safe space for the little bravehearts  

The families settled in and the friend duo was happy that accommodation was a big load taken off their minds. But, the months ahead revealed the necessity of a holistic solution. In time, they began supplying groceries to the centre, encouraging the families to cook according to their dietary and regional preferences and also launched the transport arm of Access Life.

Elaborating on this, Ankeet says, “We realised that these families did not have enough money to go to and fro from the hospital to the centre. While they would resort to public transport, this wasn’t ideal for the children who were undergoing chemotherapy.” 

Today, their private vehicles ensure the children and their parents can travel in comfort. 

While the families are cared for well here, it is important to note that they have a life waiting for them back in their respective villages. What happens to that? 

This is where Access Life’s Emotional and Psychological Support (EPS) programme comes in. It equips families with practical ways to deal with the distress created by the disease. It’s about keeping the children engaged with educational sessions so that they don’t miss out on school, and teaching the parents new skills that could be a source of livelihood when they return to their respective hometowns after their child’s long treatment, the duo explains. 

Pointing to one example, Ankeet recalls the example of a parent who used to run a puri bhajiya (a fast food stall) stall in Siliguri, West Bengal. 

“When he came to live at our centre for his child’s treatment (which lasted six months), he had to sell his cart back home. He was worried about what would happen to his livelihood. But during his time here, he learnt how to make vada pav and started selling! The business was a huge success,” he adds. 

Girish pitches in with another heartwarming story. “One of the parents was a soldier who quit and came to our Mumbai centre when his child was admitted. But in the weeks that followed, he saw how well his son was being cared for at the centre. That enabled him to go back to his duty peacefully.” 

While the duo encourages both parents to stay with the child at the centre, they are aware that this is not always possible and are always willing to make exceptions. “If there is a family that has two kids and one is admitted here and the other is an infant, we ask the family to bring both kids so they can all live here,” Girish shares. They go to great lengths to ensure that the comfort of the families trumps everything else. 

As they navigate this challenge, it is reassuring to know that someone is looking out for them. 

Cancer warrants a certain trepidation, a certain tiptoeing, a certain foreboding. But the laughter and happy chatter at the Access Life centres, disagree. For anyone looking in, there is only hope to be found here. 

You can donate to their cause, here.

Edited by Padmashree Pande.

“I remember it vividly,” I tell the co-founder of ‘Rang De’, a social peer-to-peer lending platform in India. 

His question has opened a door down memory lane for me. On one of those many school picnics at the Maharashtra hill station, my classmates and I were awed not just by the postcard-worthy landscapes, but also by the fact that these glorious hills were vehicle-free.   

A deep dive into this subject led to unearthing the history of Matheran. Its status as an eco-sensitive zone since February 2003 meant ambulances were the only vehicles allowed to ply beyond the point that connected Neral (the town at the base of Matheran) to Dasturi Naka. 

Invest in an e-rickshaw and help hand rickshaw pullers today!

And no one could be heard complaining. The famed narrow gauge toy train, obliging horses and hand-drawn carts meant two things — less pollution and great experiences. 

Discovered by Hugh Poyntz Malet, the district collector of Thane in May 1850, Matheran was developed as a hill station by Lord Elphinstone, the then Governor of Bombay. It was seen as an ideal getaway where people could head to beat the heat. 

Since then its appeal hasn’t dimmed one bit. But while it is easy to get lost in the landscapes dotted with vintage modes of transport, the back-breaking ordeal that the hand-rickshaw-pullers go through every day beckons attention.  

And this is what Sunil Shinde, a retired teacher from Matheran, was advocating for in 2019. 

Having worked in Mumbai for 30 years, Shinde went back home only to watch his friends engaged in pulling rickshaws. The contrast between their standards of living was evident. In an attempt to do something, Shinde, who had heard about e-rickshaws in Delhi, decided to pitch this as a solution to the Matheran Municipality. 

However, he was told that he would have to approach higher authorities. The following years were fraught with court visits and appeals until in 2022, a three-judge bench of the SC conceded to have e-rickshaws in the hill station.

Following the success of the pilot project between 5 December 2022 and 4 March 2023, where the Municipal Council deployed seven e-rickshaws to ferry over 50,000 people, the SC allowed the experiment to continue. However, in January 2024 a corollary was added that the current hand-rickshaw-pullers would operate the e-rickshaws. 

This has since been a boon for the community in Matheran. 

Now, you can step in to be their ray of hope while also doing your bit to champion alternate energy options. This will ensure that the beauty of a hill station that evokes nostalgia in so many of us is preserved. 

The project falls under the ambit of Rang De’s many social undertakings. Started by Ram and his wife, Smita, in their forties — who moved back to India from the UK in 2008 — the peer-to-peer model invites individuals to invest in farmers, artisans, entrepreneurs and small business owners from rural communities. People can choose to invest as much as Rs 100 or more into a state, fund or individual of their choice. 

What’s better? The loan is transferred to the investee’s account and is repaid with interest! 

Invest in an e-rickshaw and help hand rickshaw pullers today!

Bankers to the underbanked 

In 2006, the world erupted with admiration for Muhammad Yunus who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Known as a “banker to the poor”, it was Yunus’ revolutionary microcredit system that earned him the moniker. According to an article in BBC, the endeavour is estimated to have extended credit to more than seven million of the world’s poor, most of them in Bangladesh. 

What adds to the significance of Yunus’ work is that the people he helped are those that traditional banks turned their backs on. A high risk of default, coupled with lending tiny loans at reasonable interest, formed the basis for the banks’ reluctance. 

But, the way Yunus saw it, all these people needed was a chance. And so, the social entrepreneur went on to start a full-fledged bank for Bangladesh’s poor, The Grameen Bank, which saw the poor as creditworthy.  

The design of this internationally-acclaimed model made it to Yunus’ book ‘Creating a World Without Poverty’. And when Ram laid hands on it in 2006, he couldn’t put it down. 

“According to the ‘Little Data Book on Financial Inclusion 2022 (a pocket edition of the Global Findex Database), India is behind Bangladesh when it comes to access to credit,” Ram points out. “Add to this the high rate of interest and we began to ask ourselves why not do something similar in our country.” The couple saw a P2P model as having a dual vantage — it would be profitable and sustainable for communities. 

“We saw it as bridging the empathy gap that we have in the country,” he adds. “Not only would the micro-credit system be a great alternative to traditional credit, but it would also allow, unlike other investments, for the person who is “investing” to know who he is helping.” 

“It would help them witness in real-time the impact that they are having on someone’s life and livelihood,” he says.

The couple believed something “magical” would come out of such an initiative; something that surpassed money. As they look back on the journey of disbursing over Rs 154,22,50,680 in the 16 years that they have been active, they say it has exceeded their expectations of the power of a project of this scope.  

And one of their most recent projects is empowering the rickshaw community in Matheran. 

Not a crowdfunding campaign   

Simply put, the ‘Matheran e-Auto Rickshaw Fund’ lets you invest in hand-rickshaw-pullers in Matheran, enabling them to upgrade to e-rickshaws and earn higher incomes. 

This credit will ensure them a life away from the drudgery and hard work of pulling rickshaws throughout the day, on the mud roads of Matheran. The money will be channelled towards them buying e-rickshaws and your investment, Ram says, can enable a monthly income of Rs 30,000 per month for these hand-rickshaw-pullers. 

But, how does this work? 

“Once an individual invests in a certain project on our platform, the money is sent to the investee via a regulated platform,” Ram explains. He adds that Rang De is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and has their NBFC-P2P (Non-Banking Financial Company) licence in place. 

“This allows any Indian to lend money to a fellow Indian over the internet through our platform,” he adds. 

Once the money is invested, a lot ensues behind the scenes for the funds to meet its purpose. In this particular project, Rang De has partnered with Tisser — a not-for-profit trust that is providing sustainable livelihoods, income opportunities, and access to professional rural craftspersons in India through professional training, innovative models, and technological solutions. 

Tisser identifies the rickshaw-pullers who wish to upgrade to e-rickshaws, helps them with finances (they have raised over Rs 14,00,000) and ensures that these rickshaw-pullers repay the loan with interest every month over 30 months. Ram adds that another supporting arm of the project is Caring Friends — a Mumbai-based philanthropic group that acts as a bridge between NGOs and donors. 

The role of each of these is crucial. As Ram sees it, championing a micro-credit system is vital now more than ever. “Only 12.8 percent of India’s eligible population has access to formal credit,” Ram highlights. 

“Making loans accessible to a credit-starved country is what we started out intending to do. Through the years a steadfast focus on this social mission coupled with us staying our course, has built trust in our social investors.” And what’s amazing is that these investors can witness impact at scale. 

“Imagine! A person living in Mumbai can invest in someone who is in Matheran. What’s more, is that the RBI gives the person who is borrowing money the same status as he would get if he were borrowing from a bank. He will get a credit score in all the four credit bureaus in India,” he clarifies further.

As for how the Matheran project strikes a chord in him, Ram says, “It is liberating to know that a practice (hand-pulled rickshaws) that has been in existence since the British era will be put to an end.” He sees this as a classic textbook example of blending many social factors — engaging communities, protecting the environment, and creating dignified livelihoods — into one.  

As for the road Rang De is traversing, Ram says it is a long one. “We want to impact a million social investors and households that the investment is helping.” 

Meanwhile, Shinde who now watches with happiness as his friend drives an e-rickshaw, feels proud. “I am happy I could do my bit for the locals of Matheran, who take great pride in their work.”  

Invest in an e-rickshaw and help hand rickshaw pullers today!

Edited by Padmashree Pande.

In Uttar Pradesh, particularly, the villagers bear the brunt as the scorching sun competes with increasing humidity. On any given day, as the heat peaks towards noon, people can be seen rushing indoors, shielding their faces with a spare cloth and crouching under the shade of trees. But the villagers of Mirzapur’s Bahari Jungle Mahal cannot afford to pause their lives. Irrespective of the rising mercury levels, they must make their way into the forest where a long day of cutting wood and stones awaits.

For instance, take Shyambabu. The 70-year-old’s routine hasn’t changed much over the years. His day begins with going into the forest and chopping wood, followed by working in a stone quarry towards the afternoon. In the evening, Shyambabu sells the wood that he has cut, earning a meagre Rs 100 on a good day and Rs 80 otherwise.

Through the years, Shyambabu has remained unfazed by adversity. Years ago he devised a hack to deal with the thorny shrubs and stones that lay along his path into the forest. “I make a bandage out of leaves and rope, and wear it on my feet,” he smiles. “This helps me walk through the forest.”

The innovation, as ingenious as it may be, is a temporary shield. By midday, a burning sensation beneath his feet alerts Shyambabu that his ‘self-made slipper’ has fallen off. He must now endure the unforgiving hot ground.

Through the years, his feet have developed calluses and corns, and turned black. One might wonder why he doesn’t purchase a pair of slippers.

He laughs. “What did you say, again?” Shaymbabu has never heard of such a thing.

After explaining what a slipper is and how it will help him, he says, “I earn Rs 80 a day. Should I buy slippers or fill my stomach with the money?” The rhetorical question echoes the struggles endured by these labourers; problems that worsen as summer progresses.

It is evident that the idea of shoes is a distant dream for these people. And a Banaras-based law graduate Divyanshu Upadhyay wants to change this narrative. When Divyanshu started the Hope Welfare Trust along with his friend Ravi Mishra in 2015, it was meant to be a platform that facilitated change in the districts of Uttar Pradesh through education, women empowerment, health, and sanitation.

But today, it is a movement with students from universities — such as Kashi Vidyapeeth, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), and Delhi University (DU) — leading change from the front. This summer, Divyanshu and his team are attempting to bring respite to the daily wage labourers of Mirzapur and Sonbhadra through their slipper drive.

But this is easier said than done. And Divyanshu needs your help.

Bring hope to someone with just Rs 100

“If you were given a pair of slippers, would that help you?” the question is directed towards Vikas, a 25-year-old labourer who works at the stone casting site along with Shyambabu. He pauses before answering, “It would make me very happy. Thorns wouldn’t hurt my feet anymore and the burning would stop. I would be able to walk without getting scared that stones will pierce my feet.”

It is heartbreaking to hear these labourers’ stories. And Divyanshu, who has been watching them closely since a young age has been a witness to their plight. “The terrain here is harsh. There are a lot of mountains and stones that these people have to navigate every day when they go to work in the mines, the forest, and stone casting sites.” Despite the hard and long working hours, they do not make much money and the strained finances go into buying food. 

Slippers are a luxury.

This is where you come in.

“A pair of slippers costs Rs 100. With the donations, we will be able to buy slippers and distribute them to the labourers and their children,” Divyanshu adds. While the men who work in the quarries will benefit, the slippers will also be a ray of hope for children here who go to school barefoot, and their mothers who walk miles to fetch water from the well.

“We find it tough to stand on bare ground for a few minutes. Imagine doing this for hours, every day, for years. If our slippers can make a difference in their lives, it will be worth it.” Divyanshu adds that the slipper drive will not just be a boon for the labourers, but also for the village women who manufacture these slippers in a small factory in Mirzapur’s Deura.

These women belong to the ‘Green Army’ — an arm of the Hope Welfare Trust that is empowering the women of Uttar Pradesh’s villages, including Khushiyari, Deura, Bhadrasi, Ramsipur and Jagardevpur. Making slippers is how they earn their livelihood and your donation will help them sustain.

An army of changemakers

If rumour has it that any woman in one of Uttar Pradesh’s villages is facing abuse at the hands of her husband, word is sent to the Green Army. True to their name, the army comprises women dressed in green saris carrying jute bags. Within no time, they can be seen parading to the house in question and taking matters into their own hands.

Through their intervention, Divyanshu says there has been a palpable change in Uttar Pradesh’s rural areas. Through the years, the Green Army has grown from 25 women to its present total of 2,200 women spread across 250 villages of the state. Commending their work, Divyanshu shares the story of its inception.

“When we would go to these villages to teach the children, it was sad to see that they were more interested in gambling, alcohol, begging, and selling balloons on the roadside. So, we started a slew of different projects under Hope Welfare Trust to address education, sanitation, and bring electricity to the villages.”

It was during this time that the team learnt how helpless the village women felt. Their husbands were alcoholics and would beat them up. Simply creating change wasn’t enough. To ensure the change was sustained, Divyanshu and his team figured that they would have to give the women agency. This is how the Green Army was born. And the villages embraced this idea.

In the months that followed, the women were taught how to lodge a complaint in case of domestic abuse, open their own bank account, and given self-defence training. They began working in tandem with the police force to bring law and order to the village.

To strengthen the message of empowerment, the Hope Welfare Trust started centres where these women could channel their skills into stitching, plate making, bottling, etc, to earn a livelihood.

Elaborating on these centres, Divyanshu says, “There are 40 women who are earning through the stitching centre at Varanasi, while 12 women are currently employed at the plate-making factory. There is also an ongoing gangajal project wherein the women filter water from the River Ganges, bottle it, and sell it to vendors. Then there is also the shoe factory in Deura.”

Here, a group of 15 women are involved in assembling the slippers, packing and selling them to vendors for Rs 100 to Rs 120 a pair. It is precisely this factory that the shoes for the labourers will be purchased from.

As another afternoon sets in Uttar Pradesh, a lone labourer walks into the forest, hoping for an antidote to the burning ground. Miles away, a woman dressed in green works hard at putting together a pair of slippers at a factory on the outskirts of town, hoping orders will pick up this month.

Your donation has the power to make both their prayers a reality.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

“I felt ashamed benefitting from the pension I got from the agriculture department but doing nothing in return. Having reflected for several days, I decided to tour the stretch of the river on foot and study its ecosystem,” he shares. 

“For this river, which flows close to my village Wadegaon in Sangola taluka, and supports the livelihoods of hundreds, was slowly dying,” he adds. 

The massive undertaking of cleaning the 75-km stretch of Manganga river flowing from Sangli to Solapur with public participation was started in 2016. And the man who championed the cause to bring back the river to its former glory was Ghongade. 

He was honoured with the Jal Prahari Samman in December 2023 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Having a personal connection and a deep love for the river, here’s how this water warrior changed the course of its fate and successfully revived it.

Manganga: The river that feeds five districts

The rain-fed and East-flowing Manganga river, called ‘Manavganga’ in Sanskrit, rises in the eastern hills of the Satara district and courses through five drought-prone talukas. These are namely Dahiwadi (Man), Atpadi, Sangola, Mangalvedha and Pandharpur, before it finally joins the Bhima River at Sarkoli. 

These drought-prone districts, falling under the rain shadow region of Sangli, Satara and Solapur, receive rainfall ranging between 584mm and 762 mm. It occasionally experiences floods too, like it did back in August 2019 and October 2021.

The accumulated silt in Manganga had rendered it shallow and when the downpour was intense, the river was unable to carry the rainwater further downstream, causing floods.

“I have always been fascinated by the river ever since my childhood. But, watching it being mired in the silt and thickets with its banks being taken over by unwanted vegetation, disturbed me a lot,” he says. 

Back in February 2011, Ghongade and a group of eleven other likeminded people, embarked on foot to study the 165-km stretch of the river’s ecosystem and understand what needed to be done with a river whose watershed area was around 4,763 sq km. This group included a horticulturist, a botanist, an irrigation specialist, an educationist, a litterateur, an ex-serviceman, and a farmer. 

“We undertook the trip to study the soil, water quality, its availability for irrigation, and the cropping patterns adopted by the farmers etc. While the days were spent around the river, we slept in panchayat offices, temple precincts, schools, community halls and even in farmers’ homes at night,” says Dr Ashok Shinde, a horticulturist and member of the “Chala Nadi La Zanuya” (let’s get to know the river) team.

Every few kilometres, the team members took soil and water samples and planted indigenous varieties of trees. They also reached out to the villagers living around the river and educated them on its dismal state. They also explained their vision and the steps to be taken to restore Manganga.

The result of the 21-day trip was a slim book titled, “Parikrama Mangangechi” (Circumnavigating Manganga) which highlighted the status of the river and was sold to school and college libraries, students, professionals and farmers. 

Key issues to resolve

The team found that the river was ignored by the irrigation department for decades and was now reduced to a sewer. Its riverside was encroached upon and beyond the initial 30 km, there was hardly any tree. Acacia and Babul shrubs had taken over the river beds. 

The 18 Kolhapur-style weirs, which are essentially small dam-like structures constructed transverse to the flow of a natural stream with a considerable gap between two piers to allow passage to the water stream, had become ineffective due to the layers of silt. 

“The villagers dumped their waste into the river. As the festive season approached, those living around it would clean up and dump their unwanted belongings into the river,” says Ghongade. “This has been going on for years.”

Ghongade and his team went on to establish the Manganga Brahmanseva Multipurpose Society in 2014, and with the proceeds from the book sale of Rs 54,000, they began the initial work by involving the locals at the grassroots level.

As the word spread that a Sangola-based septuagenarian was on a mission to revitalise the Manganga river, farmers, school teachers, shopkeepers, NGOs, industrialists, sugar barons, charitable organisations, and civil society members at large, came forward.

“Having read the book I realised that the task of revitalising the river could not be done just by the shramdan (service) of a handful of villagers. We needed earth movers to do it, and a lot of them,” explains Shriharsha Phene, the secretary of the Mumbai-based charitable foundation, Shree Brihad Bhartiya Samaj.

Over the years it took to clean the river, the foundation donated Rs 1.53 crores. Others, too, joined in with their cheques including the Sangli-based Sadguru Sri Sri Sakhar Karkhana trust, Naam Foundation, along with a local MLA, and a Pune-based industrialist named Sudamrao Bhore, among several others. 

“I was born and raised in Sangola’s Wasudh village,” says the 54-year-old Bhore. “And how could I not contribute to the task undertaken by Ghongade sir to revive the river?”

The excavation was generally undertaken during the summer months and it took six years to clean the 75-km long stretch of the river and a total of 20 lakh cubic metres of silt was removed from the river bed.  

“According to the irrigation department officials, it would have cost Rs 9 crore, but we did this work for less than Rs 3 crores, thanks to the monetary contribution from the community,” says Ghongade, who braved the summer heat to oversee the work, year after year, despite his advanced age.

Prosperity greeted the region as the results bore fruit

Following the downpour in August 2021, the weirs started overflowing. Hundreds of people lined up on the river banks, shouting with joy! 

“It was a sight we had not witnessed in so long. We were only hoping that we would be able to start farming,” recalls Vithal Chavan (38), a farmer growing wheat and corn on his two-acre plot.

Revitalising the river led to the extraction of 20 lakh cubic metres of silt, thus bringing back 322 acres of fallow land under cultivation. The delighted farmers carried the silt back to their farm plots.

Navnath Dighe (43), of Wadegaon, is among the 192 farmers who benefitted from the silt excavated from the river. “I may have taken more than 600 tractor loads of silt and deposited it on my three-acre plot where I grow sugarcane using drip irrigation,” says Dighe. In total, he owns eight acres of land and grows finger millet, corn, as well as raising a pomegranate orchard.

The silt, rich in nutrients, has yielded a better harvest. Bablu Ghongade (48), a sugarcane farmer, informs, “I used to get a yield of 35 tonnes per acre but now it’s around 50 tonnes. It’s all due to the silt from the river.”

The rejuvenation of the river has led to increased water-holding capacity of the KT weirs, and led to a the in the water level of 1,800 wells and 2,500 borewells dotting the river.

On his next plan of action, Ghongade says, “We are currently demanding the removal of the encroachments from the riverbed from the district collector. Once removed, the river’s width will expand leading to an increase in its water storage capacity, and floods and droughts may become a thing of the past.”

Edited by Padmashree Pande; All pics courtesy: Hiren Kumar Bose

On 14 April, 2024, at 5 am, the coast of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka was a bustling hub of activity. A team was busy checking arrangements and making sure all the documents and safety measures were in place. Amidst this flurry of activity, two men sat calm and composed, as they were about to attempt one of the most difficult challenges of their life — swimming across the Palk Strait.

Their swim in the open ocean started shortly after 5 am, and Bharat Sachdeva and Shaaswat Sharma swam across the challenging 32 km stretch near the Ram Setu in 10 hours 30 minutes, non-stop.

They encountered choppy waters and tough weather, but nothing deterred the two swimmers from their target. They battled sea sickness, rough waters, sunburn, and many mental challenges to finish this extraordinary feat.

More than the physical barriers, it was a battle of the mind and emotions, share the two swimmers. “Every time we felt sick, or had to swim over the choppy waters, we just thought of our goal, and that kept us going. It was emotionally and physically draining, but the bigger picture kept us going,” Bharat tells The Better India.

For the two athletes, this swimming expedition goes beyond challenging their limits, it aims to promote adventure sports and open swimming in India, raise awareness about water safety and prevent drowning incidents while fostering universal brotherhood and friendship among neighbouring countries. These goals of creating more athletes and swimmers in India kept the duo fighting till they reached Dhanushkodi.

Over 900 days of preparation

Bharat (40) is a health and wellness consultant, an international swimmer, and an Ironman triathlete. He has trained champions like M C Mary Kom, Amit Panghal, Vikas Krishan Yadav and more, as part of the high-performance coaching unit with the Indian Boxing Team preparing for the Tokyo Olympics.

Shaaswat Sharma (31), a technical architect, is an ultra long-distance swimmer, triathlete, national water polo player, and swimmer. He holds all India records and over 500 medals and trophies.

Both athletes started their foray into athletics at the school itself and participated in national and international competitions. After swimming in events around the world, they decided to embark on what they call “one of the toughest stretches in the world”.

“When we think of a tough swim, everyone always mentions places around the world, while forgetting that the Ram Setu stretch is one of the most difficult. Only a few have attempted and completed it, and we wanted to put it on the global map,” says Bharat.

With this idea in mind, and to foster positive relationships between India and Sri Lanka, they started preparations in earnest almost three years back, says the swimmer. They christened the expedition the ‘Ram Setu Swimming Expedition’, and started planning and practising for the event.

They prepared in different water and weather conditions with an experienced crew guiding them, and training them on water safety and preventing accidents.

While most of their practice was indoors, swimming in the open waters was a completely different ballgame, concedes Bharat, which accentuates the need for better infrastructure and investment to promote such sports in the country. He adds that open-water swimming is not a very popular sport in India, and needs to be promoted. And to also bring this to the public eye, the duo decided to set an example by accomplishing this incredible feat.

“Our efforts will be successful when we see more young talent from India opting for swimming and representing the country at prestigious national and international platforms,” says Bharat.

To undertake this initiative, the swimmers received permissions from relevant authorities like the Ministry of External Affairs, India (MEA); Ministry of Defence, India (MoD); Ministry of Health, India (MoHFW); High Commission of India in Sri Lanka; Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka; and other Government bodies.

Testing your mental and physical fitness

After preparing and getting the necessary permissions from the two Governments, the Navy and the Coast Guard, the two swimmers left for Sri Lanka from Dhanushkodi on 13 April, 2024, by boat. The boat ride itself was challenging and led to severe motion sickness. They slept on the boat overnight.

After spending over 15 hours in the boat, they started their swim the next morning, motivated by their crew and the Sri Lankan Navy. The 32 km swim was conducted under the supervision of experts, who helped the swimmers navigate and provided nutrition during the swim.

“The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same. It’s the practice, both mental and physical, along with belief in one’s ability that differentiates between the two,” says Shaaswat.

The water was very choppy on the day of the swim, unlike the condition they had practised in. Yet, the two didn’t let anything deter them that day. “There are moments when you can lose your breath and composure. The water can be very unforgiving. You face certain life and death moments, but remember, that you must respect the process. Take the leap of faith and have the courage to move forward,” adds Bharat.

The last few hours were excruciating, their skin was completely burnt, the water rough, and their energy low. They kept their eyes on the prize and focused on the outcome, and their goal for doing this swim. The crew also kept cheering and motivating them, helping them navigate the turbulent waters. It was a test of their mental and emotional strength.

“For me, this achievement has a very high spiritual and cultural significance. As a national swimmer, I have participated in several challenges, but crossing the Ram Setu is one for the country. While we were swimming the stretch, we were filled with mixed emotions, of celebrating the spirit of universal brotherhood, and on the other hand, calling out to the nation to nurture swimming as a key sport in the country,” says Shaaswat.

They were greeted by hundreds of young boys and girls at Dhanushkodi, making it all worth it.

“It all boils down to proper planning and collaboration. If you dream and put in the effort, there are people to support you. Dream big, follow your passion, and don’t hesitate to extend your voice and ask for help. We need more youngsters getting into swimming as a sport,” says Bharat.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

“My daughter is number one in class,” her father declares. “Not just in dance but also studies,” he adds. 

The home has several clues to Sharmishtha’s love for reading – English story books, school textbooks and the likes. Not long ago, her parents would be amused if they were told that their daughter would one day be studying at an English medium school, let alone an international one. These luxuries were unheard of in the village. 

But, today, they beam with pride watching their little girl string together sentences in English; reading and writing as fluently as she converses. And she is only getting started. 

Currently a student at the ‘Utkal Gaurav International School’, Sharmishtha has found the launchpad for her dreams in the curriculum here. “I want to grow up to be a software engineer,” she smiles. With world-class education backing her, there is nothing to hinder this goal. 

As for her parents, they are elated that an opportunity this surreal is happening for their daughter and at zero cost. 

However, the story might seem too good to be true. 

But as Dr Pradeep Sethi — a leading hair transplant surgeon and the “angel” for many parents in the Berunapadi village whose children found hope in his school — tells The Better India, these young minds deserve every opportunity they can get. Once a daily wage labourer who toiled in the fields around his village to make money to pay his MBBS fees, Dr Sethi never fathomed the turn his life would take. 

Born into a poor family, Dr Sethi relied on the kindness of strangers who encouraged him to dream big. He shares, “Our village and state were not very prosperous when I was growing up. They were lagging behind in terms of infrastructure and civilisation. But despite that, I was surrounded by humble people.” 

Recalling his childhood, he speaks of days when the family went without food; wore the same sets of clothes for weeks, and put school on the back burner when work demanded. 

“Who else would take the cows to graze and cut the weeds in the field?” Refusing to resign to this life of hardship, Dr Sethi decided to channel his energies into the one thing that he enjoyed best — studying. 

The government residential school he began attending when he was 12 years old shaped much of his future. “It was a semi-English medium school,” he elaborates. 

“It was here that I was exposed to Hindi and English for the first time. My teachers were great and motivating,” he adds. With this conducive atmosphere that fostered learning, Sethi reached the heights of academic excellence, passing his Class 10 and 12 board exams with flying colours. 

While the mindset back then was to pursue a well-paying government job, Dr Sethi harboured a different dream.  

‘I wanted to be a doctor.’ 

The next few years were a blur for the family. Their assets were sold to collect money for Dr Sethi’s medical fees, while he used all his spare time doing daily wage work. His childhood had taught him to be stoic in the face of adversity. 

When times get tough, fate steps in is what the 19-year-old believed. True to this, he recalls how a few people from the village decided to offer him a scholarship for his academic excellence. The amount helped ease the family’s financial woes. 

“I used to get a monthly amount of Rs 1,300 as part of this scholarship. I would use it for books, mess fees, etc,” he shares. One particular book that Dr Sethi got his hands on during this time, changed his life, in his words. 

The ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ by Paramahansa Yogananda not only inculcated the practice of daily meditation in him but also championed the message of doing small acts in extraordinary ways. “Everyone has a greater purpose in life,” the book emphasised. 

“So, I began wondering what mine was,” Sethi shares. 

In 2004, Dr Sethi completed his MBBS degree and got admission into AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) for his MD. 

He graduated in 2008, trained in the techniques of hair transplant surgery. The years following this saw his career gaining momentum. The who’s who of the world began to reach out to him for a consultation. But the young doctor never forgot his roots. 

As a student, there was one thing that he had craved. Mentorship. It was the determining factor between mediocrity and greatness, he discovered. 

And thus, when at a professional crossroads — Dr Sethi was contemplating between opening a clinic in Dubai and pursuing another stem cell project — he chose a completely different path. He decided to give the youth and children of Odisha the education he had not had the opportunity of getting. 

Prior to founding the Utkal Gaurav International School, he started a coaching centre in his village in 2016. A heartwarming story prequels this. 

Dr Sethi’s father, who was suffering from stomach cancer, was intent on having a home built in the village. While Dr Sethi decided to fulfil his father’s dream and had a house built within five months, his dad passed away soon after. 

In weeks that followed, the vacant space took on the avatar of a coaching centre where young boys would come to learn spoken English, and Maths. They were trained by teachers from outside the village who were also provided with accommodation. From August 2016 to March 2023, when the school started, the centre saw 300 students being mentored.  

Watching these young boys being given the right guidance and training was gratifying. And this was when a revelation struck Dr Sethi –  if a coaching centre could impact hundreds, why not start a school and impact thousands? 

And that’s where Sharmishtha and many other young girls and boys are finding the right education.  

Utkal Gaurav International School

The only factor separating the underprivileged and the fortunate is opportunity. The state of the art school and uncompromising curriculum are a corollary of this fact. By providing Odisha’s underprivileged with world-class education, Dr Sethi is helping the children leverage their skills and talents in more focused ways. 

The CBSE-affiliated school is unmissable by anyone who passes through the Berunapadi village. With its stately configuration, the school has classes from lower kindergarten to class 12. Currently, 450 children are admitted into the school. Dr Sethi says that in the coming years he plans to increase the intake to 2,000. 

Ironically, the school stands on the same piece of land that Dr Sethi recalls once working on as a labourer. 

Speaking about its journey, he is insistent that a project of this scope wouldn’t be possible without finances. He mentions Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, as one of his strong supporters among numerous other people who have donated funds to see the project come to fruition. 

At the school, children are encouraged to realise their full potential. Through the ‘Student Enrichment Programme’, coaching is provided to middle school students, pre-placement training is given to high school graduates, and extracurricular activities such as dance, yoga, theatre, and sports are arranged for. 

In addition to this, classes on agriculture, human values, business, and industry are also conducted. 

While staying true to its roots, the curriculum also encourages children to get exposure to a holistic education. Lectures by professors from the United States, Japan, and Britain give the students insights into these respective cultures. 

Call Dr Sethi a philanthropist who has done wonders for his village, and he modestly denies it. “The belief is often that people born with a silver spoon accomplish great things. But that isn’t true. In fact, I call being born poor a fortune. Because if it weren’t for my roots, I wouldn’t aspire for something like this.” 

As sunlight slants through the windows at the Utkal Gaurav International School, it carries with it hope for the underprivileged children of Odisha who study within its walls. 

A hope that all one needs to do is dare to dream. 

Edited by Padmashree Pande.

“Close your eyes and remember a situation where you wished you had said ‘no’,” said the theatre teacher to a class full of students, including Sandhya Nair. The next prompt was to ask everyone in the class to say ‘no’. Sandhya found it extremely difficult to utter this powerful two-letter word. She tried and tried, but found herself unable to do so.

Why was this simple act so challenging for the then-teenager?

Raised in Kamathipura, Mumbai, Sandhya is the daughter of a sex worker. She recalls being bullied and shamed in school when other children found out about her mother’s profession. Growing up, she was repeatedly told that “a daughter of a sex worker will become a sex worker”.

“I was taught to hate my mother and my background,” shares Sandhya in a free-flowing interaction with The Better India.

After that class, she recalls breaking down and crying out a resounding “no” that shook everyone present there. For the first time ever, she spoke out about being raped, confiding in her mentor, Robin Chaurasiya. Sandhya recalls this moment as one of the most path-breaking ones in her life at the time, when she was 18 years old.

It happened thanks to the theatre class and therapy sessions conducted by ‘Kranti’ — an NGO that empowers children of sex workers to become agents of social change.

Kranti started its work at Kamathipura, known as the red light area in 2011 for daughters of sex workers and survivors of trafficking. Children here often don’t get access to a good education and opportunities to build a better life. Kranti removes this stigma associated with being the child of a sex worker and empowers these young girls to achieve their full potential, unburdening them from years of societal conditioning.

Take Sandhya’s example. From being a child who hated going to school, she is today pursuing an MA in gender and peacebuilding at the University for Peace in Costa Rica. Sandhya is one of the many girls from Kranti who are pursuing their postgraduate studies in foreign universities, and working on bringing about social change in the lives of girls like them in brothels across the country.

‘I was bullied for my dark-coloured skin and mother’s profession’

Sandhya’s mother had big dreams for her daughter. She wanted Sandhya to be educated in a private school and left no stone unturned in trying to get her admitted into one. But there was a problem: if she disclosed her profession, no school would admit Sandhya, so her mother chose to instead say that she worked as a domestic help. In that sense, the struggles of the young girl started as a child.

Even as her mother managed to secure admission to a reputed private school, the school years were traumatic for Sandhya. “It started with bullying over my skin colour. They would call me different names, including a ‘black crow’ and more. After a few years, they found out that my mother is a sex worker, and the bullying intensified,” she shares.

It was not just students, she recalls, but even teachers would ridicule her and turn a blind eye to the horrendous acts committed by the other students towards her. Recalling a particularly horrific incident of abuse, Sandhya states that her classmates once pushed her head into a commode and told her, “You belong here, stay here.”

She adds, “I was always made to sit on a separate bench at the back and was often pushed around in corridors and thrown into bathrooms.”

Being mistreated in school affected young Sandhya’s academic performance as well. Moreover, it didn’t help that sadly she was also experiencing abuse at home.

“I was raped multiple times when I was between 10 and 16 years old. My abuser would warn me that if I told anyone about it, no one would believe me. Every time he abused me, he told me that I deserved this. I heard the same thing everywhere that I deserved all the abuse because of my background,” she adds.

Essentially, she says she was being conditioned to hate her mother and her background. She confesses to hating herself and her mother for a very long time. As Sandhya grew up, her father fell sick, necessitating her to work part-time. She worked at a fast-food restaurant and was given the job of cleaning garbage.

The abuse continued even here when the manager found out about her background and tried to touch her inappropriately. “They think they own you,” remarks Sandhya.

Years of abuse left her traumatised with burning questions in her head. The question of “Who deserves what?” haunted her. She even attempted to end her life thrice, she shares. “I hated myself. I was vilified and shamed for my appearance, for where I came from, and made to believe that I didn’t deserve anything good,” she reiterates.

But change was on the horizon when she was in Class 10 and moved to Kerala with her parents. This was a new world for Sandhya — a world where no one knew the work her mother did years ago — and finally, she could be free of abuse.

In Kerala, Sandhya failed to get admission into a private school as they had high cut-off marks. While she enjoyed studying and wanted to continue her education, the education system had traumatised her.

She wanted to study psychology to “know the answers” about why people behave a certain way and who deserves what. She managed to secure admission to a Government school for Class 11. Little did Sandhya know that her life would soon change forever, thanks to a newspaper cutting.

A revolution in a red light district

After working in the US Air Force, California-based Robin Chaurasiya started volunteering with NGOs across the world. In 2008, she worked with an NGO that rescued and rehabilitated girls from brothels. The problem, she found, was that after six months to a year, the girls ended up going back to the brothels, or were married.

“It broke my heart to see girls with so much potential wasting their lives due to lack of access to resources and opportunities. They were usually just married off. With another person I met at the NGO, Bani, we started Kranti in 2011, to enable these girls to achieve their full potential,” Robin tells The Better India.

The word ‘kranti’ means revolution and the girls at the NGO are called Krantikaris meaning revolutionaries. Robin realised that girls from Kamathipura and other red-light areas have immense potential to be agents of change, not ‘despite’ their background, but rather because of it.

“We believe that by providing access to the same training, opportunities, and resources as people from privileged backgrounds, they will become revolutionary leaders — more innovative, compassionate, and resilient due to their life experiences. We want to harness their power as agents of social change,” adds Robin.

Kranti provides shelter, education, support and opportunities for girls between the ages of 12 and 21. Kranti has its own school with six teachers and a curriculum that includes English, reading, writing, geography, music, creative thinking, yoga, and meditation, along with regular school subjects, health, and more.

Kranti also has a social justice curriculum which covers 20 topics such as caste, class, religion, environment, gender/sexuality, and women’s rights. The girls are taught about the problems and what they can do to solve them.

The NGO equips students to join mainstream schools, if they wish to, or help others through open schooling. While many girls have gone abroad to study, for some, just managing to stay afloat is a big win, according to Robin, which is why therapy is given so much importance here.

“Our job is to prepare every girl for what she wants to do,” she adds. Every girl who comes to Kranti first has to take therapy, just like Sandhya did when she joined in 2015.

The news item that caught Sandhya’s eye was of Shweta Katti, a Krantikari, who made waves across the world when she became the first girl from an Indian red-light district to secure an international scholarship and study abroad at Bard College in New York.

Sandhya immediately reached out to Shweta, who asked her to message Robin, who responded with a one-line message: “Catch the first train and come to Kranti”. It took Sandhya a good year and a half to convince her parents before she knocked on Kranti’s door in 2015.

“Everybody in Kranti has to do therapy. Therapy is the light in my life; it changed my entire worldview and enabled me to love myself,” says Sandhya, “Therapy helps us to deal with our trauma so that we don’t carry it in our higher education.”

Mental health is the biggest focus initially, shares Robin, “After years of being abused, girls start forming ideas in their head like I’m not capable of this, or I deserve to be treated like this. They feel that they don’t have the right to the good things. Watching these patterns change and overcoming these thoughts and misconceptions has been one of the most rewarding experiences,” shares Robin.

Apart from classes, every Krantikari has to do two extracurricular activities — one physical and one artistic — choosing from karate, music, dance, photography, drums and many more. The theatre also forms an integral part of every girl’s life, and they use this art form to share the story of sex workers’ lives with people across the globe.

Kranti’s play, ‘Lal Batti Express’, has been performed across India, the US and the UK. The girls also travel and conduct workshops across the world.

Kranti has helped over 27 girls so far, with almost 22 of them going to university. The biggest win for Robin though, has been the fact that all of them have found their calling in social change. None of them want to just “become rich” and “own a BMW”, according to Robin.

“The most beautiful part for me has been seeing them grow as human beings. Everyone is working on studying either special needs education, gender studies, nursing, counselling, or psychology. They have all found their niche in social change. They have understood their purpose, which is to be able to support others through their journeys of healing and overcoming adversity, which makes me incredibly proud,” says the social activist.

Many like Sandhya are working with NGOs like Save the Child Foundation, while others like Shweta have returned to Kranti as employees.

But have things changed in terms of societal perception? Unfortunately not, rues Robin. The fact that they had to be evicted from nine houses is telling of the ground reality.

“When we tell people we’re running a home for orphans, they are fine with it. The moment they find out the truth, everything changes. All the neighbours who’ve been accepting suddenly become cold. It’s okay to run a home for orphans but not okay for kids of sex workers?” says Robin.

This societal stigma is the reason for most girls studying abroad, where there is less judgement and more acceptance. “The girls might study at the best universities and prove their worth, yet they don’t get the respect and dignity they deserve here. They have to fight for everything, be it education, healthcare, and of course housing. Nothing is changing overnight,” she adds.

What Kranti has been able to do emphatically, is completely change the lives of these 27 girls, with 14 more joining soon. “These girls are capable of extraordinary things and they are just normal human beings who deserve the exact same rights, dignity and opportunities as anyone else on this planet,” says Robin.

Currently, Kranti has moved to a permanent home in Himachal, which can house over 50 girls and is raising funds for the same. If you wish to donate, click on the button below:

Edited by Pranita Bhat; Images Courtesy Sandhya Nair & Kranti

When Harishchandra Sude, the founder of the non-profit Grameen Shramik Pratishthan, was asked about his childhood aspirations, his response was rather peculiar and profound.

He recalls how during an Independence Day celebration, where each student was required to share their dreams and aspirations, he had stood up and promptly declared, “I want to create a world where everyone helps each other; a world envisioned by Gandhi himself!”

While many may have smiled at young Harishchandra’s aspirations, little did they know that this determined boy would go on to empower over 1,000 people with visual impairment and other disabilities — granting them autonomy.

For the past 43 years, through his organisation, he has been providing them with training in acupressure, loom operation, and graphic designing in digital media.

The journey to independence

Harishchandra is the first university graduate, not only in his family but also in his entire village. Despite being a young man with extraordinary dreams, societal expectations nudged him towards seeking employment in the bustling “big cities”.

Recalling those pivotal moments, he shares, “When you’re the first in your family or village to successfully graduate from university, all eyes are on you. My father and the villagers anticipated that I would secure a job and contribute financially to the household.”

However, Harishchandra’s aspirations diverged from conventional expectations. He explains, “From a very young age, I realised that certain segments of society receive little to no assistance. They are often marginalised and forced to depend on others. Securing a job was never my intention; my goal was to assist the overlooked sections of society.”

Now fondly called the ‘Angel for the disabled’, Harishchandra’s childhood was a far cry from being happy or secure. “I was only a young child of five years when I caught smallpox. Due to the disease, I lost vision in one of my eyes and developed lots of scars on my face,” he says.

While the young boy survived the disease, he became an outsider to other kids in the village. “The scars on my face and the loss of vision made me a ‘difficult child’. My mother, who was always worried about me, passed away the same year,” he says.

The home was left in a state of disarray after his mother passed away. “My father and my brothers used to go to the fields and work. My sister, who was not more than 12 years old, was also married off. There was no one to take care of me,” he says.

He continues, “I was sent to live with my grandmother and that shift, in many ways, gave me the right set of opportunities to do what I always wanted to do.”

He got admitted into a college in the Latur district but couldn’t afford the fees. “The principal at the time was a man of similar beliefs as mine. I used to tell him how I wanted to work for society. He secured a job as an errand boy for me in the college itself which helped me pay the fees,” he adds.

“It was his vision that helped me connect with Baba Amte, the legendary social worker and activist who worked with people suffering from leprosy,” he says, “My principal sent me to him, seeking help for my vision. I used to go to his addresses and lectures to understand how one can help other people on a macro level.”

‘Was called a fool behind my back’

After completing his graduation, he moved back to his village in Latur district to help underprivileged people gain employment.

“I was getting my hands dirty on the field but no one could understand what I was doing. I was the first one to graduate, they expected me to do some job. They could not understand why I would come back to the village. They considered me a failure,” he says.

Demotivated by all the comments, he moved to Pune. “I was disheartened and lacked direction in my work. I moved to Pune seeking help from other social workers,” he says.

Baba Amte then suggested that he should first become financially independent and become a teacher. “There was a school for the blind in front of my college, and once I completed my degree, I started to teach the kids there. It was there that I learnt that the kids get moved from one organisation to another constantly, either due to financial difficulties or lack of infrastructure. This hampered their growth and gave me the idea to do something to help people with visual impairments,” he shares.

With this idea in mind of creating a “Swadhar Kendra” in rural areas and villages, he left the city again. “The idea was that I wanted these children to get training and give them work opportunities,” he says.

When he decided to leave the school and move back to the village, a student of his who also worked for him, decided to move too. “He could sing and dance well, and I used his art to grab the attention of the villagers. The sarpanch took us to the governor to get us a piece of land to stay and work on,” he says.

This was the foundation stone of what later became Grameen Shramik Pratishthan.

“We got a 40×40 sq ft piece of land and we built a ‘jhopadi’ (hut). We would make bedsheets and blankets in the hut and then sell them. People were intrigued as to how a partially-impaired or blind person could do such a thing,” he says.

Word started spreading. Soon, more and more visually impaired people started to get in touch with him. “I could finally see my dream shaping up. Soon, we were living with many more visually impaired people,” he says.

But all the activities came to a halt when the area was hit by heavy rains and a massive flood; everything was washed away. “There were too many people staying with me. We had lost all the huts that we had built; I had lost all hope. It was the people who encouraged me saying that bad times always pass away,” he says.

Harishchandra went back to his native village Dangewadi and asked his father for help. “We had some ancestral land and I asked my father for my share. Although I got a lot of retaliation from him as he believed that this was a waste of time, he gave me three-acre land,” he shares.

Harishchandra sold off that land and used the money to build the new building at a land provided by the District Collector in Village Budhoda in the Ausa block of Latur district, which now holds the Grameen Shramik Pratishthan.

On fighting the society and his family to start the organisation, Harishchandra says, “I was the first person to graduate from college. I could have just stuck to a job and ‘given back’ to my family, but I wanted to use my education to give back to society.”

Foundation of the NGO & how you can help

Harishchandra has spent decades of his life caring for the underserved. His son Prashant Sude is following in his father’s footsteps too.

“My father still works and stays every day, but I have now taken over the operations of the organisation. There are a few levels of interventions that we do to help people with disabilities,” he says.

The NGO works to help people with disabilities by giving them training in different areas to help them become independent.

“Under our Swadhar Scheme, what we initially did was train them in recycling old sarees into mats. The disposal of old sarees is a significant issue, contributing to environmental harm. At our hand-me-down centre, we recycle these sarees into mats, providing a sustainable solution to this problem. In doing so, they not only earn a livelihood but also contribute to addressing the environmental challenges associated with non-biodegradable waste,” he adds.

However, with changing times, Prashant realised that this training might not be viable after a few years.

“We have to keep changing with time. I realised that this might not be a very financially smart occupation in the future. In 2010, we started giving acupressure and massage training to visually impaired people. Massage is an excellent livelihood activity for visually challenged individuals because they possess sharp sensory abilities,” he says.

The training methods are simple yet effective, allowing both less-educated and well-educated individuals to learn acupressure massage systematically and scientifically. “Through our course, students learn anatomy, physiology, and various massage techniques practically. As a result, they become experts in the field of acupressure massage techniques,” he adds.

Once the individuals are trained, they can return to their native village and practise there or stay at the centre and earn at least Rs 500 per massage.

The NGO also helps persons with disabilities get married and start a home. “The way society looks at people with disabilities, especially women, in villages and small towns, is concerning. If an individual wants to get married to someone, we take their responsibility and help them with all the arrangements,” he says, adding that they have facilitated over 50 marriages so far.

Vidnyan Masure, a visually impaired person from Nanded, experienced prejudice all her life. She shares, “I was very depressed and had low self-esteem. I even tried to end my life. However, joining GSP changed my life completely. I registered to learn massage therapy and I am now fully independent. I work in a naturopathy centre in my village and also teach this art to young visually impaired girls.” The 37-year-old is now happily married and feels a sense of dignity and independence.

In 2021, the NGO came up with another branch of training. “We teach various digital skills to individuals with disabilities, such as graphic design, video editing, reel making, and social media management. These skills are particularly suitable for them because while those with locomotor disabilities may have restricted movement, they conserve their energy and focus it more on creative thinking.”

The four-month course places significant emphasis on practical skills, where students learn to use software like Canva, CorelDraw, and other tools to create designs, edit photos, and produce digital content.

“Over the past two years, we have trained 80 individuals with disabilities in these digital skills, providing them with opportunities for meaningful employment and empowerment. They use the labs at the NGO to practise their skill and do their work without having to move a lot,” he says.

While Prashant and Harishchandra along with many volunteers have helped hundreds of people, Prashant now wishes to expand the model throughout Maharashtra.

“The visually impaired in our country are treated as second-class citizens. They are equally skilled if given the right set of opportunities, but they are neglected often by their own family. With Swadhaar, we are aiming to reduce this gap by presenting them with the right opportunities. We want to help them become independent, self-sustaining, and live the life they deserve,” says Prashant.

Harishchandra and Prashant’s fight to give equal rights to people with disabilities does not have to be theirs alone. You can contribute to their cause too. Click here to do your part.

(Edited by Padmashree Pande and Pranita Bhat)

(All pictures credit: Prashant Sude)

“Disabled children find it tough to integrate into mainstream society,” his learnings taught him. And more often than not, this dependency would blanket the children’s futures, causing them to stay back at the facility even past adulthood.

However, interactions with some of the disabled children led Karthikeyan to sense their eagerness to learn. If only there was a way to channel this into a project that would help these children use their skills to become independent, he thought.

Noble, though his idea was, Karthikeyan lacked the resources and formal training to set up something of this scope. But a trip through India in 2012 would be the ray of hope he needed. As he voyaged through South India, he stumbled upon ‘kanthari’ which was built on the premise of empowering people who had a dream to drive social change in their communities.

“Do you have a vision but lack the tools to start an NGO?” Sabriye Tenberken, co-founder of kanthari, had asked Karthikeyan around 13 years ago, almost reading his mind. His answer was affirmative. And since that day there has been no looking back.

Through the seven months he spent on kanthari’s Thiruvananthapuram campus, Karthikeyan’s earliest impressions were that of the endeavour being an answer to his prayers. “Often when I would tell people about my dream, they would scoff. But at kanthari, it was the opposite. Everyone would tell me my goals were achievable. Along with the right encouragement, I also got training in corporate communication, fundraising, designing a social venture, writing the concept note, pitching to investors, and speaking to the media,” he says.

At kanthari, Karthikeyan formed close bonds with his peers. Constructive criticism and accompanying motivation were always close at hand. And as he shares, there were multiple mock opportunities for budding entrepreneurs like himself to try and fail at. And this made all the difference.

Today, Karthikeyan’s initiative ‘Sristi Village’ is a tight-knit community of changemakers who are working to improve the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “Through a combination of education, life skills training, and agriculture, we help people who are faced with exclusion, neglect, and many other disadvantages, that would otherwise limit their effective participation in mainstream society,” he says.

From a person who was once shrouded in doubt of whether he would be able to achieve what he set out to do, to now a leader, Karthikeyan has come a long way. “His is just one story of the impact kanthari has managed to create,” emphasises Sabriye, “It is stories like these that keep me going.”

Channeling adversity into opportunity

If you were to trace the origins of Sabriye’s philanthropic and academic accomplishments — co-founding ‘Braille Without Borders Charitable Trust’ in Tibet in 1998; coming up with the Tibetan braille script in 1992; authoring four books: ‘My path leads to Tibet’, ‘Tashis neue Welt’ (Tash’s new world), ‘Die Traumwerkstatt von Kerala’ (The dream factory of Kerala), and ‘Das siebte Jahr’ (My seventh year); pioneering the social empowerment initiative kanthari and receiving a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 — you will agree she is extraordinary.

“I just believe dreams should be pursued,” she smiles, “Every dream has a motivation behind it.”

So, what was yours? I ask.

“I became blind at the age of 12,” she answers.

Losing her vision dramatically changed her life and with it the dynamics of her academic journey. Bullying and exclusion followed her everywhere at school. And she hated it, until one day, when she decided to ask herself, “What’s good about being blind?”

And that was the day, her perspective shifted.

It was during her higher secondary education at a school for the blind in Germany, that Sabriye learnt how a disability does not need to be equivalent to being put in a drawer by society and made claustrophobic. “At my new school, I was introduced to skiing, horse riding, acrobatics, windsurfing, and kayaking. I began to fall in love with these activities and become more confident.”

Sabriye went on to pursue Tibetology at the University of Bonn, and it was during these years that she developed the Tibetan braille script combining the principles of the braille system with the special features of the Tibetan syllable-based script. Once examined by Tibetan scholars who deemed it easily understandable, the script became the officially recognised one in braille literature.

After completing her education, Sabriye decided to pursue her dream of working with an international humanitarian network that works to save lives and build community resilience.

“But I was asked of what use would I be on the ground since I was blind. So, I decided if I couldn’t be a part of an organisation creating change, I would start one,” she shares.

And, kanthari is the realisation of that dream.

Leaders without boundaries

While the people of rural India have aspirations, what is missing are organisations that can turn these into a reality. This was what Sabriye and her Dutch engineer partner Paul Kronenberg — whom she met during her trip to Tibet in 1997 — discovered while they were researching existing entrepreneurship courses in India in 2009.

“These courses necessitated degrees. But as I see it, all one must have to start something is a dream. Degrees come second,” emphasises Sabriye.

The duo, thus set out to launch a social endeavour where anyone who had the “guts to challenge the status quo and create something meaningful to make the world a better place” would be trained and equipped with the necessary resources. The place of choice was Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram for more reasons than one.

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Not only were the backwaters, tropical climes, heavenly food, and tourism a draw, but Sabriye and Paul were more excited by the society’s openness to new ideas. Since its inception, kanthari has trained 280 participants from 55 different countries.

Of these, Sabriye says around 60 to 70 percent are running their social projects. The budding social entrepreneurs go through a rigorous one-year programme, seven months of which are spent on campus. These months are crucial for them, Sabriye notes. “They go through a very, very intense and detailed leadership impact training course where they learn everything from project planning to fundraising, to finances, to speech and presentations, social business and how to run an organisation.”

None of these concepts are taught in a theoretical way. Instead, creativity is infused into every topic. These changemakers are mentored throughout the one year not by professors but by ‘catalysts’.

“The batches we see are a mix of individuals; some have an academic background backing their work and some do not. The idea is to have them benefit from each other’s experiences,” she shares.

Last year, the youngest among the batch was 23 years old, while the eldest was 66. “Diversity is prided on,” Sabriye says.

The participants hail from across the world and mustn’t worry about expenses. Everything is taken care of by a scholarship — including food, accommodation, flight travel, trips through India, and any learning material that needs to be accessed during the programme.

Initially christened ‘International Institute for Social Entrepreneurship’, an interesting story prequels how the name changed to kanthari.

One day, during lunch, a kanthari chilli in Sabriye’s food made her gag and her eyes water. Despite its deceptive appearance, the chilli had immense power, she noticed. Wasn’t this the same case with persons who overcame adversity to create change?

Thus the name kanthari.

Elaborating on the programme outline, Sabriye says the focus is on inculcating a spirit of encouragement among the changemakers. During the participatory workshops, participants are taught budgeting, the power of storytelling, and the nuances of creating a website.

The first act follows wherein participants are guided with speech-making, presentation-making, designing the vision and mission of the NGO, questioning their own venture ideas, and trying to improve them through feedback. The next few months are centred around creating a written venture profile — which consists of a solid problem definition and a description of their solution, objectives and strategies.

What follows next is a diploma course in entrepreneurship skills development where participants undergo intensive business training and get a hands-on approach to social entrepreneurship. This is followed by a mock dive into the real world of business where participants’ public skills are polished. They are also helped with fundraising and pitch-making along with a concrete budget plan for the first six months of running the NGO.

The next kanthari course starts this April 2024.

Credit Sabriye for designing such a holistic model and she says, “Social entrepreneurship is only one of many ways to make it a better world, right?” I agree.

‘Use limitations as your springboard’ 

Kanthari’s flag flies high concerning the unique entrepreneurship model it has built. But Sabriye shares how none of this would be possible without the underlying learnings she was introduced to in 1997 during her trip to Tibet.

“It was this trip that taught me how limitations can be springboards that catapult you to great heights.” A beautiful manifestation of this, she says, was watching how blind kids in Tibet never saw their disability as a fault to complain about, but rather a quality to be embraced.

Armed with the knowledge of Tibetan braille, Sabriye embarked on a voyage through the snowy highlands on horseback. When asked about this unusual choice of transport, she argues, “It got me closer to the locals. I was able to have conversations while I moved from one village to the other.”

It was these excursions that gave Sabriye a window into the sorry plight of blind children in Tibet. Leading a life on the margins of society, blind children would often be ostracised, punished for not being able to see or ridiculed for being possessed by evil spirits. Seeing to it that these kids were sent to traditional schools wouldn’t amount to much, she realised.

This was the inception of the idea ‘Braille Without Borders’, an endeavour to rehabilitate and train these children so that they could sharpen their skills and work post-school. Today, the centre is a safe space for blind children to communicate with other blind people, and exchange experiences and problems they face in their respective home situations.

Classes included training in mobility and daily living skills — such as walking with a cane, eating with chopsticks, and training in the Tibetan, Chinese, English and mathematical braille script. The goal of the preparatory school was that after completion of the basic training, the young students integrated themselves into regular local elementary schools.

Following this, the students could opt for vocational training in Tibetan and Chinese medical massage, pulse diagnosis, and acupressure.

In May 2001, April 2002, and April 2003 a blind physiotherapist from Switzerland named Monique Assal came to Lhasa to train the trainees, and since then, several students have set up their own medical massage clinics. In addition to this, the students were trained in music, animal husbandry, cheese making, and handicraft making.

Through Braille Without Borders and kanthari, Sabriye and Paul are creating an ecosystem that fosters humanity and kindness. “Birds can fly and humans can’t. That means we are all disabled in some way. But if we were to sit and cry about it, we would never have built aeroplanes and helicopters! So no matter what the disability, I believe, it is never a limitation,” she remarks.

You can check out their work, here.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

She’d often heard of the snow leopard’s notoriety and how it ruthlessly killed her neighbour’s cattle and sheep as they innocently grazed on the mountain pastures. But, today, she was a victim of the same fate. Years ago, Deachen’s reaction to this horrifying incident would be to weep. But this time, she dialled a number on her phone and calmly narrated the loss she had just witnessed.

The person on the other end of the line was Dr Tsewang Namgail — the present director at the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust. Patiently, he heard Deachen out. The next month, an amount of Rs 7,000 made its way to her. The money was a reimbursement for the cow she lost.

“The insurance scheme that Mr Namgail has started is very helpful to us,” Tsewang Norboo, Deachen’s brother-in-law shares. He has been helping her out following the death of her husband.

As part of the scheme, every village home pays an annual sum of Rs 400. The cumulative amount goes into the bank account that Namgail has set up. When a villager reports an incident of a missing cow or goat, citing the snow leopard as the culprit, they are compensated with Rs 5,000 (for a small animal) and Rs 7,000 (for a larger animal).

Namgail took over as director in 2013, after the passing away of his beloved friend and mentor Rinchen Wangchuk. The Ladakhi mountaineer and conservationist had co-founded the trust in 2003 along with biologist Rodney Jackson with a focus on prioritising a harmonious relationship between the snow leopard and the locals.

The return to the place he once called home is special for Namgail who was previously working as a wildlife biologist in the United States where he was studying the migratory patterns of birds. “I had always harboured a dream to come back to Ladakh,” he shares. A burning desire to raise awareness about environmental and ecological issues was behind this dream.

And so, when in 2012, the trust seemed to be struggling after the passing away of its leader, Namgail knew it was time to return.

Exploring the majesty of the snow leopards

The villagers who once moved around with fear in their eyes and a tremble in their steps, now have a newfound confidence. They no longer hate the feline. In fact, a major chunk of their incomes is generated by snow leopard-related tourism. To make up for the favour, the locals do not hunt the animals down, as they once did, thus allowing their population to thrive.

And spearheading this harmony between beast and man has been the conservancy. But credit Namgail for leading a unique endeavour such as this, and he says he owes his success to Wangchuk.

“Even before I took over as director in 2013, I remember accompanying Mr Rinchen to the villages of Ladakh and speaking to the locals. He was a great visionary. We would conduct numerous surveys to check on the mountain sheep and goats, and it was a lovely experience to learn from him.”

The duo had known each other for years. “During my college days, I would lead the tourists into the mountains during the summer. At the time, Mr Rinchen was working on some projects for the International Snow Leopard Trust, and that’s when we met,” Namgail explains.

There was so much to learn from Wangchuk, he says. In the years to come, a simple afternoon conversation between a young college boy and his idol blossomed into a beautiful friendship. Little did Namgail know that the baton of the conservancy would pass to him after Wangchuk’s passing.

When Namgail set out to head the conservancy, the intent was to substitute the fear the locals had for this beast with an understanding of its ecological importance. “The snow leopard is vital from three standpoints — ecological, cultural and economic.” For a community that views livestock as subsistence, losing it to the snow leopard is tragic.

But, says Namgail, what the people failed to understand is that the feline is integral to promoting plant regeneration in the mountains, enhancing herbivore diversity and preventing floods.

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The cycle begins with a snow leopard killing a mountain sheep or goat. “These herbivores feed on alpine pastures that grow on the slopes of the mountain ranges. By controlling the population of these sheep and goats, the snow leopard gives the grasses and plants a chance to regenerate,” explains Namgail.

The next issue the feline helps tackle is floods.

The prevalence of natural disasters in the region is compounded by climate change. “These days we are receiving more rain and less snow. As the rainwater flows down the slopes, the loose soil also goes with it.” Mind you, the soil is loosened by the grazing activity of the goats. The muddy water floods the villages destroying property in the process.

“Now do you see the ecological linkage?” Namgail asks me.

I do.

He then moves on to explore the third benefit of having the animal in the region — enhancing carnivore diversity. “The snow leopard’s preferred prey are the Asiatic Ibex and the Himalayan Blue Sheep. Preying on these indirectly allows other species of sheep and goats to thrive.”

But the question begs to be asked: if an animal has such prime ecological importance, why is it on the brink of extinction?

Protecting the ‘ghost of the mountains’

The moniker has been bestowed on the feline for its natural camouflage. No one can sense it approaching until it finally shows itself. With hind legs that enable it to leap six times the length of its body and a long tail that provides it balance, the snow leopard has for centuries assumed a ‘king’ status in the mountains of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal.

What is interesting to note is that the snow leopard’s status was assessed in 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1996, 2002, and 2008. In each case, it was classified as ‘Endangered’. But in 2008 the animals’ status was changed to ‘Vulnerable’ as the population began to decline less rapidly. But the decline was still present, and human-animal conflict was to blame.

Retaliatory killings have always been a knee-jerk reaction to snow leopards mauling the locals’ livestock. And Namgail emphasises that this is where the conservancy steps in.

Living alongside the ferocious predator isn’t a dream for the pastoral communities of Ladakh. However, being able to maintain their livelihoods from the money they earn through protecting it serves as an incentive. In fact, once hailed as pests, Namgail says the felines are now fondly called ‘Ri Gyancha’ which translates to ‘ornaments of the mountains’.

Of course, this nickname doesn’t soften the attitude of the snow leopard towards the locals who continue to see rare cases of their cattle being mauled and eaten. But at least now, they are reimbursed for it.

Namgail notes that the insurance model is only one of the many activities at the conservancy. “We also focus on community-based tourism, education and research in Ladakh, and promotion of innovative grass-root measures that encourage local people to become better stewards of the endangered snow leopards, their prey, and habitats.”

Another arm of the conservancy is the award-winning Himalayan Homestay Programme which was started under the leadership of Wangchuk.

Helping tourism thrive

Narrating how it began, Namgail shares it was during a visit that he and Wangchuk made to the Hemis National Park in the year 2001. A conversation with one of the village women introduced them to the idea of starting community-led tourism. “One of the women suggested that since the tourist camps led to so much garbage being generated, why not let them live in the local homes?” Namgail shares.

In the weeks that followed, the duo went around the villages of Ladakh and surveyed the local communities to see if they were willing to host guests. They were elated. That’s how the homestay arm was born. Deachen who has also converted her home into a homestay, says she loves having tourists over.

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In order to see to it that the snow leopards do not prowl around the home or attack, predator-proof corrals are built by local people using low-cost local materials. “Villagers provide the labour while SLC-IT provides wire mesh, doorframes, beams, and wooden poles,” says Namgail. So far over 150 livestock corrals have been built across Ladakh, benefitting more than 600 families.

In addition to this, the homestay concept enables the villagers to earn. Currently, there are 200 homestays across 40 villages of Ladakh under the conservancy.

Elaborating on the model, he shares that choosing to stay in one of these homestays generates funds for communities that they use to protect their mountain environment. “These funds are created in a unique way: 10 percent of all homestays’ income goes into a ‘village conservation fund’, which is used by villagers for tree planting, garbage cleaning, and maintenance of their cultural heritage, such as mani walls, chortens, and sacred juniper stands.”

The villagers are encouraged to host guests on a rotational basis. “This is done so that no single family can monopolise the tourists. Because if that were to happen, it would create a disharmony in the village.”

As Namgail shares, the tourism model has been so successful that people across the Himalayas have taken inspiration from it and are replicating it. But regulation is important, he emphasises.

As evening settles over Ladakh, the snow is tinged with a mix of blue and orange, a blend of the hues of the setting sun and dusk. As the locals go into their homes, bolt their doors, and warn the children to stay inside, the silent rustle of leaves goes unheard. So does the slither in the bushes and the shadow of a feline beginning its prowl.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

With the most cheerful and wrinkly smile, 74-year-old Bhimabai Jondhale observes the entire commotion. “I feel a sense of pride when I watch all my customers reading keenly, almost forgetting what they were here for – food,” she shares in a conversation with The Better India.

Fondly known as Aaji, Bhimabai has been running her book restaurant, ‘Ajjichya Pustakancha Hotel‘ (Grandmother’s Hotel with Books), since 2010, serving not only delicious meals but also offering free books to read.

The place boasts a depository of over 5,000 books in three different languages — Marathi, Hindi, and English. However, the origin story of this book hotel will surely melt your heart!

For the undying love for reading

If it is your birthday or anniversary, you are sure not to leave without a free book from Aaji Hotel. Located in Ozar, Nashik district, Bhimabai’s son helps her in the operations.

While the hotel might be flourishing with colours and ample seating spaces today, it was only a makeshift spot for tea more than a decade ago.

“It was the only way for my mother to fill our stomachs. While she is a positive woman today, she has had her fair share of struggles back in the day,” says Pravin Jondhale, Bhimabai’s son.

Recalling her early life, Bhimabai shares that she was merely in class 6 when she was married off and sent to a small village near Nashik.

“As a child, I was a very keen observer. I used to love reading, and books were my best friend. However, when I got married, everything changed,” she says.

Away from home and everything she loved, Bhimabai found herself alone, tending to a family.

“My husband was an alcoholic who spent most of his time wandering around. Not only did I have to take care of the home, but also the farms,” she says, adding, “When my daughter became a little older, she would go to the farms with me.”

With her children growing up, she wanted to send them to school. “We were always financially weak, but my husband’s addiction made things worse. He, in a state of intoxication, either sold off his land or gambled it away,” she says.

Left without a means to feed her family, Bhimabai would work for hours in different people’s fields to bring food to the table. “I was fed up with the life we had. My son was going to school and had picked up a newspaper distribution job to help me,” she shares.

Pravin elaborates on his mother’s struggle from his perspective, “All the relatives were always trying to have their way with her. My father was a father only in name. He never took any responsibilities. Like my mother, I had a zeal to get an education. I got a job at a newspaper distributor and funded my education myself,” he says.

There was only one escape from the challenging life – move to the city. “It was like a beacon of hope for us. I would probably find some work there, and my mother would be away from her relatives. So, we decided to sell off whatever was left of our land and moved to the city,” he says.

In 2008, the family moved to the city. Pravin had already started a publishing company and days were looking better.

“Due to some personal reasons, I had to shut down the publishing company, and we had a stock of Marathi language books with us. My mother and sister did not know much beyond farming, so they started a makeshift tea stall to meet our expenses,” he says.

No phones, only books! 

In 2010, Bhimabai, along with her daughter, laid the foundation of what is today Ajjichya Pustakancha Hotel.

While the family moved, the taunts and harsh words never stopped following her. “They would talk about how the women of the house should not wander around selling tea; she should take care of the house. But I did not care about those taunts anymore,” she says.

“My children and I slowly started to use savings to expand the tea stall and make it an eatery. What I noticed was that while a person would wait for their food, they would always be buried in their phone,” she says.

“They would not converse with each other but would keep scrolling on their phone. I found the habit very absurd and wanted to do something about it,” she says.

As a woman who was fond of reading but never got the chance to, she decided to reintroduce the habit of reading to people.

“Books are our best friends. They are your companions in every situation. We started off with just 25 books in a stand in the eatery and it kept growing. We started encouraging people to pick up a book and read while we cook their meal,” she says.

“By the time the food would arrive at their table, they would have already reached chapter two of the book,” she adds.

People started to appreciate her initiative and word spread. The book collection which started with only 25 books has now grown to 5,000 books.

“In addition to books in the eatery, we also give free books on special occasions such as Women’s Day and Republic Day to initiate a habit of reading among people. We also have started giving books as gifts to hospitals,” he says.

“For people waiting at the hospital for a loved one or for their own treatment, we hope our books will help. My mother believes that medicines treat your body but books heal your soul,” he adds.

The eatery has also since kept on growing and people have donated books to Aaji’s collection.

She expresses, “I feel delighted when I see people reading books at the eatery. All my life, I have struggled to have a stable life, but what kept me going was my children. For a woman who was always fond of reading but never got to, when I see young children come to the eatery and read, I feel like I have succeeded in my initiative,” she says.

If you have spare books that you want to donate to the eatery, you can reach out to Pravin at 9922946622

(Edited by Padmashree Pande; All pictures credit: Pravin)

Through the years, Pallabi founded the ‘Impact and Dialogue Foundation’ through which she has rescued over 10,000 children, who would otherwise fall prey to human trafficking, child marriage, and other accompanying evils.

But, as she notes, “Only rescuing the kids is not enough. It is crucial to rehabilitate them or there is a chance of re-trafficking. I decided to start a foundation of my own that would not only rescue but also empower these children.” But what will be a transformative step, shares Pallabi, is sensitising constables to these social evils as they are the first responders.

Pallabi shares that her scope of work includes reaching out to 15 new villages every month. Spread across India, these include Kharimachan, Jarangdisha, Lengra Basti and Nyazat among others. In these villages, she works with groups of women who reach out to hundreds to give them access to livelihood and skill development.

“I always maintain I couldn’t have impacted thousands of women if I had been insistent on podiums and properly executed events. I managed to create a huge impact only because I reached out to people personally, knocking one door at a time,” she shares.

In an attempt to give the survivors a better life, Pallabi provides counselling services, upskilling sessions and more as she believes the children and women who are rescued need a brighter future to look forward to.

Here’s the scope of Pallabi’s remarkable work:

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Edited by Pranita Bhat

Every morning, Jharkhand’s Parvati Mardi would comb her hair, wear a bindi, and set out to work in a clean saree. But by the evening, she would be beyond recognisable.

“She worked in a ramming mass industry. As part of this, she would be exposed to silica dust all day. I remember that whenever she would come home in the evening, she would be completely covered in dust — her hair, clothes, all her body. It would get a little difficult for us to recognise her. The first thing ma would do was to take a bath before touching us,” her daughter Laxmi Mardi tells The Better India.

In the tribal belts of Jharkhand, a large number of workers are forced to work in the ramming mass factories where quartzite stones are ground and powdered into dust and different-sized particles to prepare ‘ramming mass’. This is used to produce refractory items like fire bricks for steel industries and to manufacture insulators with silica sand. When huge quartzite stones are broken and milled, dust is released. This dust contains silicon dioxide which when inhaled over some time leads to silicosis disease.

“We started noticing that our mother would cough a lot and often complained about facing difficulty in breathing. Day by day, she also started losing weight,” she informs.

This continued for four years until one day she was diagnosed with silicosis in April 2012. “This was the first time we heard about the disease. We took her to the hospital, but we were too young to understand the severity of the disease and how long she was going to stay with us. I was 14 years old then, and I was told that she would be home soon,” she recalls.

Sadly, Laxmi’s mother could not be saved. “She was just 33. All this pain was for Rs 80-100 wage per day. If I had known about the consequences, I would have never let my mother go to that place,” Laxmi, now 28, says with a sigh.

Parvati was survived by her husband, her daughter Laxmi, and two younger sons. That day, Laxmi pledged to escape the life of drudgery — far from the ramming mass industry due to which at least 10,000 silicosis patients lost their lives in the past two decades.

Today, Laxmi works as a nursing officer and bears all the household responsibilities along with the college fees of her younger brothers.

“This became possible with the support of Samit Carr sir. Firstly, his organisation bore our mother’s treatment cost of Rs 3.6 lakh. Then, he encouraged me to pursue a career in nursing by getting a BSc degree. He also fought to get us a compensation amount of Rs 4 lakh from the Government,” she adds.

Like Laxmi, the Jharkhand-based non-profit, Occupational Safety And Health Association of Jharkhand (OSHAJ), led by Samit Kumar Carr, has helped at least 50 kin of the workers who died of silicosis get compensation amount of Rs 4 lakh each.

Besides, he has also helped the kin of 22 workers who died of silicosis in West Bengal get a compensation amount of Rs 4 lakh each, and 30 silicosis-affected workers with a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each. In addition, Rs 10 crore funds were sanctioned for pension and welfare schemes.

For the past two decades, he has been actively fighting for the rights of silicosis patients in Jharkhand and West Bengal. We sat down with the 68-year-old activist to learn how he is fighting authorities to help families cope with financial distress caused by the incurable disease.

Silicosis: a silent killer

Originally from Tripura, Samit’s family moved to Jamshedpur in 1955. While completing a draftsmanship course at Singhbhum Institute of Technology, he remained unaware of the brutality experienced by workers exposed to silica dust.

It was in 2002 that he first read about the rising deaths of silicosis patients in the East Singhbhum district.

“In 2003, I closely observed some silicosis patients. Most of them had difficulty in breathing, and could not sleep easily because of it. One of the patient’s daughters told us that she visited the site daily to give lunch to her father, but she always found it difficult to recognise him as everyone would be covered in silica dust,” he tells The Better India.

Silicosis is an incurable lung disease caused by the inhalation of dust containing silica crystals found commonly in quartzite, granite, basalt, sandstone, agate, slate marble, and building materials like fire bricks and tiles. This exposes workers in dust-generating sites like factories, mining and construction sites to a high risk of contracting the disease, which leads to prolonged illness and painful death.

“The percentage of silicon dioxide in stones, the concentration of dust at the workplace, long working hours, dust exposed to them post duty hours, as well as poor immunity of workers, collectively makes them vulnerable to silicosis,” informs Samit.

He continued to closely watch the working conditions of these workers at the ramming mass industries. “I went there to record a video of a woman worker who was covered in silica dust. She said that her husband was diagnosed with silicosis and the family exhausted all their money in treatment. But, he could not be saved,” he shares.

“But she refused to be recorded. She complained that, like me, many people visit them, click photos, and never come back. I was embarrassed. But that day, I promised myself that I would strive to get justice for these people,” he adds.

Since then, Samit has been on a mission to ensure that the families of workers who died due to silicosis are compensated by the Government. In 2003, he established OSHAJ to advocate for the rights of such workers.

‘Didn’t stop even when I was accused of witchcraft’

Often, Samit travels from village to village in the tribal areas of Jharkhand and West Bengal to document the occupational and clinical histories of the workers and to collect chest X-ray plates from the workers for medical tests. After identifying patients, he encourages them to find alternate employment and helps their families get monetary compensation from the Government in case the patient is deceased.

But this process isn’t easy. “Initially, whenever I would voice for the rights of these workers, I would be thrown out of meetings. People started avoiding me and accusing me of practising witch-hunting. But eventually, they shared their documents with me, and I started fighting for the silicosis-affected community in 2006,” he adds.

“Also, there has been immense politics right from the hospital level to the state officials. Many times, doctors also refuse to write correct reports because of pressure from higher authorities. We keep making rounds of the officials at the district levels to get these families their compensation rights,” he adds.

After knocking on several official doors, Samit reached out to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and filed a petition on 8 October, 2007, to seek their support for the relief of silicosis patients and their families. “While there is no formal amount of allocation, it directs the Government to provide Rs 4 lakh compensation to the kin of dead workers,” he adds.

In the past 20 years, Samit says, his organisation was able to source compensation amounts worth Rs 13.52 crore for workers in Jharkhand and West Bengal. “We also were able to raise Rs 88 lakh from donors in 10 years in both states for the treatment of silicosis patients,” he says.

Samit says that the monetary support from the Government is extremely important for these families. “When the breadwinners of the families die, young orphan children are forced to migrate for earning opportunities and lose their right to education. For them, the monetary compensation is a ray of hope for a better future. Many families have used these amounts to set up small businesses,” he says.

“I don’t have any children but whenever I see young kids of dead workers, it aches my heart. Thankfully, with our small efforts, we can protect the future generations of some such workers. Now as I am getting old, I want to pass on my experience to dedicated people so that this work does not stop even after me. Otherwise, we will have to shut down the organisation by 2025. We also require decent funding support to continue this work,” shares Samit.

To support him in his mission, you can reach out to Samit Kumar Carr at roshniforlabour@gmail.com

Source:

Breathless: Silicosis is killing workers in Jharkhand: By Vikram Raj for The Hindu published on 4 March 2022.

Edited by Pranita Bhat. All photos: Samit Kumar Carr.

“We found out that the child’s lower body was paralysed. The mother and the family underwent a lot of trouble raising the child as he had no bowel and bladder control. The kid was even denied admission into a school for disabled children. I saw her struggle for the nine years that the kid lived,” he tells The Better India.

The reason Dr Nikhil refused to help her or couldn’t help her was because of the 50-year-old Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act 1971. It permits termination of pregnancy only up to 20 weeks.

“My patient was 24 weeks pregnant when she came to me. It is a criminal offence to violate the provisions mentioned in the MTP Act. Even the woman you are treating can be put behind bars, let alone the doctor. But whenever I’d meet her, she made me feel that I was responsible for her ordeal,” he says.

“While I was in a legally sound position, I felt morally wrong,” he adds.

Dr Nikhil opined it was unfair to punish women by forcing them to give birth to intellectually or physically disabled infants when the medical body could offer them a safe abortion. 

To challenge this, he filed a petition in the Supreme Court and got policymakers to raise the upper limit for abortions from 20 weeks to 24 weeks.

In conversation with The Better India, Dr Nikhil talks about his 14-year-long legal battle that pushed the judiciary to upgrade the archaic MTP Act of 1971.

Why is there a cap on abortion limits?

In 1996, after completing his MD in gynaecology, Dr Nikhil started practising as an obstetrician-gynaecologist in Mumbai-based hospitals. During the course, he would meet a large number of patients with pregnancies beyond 20 weeks who desired to get it terminated.

“While neurological and cardiac abnormalities are detected a little after 20 weeks of the foetus developing, most other abnormalities can be detected before this time frame if there is access to healthcare at the right time,” he says.

“In rural areas, women have to take a bus to reach the nearest taluk-level government hospitals for check ups. Owing to poor services, it remains uncertain whether the sonography will be performed on these patients on that given day. By the time it’s done for any abnormalities to be detected, it is too late,” he explains. 

Dr Nikhil points out that in such cases, if the woman is forced to give birth, she is made to take the penalty for those delays.

“Besides, there are cases where women in their late 40s miss out on menstruation, and they are advised to not worry as they are getting closer to menopause. One fine day, they find out that they are already 22 weeks pregnant,” he adds.

But why is terminating pregnancies beyond 20 weeks a criminal offence? 

“I have gone through the MTP Act multiple times and thoroughly researched the topic only to find out that the set limit was arbitrary. There was no reason to support why it was set to 20 weeks,” says Dr Nikhil.

“So, if a woman is 19 weeks pregnant, then doctors will not even blink before terminating the pregnancy but when she is at 21 weeks, that becomes a problem. The termination of pregnancy is primarily meant for major and substantial abnormalities. You are refusing it because she has crossed over some arbitrary limit. As a specialist, I know that it is safe to terminate the pregnancy beyond 20 weeks. We are not in 1971 anymore!” he adds.

Dr Nikhil reached out to national-level medical bodies to draw their attention to the need to amend the MTP Act and extend the permissible abortion term. “But that discussion became limited to medical conferences only. It was high time that we convinced lawmakers, judges, and policymakers,” he says.

Ultimately, in 2008, Dr Nikhil met Niketa Mehta, who was 24 weeks pregnant with a baby with multiple congenital heart abnormalities.

Disheartened by another such case, Dr Nikhil and the patient went on to challenge the law. “This was the first time in the history of the judiciary when a doctor and a patient got together to challenge a law. Usually, both fight against each other,” he laughs.

Sadly, their plea was rejected. But this did not deter his resolve.

A 14-year-long fight for abortion rights

Again in 2016, Dr Nikhil was put in a similar situation. “A minor rape survivor was brought to me by a non-profit organisation. She was 24 weeks pregnant and the foetus’ brain was not developed. In such cases, the foetus stays alive till the umbilical cord is intact. As soon as the cord is clamped and cut, it dies. Given the sensitivity, nobody wanted to touch this case,” he says with a sigh.

He reached out to the Supreme Court seeking justice for these women. He got his first breakthrough in the apex court when he garnered the support of 320 women who had abnormal foetuses, were minor rape survivors and from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Dr Nikhil, who also holds a law degree, burnt the midnight oil in the preparation of this case. From drafting, coordinating with the right contacts, creating adequate evidence, and responding to medical as well as legal questions, he meticulously planned it all.

Finally, the Rajya Sabha passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2021 to amend the MTP Act 1971. The Bill was approved in Lok Sabha in 2020. 

The Bill enhanced the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women which will be defined in the amendments of the Act. It would include survivors of rape, victims of incest, and other vulnerable women such as disabled women and minors.

“Although again an arbitrary limit, 24 weeks is still a pretty decent time frame to detect abnormalities,” he mentions.

Other than his patients, this judgement has been extremely satisfying for Dr Nikhil personally, who has fought multiple challenges and threats in various forms in his 14-year crusade.

“As a doctor, we see families starting with the birth of their children. We become a part of these units as they remember us all the time. I get 30 such cases every month. But when you are able to contribute towards a larger policy change, you are able to impact lakhs and crores of lives known and unknown to you. That’s a whole new level of satisfaction,” he adds.

(Edited by Padmashree Pande; All photos: Dr Nikhil Datar)

Source:

Rajya Sabha passes The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2021: By PIB Delhi published on 7 March 2021.

The hills of Jawai in the state’s Pali district are home to a thriving population of leopards, thus earning the area this moniker. The ode will seem fitting as you scroll through the scenic images that accompany the search results. The outlining caves of Jawai are an idyllic home for the wild cats.

But interspersed among these pictures — some that showcase a leopard sitting idly, others that capture it taking a stroll — you’ll notice a few surprising shots. One that caught my eye was a leopard in close quarters with a lone man herding his cattle.

For a country that wakes up to gory stories of leopards attacking and mauling unfortunate humans, the sight is startling. A quick research spree led me to discover that these men were members of the Rabari community that moved to India from Iran a thousand years ago.

The men are distinguished by their attire —  a red turban worn on the head with a white shirt that is tied in knots with strings. The look is completed with a floral print towel over their shoulder and shoes whose ends curl upwards. But the attire is not the only thing this nomadic pastoral community is famous for. They are also highly regarded for their harmonious relationship with the indigenous leopards.

As you will be well aware, leopard sightings and attacks have become increasingly common across the country. An article in The New Indian Express mentions that between January 2000 and December 2023, a total of 551 fatal attacks were recorded.

How then is the Rabari community managing to peacefully co-exist with the spotted wild cats? How do they go about their daily affairs without fear, in a region where the odds of crossing paths with the animal are at an all-time high?

The answer lay in an article published by Vice. As it turns out, the community reveres the leopards. Hartnaram, who is a Rabari herdsman’s son shared, “We don’t burst firecrackers during Diwali and refrain from playing loud music even during wedding processions so that it does not disturb the wild cats.”

A mutual respect, he said, was the recipe for the harmony. And seconding this thought is a conservationist Shatrunjay Pratap Singh from Jaipur.

The call of the wilderness

Be certain that a leopard will not harm you if you are with a member of the Rabari community. This is their promise.

Once threatened to have their population depleted, the leopards now enjoy the space they have. And as any local will tell you it is Singh behind this achievement. Now heading the Bera Safari Lodge, a boutique homestay in the Bera village of Jawai, Singh’s journey is not simply one of a man setting up a resort. Rather, it is a lesson in perseverance.

In 2013, Singh was on vacation at his ancestral farmland in Pindwara, 20 km from Bera. One afternoon, while watching the leopards — a passion he had developed ever since nature walks during his boarding school days at St Mary’s in Mount Abu — he heard a blast. “I enquired with the locals about the source of the blast and learnt that the Government had allotted nine mines in the area,” he shares, adding that further probing revealed 144 mines were in the pipeline.

If these blasts and loud noises continued for mining purposes, the leopards’ habitats would be destroyed.

Singh, along with a few locals, and with the help and support of the Rajasthan Forest Department led by then DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) of Pali — IFS Balaji Kari — put their heads together in an attempt to stop this from snowballing into a catastrophe. But as they would soon discover, it wasn’t that easy.

Singh spent the majority of three years having countless meetings with government officials, bureaucrats and ministers where he convinced the room that Jawai was the natural habitat of leopards, and that the area housed tremendous tourism potential. In 2014, the Government gave a premature termination notice to all the mines. The activity was soon discontinued.

Singh, who had quit a lucrative job in winemaking to turn his attention to the matter, now had a new dream. He envisioned that the land that he had fought so hard to protect would now be a safe haven for the leopards and those who loved them.

Today, the Bera Safari Lodge stands on eight acres of land and is a gold standard in how luxury does not need to be at the cost of nature.

A success story in conservation

Singh, who is now at the helm of a successful boutique lodge, recalls his early days of renting out a room in his driver’s home. “This was at the same time that I was fighting against the mining in the area. I had to stay on-site, so I lived with my driver who was a local in Bera.”

This was followed by a lot of criticism. “People used to make fun of me saying that I was living with my driver. But someone had to fight the mining project and I was very passionate about it. The agenda was very clear. I thought, if nobody does it, I’m doing it.”

Another observation on Singh’s part has been the attitude of the locals towards the leopards. Once frightened about leopard attacks, he says the locals (aside from the Rabari community) would poison the beasts. “But today, due to the tourism model in Bera, every villager is directly or indirectly associated with it. Since a majority of the tourism here is safaris to see the leopard, they understand how important the animal is for their welfare. Today, humans and leopards coexist.”

Singh, himself is fond of the wild cats. Calling himself a filmmaker conservationist, he lists the documentaries that he has covered featuring the wild, elaborates on a book ‘Leopards & Shepherds of JAWAI’ that he co-authored, and casually mentions he was the cameraman on National Geographic’s special programme ‘Wild Cats of India’.

These stints are illustrious. But ask him what he holds most dear to himself, and he says it is the memory of his first leopard sighting. “Her name was Zara and she wasn’t shy to be photographed at all,” he smiles. “She used to come really close.”

Fear was the last thing on Singh’s mind. He understood the wild and it understood him back. 

And it is these learnings that he shares with his guests on the safari rides at Bera Safari Lodge. He urges people to revel in the beauty of watching leopards and humans live together here but cautions that this is not a national park. “You’ll see how wonderful it is,” he says adding that in over decades there has been zero human-animal conflict.

Through the years when Singh wasn’t documenting the wild cats, he was building his dream homestay that started with three rooms and has now grown to seven.

The stone construction is a paradise and is managed by staff from the region. The produce too is sourced from the village, and thus, Singh notes how they are part of the economy supporting local people. “Our main motto is: We don’t sell rooms, we sell experiences here,” Singh emphasises going on to add that their no TV policy is an extension of this. “We want guests to be outside the room and enjoy nature.”

And there is a lot of this beauty to be enjoyed. Sloth bears, hyenas, chinkaras, and various migratory bird species are what you’ll be spotting through your binoculars. Compliment Singh on the paradise he has created and the iconic journey he has had, and he smiles, “It is simply my love for the wild that got me all the way here.”

The pictures he has captured are as compelling as the journey. Here are some of them:

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Belonging to the fisher folk community of the area, a majority of Hule’s day would be spent casting her net into the water. But, on the way back, she and the other fisher folk would allow themselves a short break during which they would sit back in their boats and revel in the beauty of the creek. 

In the evenings laden with baskets filled with the fresh catch of the day, the women would make their way back to the shore. It was during those moments of appreciating the beauty of the coast and its outlining mangroves that Hule began harbouring a dream. 

“I thought it would be lovely to bring tourists here for boating,” she says, recalling her vision. However, financial constraints and a lack of aegis meant this remained a dream for many years, until 2016, when a ray of hope emerged. 

For the love of culture and environment 

Sindhudurg accounts for 3.8 percent of the total mangrove vegetation in the state. This, and the rich biodiversity of the region make it a wonderful spot for tourism, observed Mumbai-based Rashmi Sawant. On a spree of setting up self-help groups across the country in 2013 under her initiative ‘Culture Aangan’, Sawant saw great potential in the region. 

That same year, she drew up a plan for mangrove eco-tourism and pitched it to the officials from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Titled ‘Mandavi Mangrove Eco Tourism’, the plan highlighted how women of Sindhudurg could arrange boating trips to the creek, set up homestays where they would welcome tourists, and make homemade pickles and squashes through which they could earn more. 

Meanwhile, Hule, who had dreamt of something like this for years, was most elated when a UNDP representative made their way to the village in 2016. “I told the representative about my dream and showed her the birds, the otters, and the trees near the creek. I told her that we could bring tourists here to see all of this,” Hule notes. 

However, the official was more interested in the mangroves. “What will you tell the tourists about these plants?” she asked a perplexed but excited Hule. 

“I will learn everything about them,” Hule replied. She was excited at the prospect of knowing more about the vegetation that she had often admired herself. “I was eager to know about their uses, benefits, how they helped the environment and more.” 

This was the beginning of the ‘Swamini’ self-help group that comprises nine women and one man in the Sindhudurg district. The group earns around Rs 2,00,000 a year by charging every tourist a fare of Rs 200 for the boating trip. They conduct a total of seven boating trips a day during season time. The women are supported by the staff of the Mangrove Cell under the Maharashtra Forest Department. 

As Hule shares, this initiative, while helping the women take on leadership, has also become a mode of their financial independence. 

This makes Rashmi Sawant proud. As she notes, this is one of the many success stories of Culture Aangan through which she attempts to create travel experiences and trips that will help the villages of India become self-reliant. 

From one woman to another: the feeling of freedom

Among the many projects undertaken by Culture Aangan, the self-help group model stands out for its success in inculcating a sense of responsibility among the women while also helping them learn the nuances of finances. Sawant shares that she has been instrumental in creating these models in Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh apart from Sindhudurg. 

But from her role as a tour manager in a travel company to now at the helm of empowering women, how did the transition happen? 

“After my marriage, I travelled across hundreds of villages in India while accompanying my husband for work,” shares Sawant. The stories narrated by the women she encountered had a lasting impact on her. “Some of these women would share how they found it tough to save even Rs 10 a month. Things were not good.” But why should women face these problems when they are wonderfully skilled? 

This thought was accompanied by another. What if the women borrowed from the foreign concept of homestays? 

Sawant had been at the receiving end of the hospitality extended to her during her stay at the ‘Bed and Breakfasts’ in the UK while she was attending the ‘Edinburgh International Festival’ — an event that celebrates the performing arts on a global scale, in 2000. She was amazed at how the lady of the house earned by simply letting out a bedroom and preparing a meal for her guests. If the women abroad could do this, why couldn’t the women of Sindhudurg do it too? 

But would the village women be interested in this foreign concept?

The next week, 50 women of the village responded to an ad that Sawant had put out in the local paper about her idea, effectively answering her question. Out of the group, two women raised their hands when Sawant enquired how many would like to turn their homes into homestays. One of the first families to show interest was a couple, Vaishali and Vijay Loke. Today, their homestay, ‘Pitruchaya’ in Devgad, is a thriving success. 

Another homestay, ‘Nandan Farms’ at Sawantwadi. run by Amruta Padgaonkar is also amassing great love from tourists who are keen to spend their vacation at an authentic mud homestay. The locals weren’t left alone to figure out the intricacies of running a homestay business. Sawant hand-held them through the process. 

“We got professional experts to come and train the women,” she notes.  

But she was well aware that simply inviting tourists with the allure of an authentic stay wasn’t going to suffice. They needed more incentive. 

Reviving crafts, traditional foods and nature tourism 

Puppetry, once the pride of Sindhudurg, had assumed the status of a dying art form. The Pinguli village used to be a vibrant space where marionettes danced to tunes and dialogues narrated by their puppeteer. 

The village was home to the Thakkar Adivasi community who were also known as ‘paramparik kalakars’ (traditional artists). The story goes that the community received patronage from Chhatrapati Shivaji who granted them land around Pinguli in the mid-18th century. Since then, the community settled in the region, giving up their nomadic lifestyle to engage in performance crafts.

But, with time, these crafts began to lose popularity. So, when Sawant stumbled upon the village while scouting for local crafts that would attract tourists, she was thrilled. In the months that followed, she set up the puppet museum ‘Thakkar Adivasi Lok Kala Museum’ and got artists and designers on board to do a skill upgrade and design intervention workshop. “The intent was to train the puppeteers in how to organise the shows and create small products using their art,” she says. 

Today, no one who visits Sindhudurg goes back without a visit to The Pinguli Arts Complex devoted to reviving and preserving the traditional crafts. On display are traditional art forms including ‘Chitrakathi’ — the art of telling stories through pictures, ‘Kal Sutli’ — a traditional form of string puppetry and shadow puppetry. 

In addition to the arts complex, Sawant was intent on helping the women earn through a craft they knew best — food. Under the banner ‘Hirkani’, Sawant also mobilised 160 SHGs through which 300 women were encouraged to produce squashes, pickles, etc. The women are now independent and these fares are sold at the homestays. 

Following the success of the Sindhudurg model, Sawant headed to Pali in Rajasthan where she partnered with a local NGO ‘Educate Girls’ that motivated the village women to start homestays. The idea was to push for financial independence. 

Sawant’s project in Uttarakhand was in keeping with the state’s Agriculture Ministry looking for ideas revolving around additional livelihoods in agriculture. Sawant seized the opportunity and pitched rural tourism as a potential idea. “Today the villages of India are empty. People are moving away. Village tourism will not only help generate employment for the locals but give them a reason to stay back in the villages.” 

Sawant also started a textile upscaling project in the state wherein she encouraged 60 women to earn through patchwork items such as quilts. 

What is fascinating is that Sawant’s slew of projects are not only focused on empowering women but doing this while helping city folk have an unparalleled holiday experience. For instance, the rural tourism project in Andhra Pradesh. She shares, “A village called ‘Veerapuram’ was given to us to develop. The village is a hotspot for the migratory birds that come to nest here from August to January every year. Over thousands of these birds flock here.”

Sawant organised 20 women into self-help groups that would conduct and benefit from bird tourism. “The women were trained to take the tourists around the village, explain to them about these birds and their migration patterns and show them their nests.” 

As Sawant looks back on how she has succeeded in bridging the gap between tourists looking for experiential travel on one side and villagers looking to earn on the other, she smiles saying, “I have a vision to help 5,000 women in the next few years. Because every woman empowered is a family empowered.” 

Edited by Padmashree Pande

It was a pleasant summer evening in 2022 when a few boys from Chwara village of Pauri Garhwal district stepped out to graze their livestock in the nearby forest. Sadly, they didn’t know the hidden tragedy that awaited them.

The forest had caught fire!

“When we saw the fire had broken out, all of the villagers helplessly ran helter-skelter. While some poured buckets full of water, some tried to save the fodder, firewood, and livestock in their homes,” 21-year-old Pritam Singh, who lives in the same village tells The Better India.

“We remembered how some kids had gone out to graze their cows and goats. Everyone was restless. After some time, we saw them returning from the burning forest. While they had sustained severe burns, we found out that their goats had succumbed to injuries,” he adds.

This happens almost every year in Uttarakhand.

Notably, in the forest fire season of 2022, a total of 1,443 incidents of forest fires were reported — including 642 in Garhwal, 724 in Kumaon, and 77 in protected wildlife zones. This was estimated to affect 2,432.62 hectares of forest area and an economic loss of over Rs 60 lakh.

Commitment to protect the village from forest fires

Unlike most young people who migrate to cities in search of better job opportunities, Pritam chose to stay in his village after completing his higher studies in 2022. “I did not want to leave my native place,” he says.

A graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, Pritam is currently preparing for the Government examinations and has volunteered to become a firefighter.

Growing up in Pauri Garhwal, Pritam says that he has witnessed many forest fires, including the dreadful 2022 fires. “We have a large cover of Chir Pine trees that are rich in organic polymers. This makes them easy to catch fire and hence vulnerable to forest fires,” he points out.

As per the Forest Survey of India 2019, the forest cover in Uttarakhand is 24,303.04 sq km, which is 45.44 percent of the state’s geographical area. And of the total forest cover, more than one-third (32.75 percent) is prone to forest fires.

Highlighting the reasons that cause forest fires, he says, “Incidences of forest fires are common between February and mid-July. These fires are exacerbated largely by human activities such as slash-and-burn agriculture, the use of fire for land clearance, and reckless disposal of lit beedi and cigarettes. Besides, there is also a myth among local villagers that if they set the forest ablaze, it induces rain that will yield nutritious fodder for livestock.”

“These fires not only result in the loss of valuable forest resources and wildlife but also affect humans in direct and indirect ways. It pollutes our water sources that originate from forests. It also increases their risk of drying up. Usually, villagers store firewood and fodder in their homes. And when these forest fires reach these habitations, they take a dreadful form,” he adds.

It is to be noted that Uttarakhand accounts for 1.6 percent of India’s total geographical area. But in terms of forest cover, the state accounts for 45 percent compared to national forest cover of just 21.67 percent — this signifies the rich biological heritage of the state and the urgency to save one of the country’s largest carbon sinks.

Understanding the need to preserve the rich flora and fauna of the state, in 2022, the Delhi-NCR-based NGO, The Hans Foundation (THF) began community-driven efforts to decrease forest fires in the state and promote environmental conservation and ecological balance. As part of this initiative, the foundation enlisted volunteer firefighters — like Pritam — to reduce forest fire occurrences. 

Preventing fires through community participation

Following THF’s intervention, Pritam, like many other volunteers, was provided comprehensive training to tackle forest fires. As a result, he was better equipped and prepared for any untoward incidents similar to those that occurred in 2022 and was able to respond to the emergency and control potential fire incidents.

“We were educated on how to implement local mitigation strategies to effectively control any forest fire. We were provided with firefighting kits that included a set of different types of fire rakes, a modified sickle, a shovel, a fire beater, and a tool kit bag. Training was provided on fire line development, biomass management, safety measures during fire dousing, and uses of the various equipment that were provided to us,” he shares.

Explaining how he responds to the emergency, he says, “We first inform the forest department about any forest fires that occur in the area. Meanwhile, we start clearing broad strips of land of all inflammable material like dry leaves and fodder so that fire does not extend from one area to another. After making forest lines, we also throw sand to extinguish the fire. However, if the fire is on a large scale, we try to prevent it from spreading further rather than extinguishing it.”

Like Pritam, THF’s initiative of preventing forest fire has seen 5,066 young firefighters being trained in 1,000 villages under 10 development blocks of Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Almora, and Bageshwar districts.

Additionally, THF has also enhanced community resilience by reviving the ‘Van Panchayat’ — a local community group responsible for forest management, as well as encouraging the plantation of fire-resistant species, and raising awareness through Nukkad Natak (street play), rallies, wall writing, quiz competition, radio programs, and jingles.

As a result, the region has observed a significant decrease of about 53.33 percent — from 30 forest fire incidents in 2019-21 to 14 in 2022. Similarly, a 57.35 percent reduction was observed in the area affected by forest fires — from 37.05 to 15.8 hectares in the same period.

Encouraged by the results of the community-driven approach, Pritam requests local people in the fire-prone regions to step up and respond to emergencies.

“The jal (water), jungle (forest), and jameen (land) belong to all of us as a community, so it is our responsibility to step up to safeguard it. We need to take more responsibility and consciously increase our awareness against forest fires. In the past couple of years, we have been able to bust myths among villagers and reduce extreme forest fire incidences,” says Pritam.

“If we could do it, then you too can. This Forest Day, let’s pledge to save our jungles!”

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; All photos courtesy The Hans Foundation)

Sources:

‘Uttarakhand loses highest 561.2 ha green cover in 24 hours to fires; over 2,000 ha so far’: by Shivani Azad for The Times of India, Published on 28 April 2022.

India State of Forest Report: by Forest Survey of India, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Published in 2019.

Little did Bijoy or his parents anticipate the nightmare that was to follow.

When the group of boys returned to Sikkim, they were one short. Bijoy was missing. Frantic, his father called the only man he knew could help — Raju Nepali. Something of a hero in the Dooars region of West Bengal, Raju is the first dialled number of any parent who is unable to trace their ward.

He was quick to calm a dishevelled parent down as he outlined the next best course of action. “We need to file a complaint with the Sikkim Police Department,” he said.

While assuring Bijoy’s father that he would help find Bijoy, Raju was already drafting a WhatsApp message with the boy’s picture. A few seconds later, 230 people were notified about the missing boy. This included journalists, police, social workers, and lawyers across India who sprung into action.

The next few weeks were a busy time for the members of the group. As they discovered, the boy was lured by a drug peddler and taken to Bhagalpur, Bihar, where he was beaten. “The parents were flooded with messages for a ransom of Rs 1 lakh if they wanted to see their child again,” recalls Raju. Efficient tracking using mobile networks led the police to the location, from where the boy was finally rescued.

Sharing the idea of the WhatsApp group ‘Stop If You Can’, Raju emphasises that it is a modern solution to curb human trafficking — a speedy one in contrast to the more antiquated solutions which otherwise cause confounding delays in finding the missing child.

Every child reunited with their parents is a milestone for Raju, now in his late fifties, who was once clueless about his future when he failed Class 7. But today, he is a shining success.

A missionary in Nepal

The WhatsApp group that was successful in tracing Bijoy is part of the NGO Duars Express Mail set up by Raju in 2007. Through its networks, the NGO has successfully rescued over 1,500 children so far.

“But we have protected over a lakh children,” adds Raju. Successful at the level of policy and practice, Duars Express Mail is a joint collaboration between Raju and anti-trafficking activists, Rangu Souriya and Nirnay John.

As Raju spends his day working out plans of action to tackle the trafficking cases that come their way, he says three decades ago his life looked very different. As a missionary, Raju’s work involved travelling to the remotest parts of India, especially to areas that were facing peace conflicts. It was on one of these trips to Nepal in 1992, that Raju and a young girl became friends. The two struck a strong friendship and she looked up to him as an elder brother, inviting him to her engagement when it was fixed.

While Raju attended the engagement, he gave the wedding a miss as he had returned to his home in West Bengal. “I was happy for her. But it never struck me to find out more about the boy she was going to marry or his background,” he recalls, adding that on a visit to the girl’s home later he realised his mistake. “Her parents had lost touch with her. They told me she had not had any communication with them since the wedding and neither way was the boy reachable.”

The family was distraught. While Raju helped them file a police complaint, there were no leads to go further, until eight years later when he was in Pune!

Once again on missionary work, Raju recalls how that day changed the course of his life forever. “I was at one of the dhabas in Pune and felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned to see who it was, I did not recognise the woman,” he shares.

But when she reminded him about their conversations and her engagement, Raju remembered. She was the same girl who was missing. As the girl narrated her story of how she was duped by the man she married and brought to Pune where she was forced to work in a red light area, Raju was shocked. “It was the first time I had heard about human trafficking,” he shares.

A vicious circle

Over the next few weeks, Raju looked for help for the girl and told her family, thinking they would be happy he found her. But in the process, he came to realise that the evils of human trafficking extend beyond the obvious purview. “When I told this girl’s parents the story she had told me, they were reluctant to take her back as she had been working in a red light area. This made me realise the importance of counselling in such cases, both for the victim and the family,” he says.

Unfortunately, the girl succumbed to the HIV she had contracted within a few weeks of Raju finding her. “My friend had lost her life. I wanted to ensure no one else was a victim of this fate,” he notes.

With this as the foundation for Duars Express Mail, Raju began networking with anyone in West Bengal who could help him understand more about the channels of human trafficking. As he soon learnt, according to an NCRB Report, between 2019 to 2021, the number of missing children in West Bengal increased by 22 percent.

The situation is grim. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data ranks West Bengal 10th in human trafficking. “Something needed to be done,” thought Raju.

Today, the work of Duars Express Mail is extended but not limited to the protection and rescue of victims of human trafficking.

Elaborating on the process followed, he says, “Whenever the parents of a missing child come to us, I first advise them to go to the police station and file a ‘missing’ complaint or a ‘kidnapping’ complaint in case of a minor. Then along with the police and social workers, we draw up a suspect sheet as to who the child was last seen with and where they were headed. We also try tracing the location through mobile.”

Once the location has been ascertained, the team traces the nearest railway station in the state and gives the nearest police station the lead. The WhatsApp group expedites the process. With people from pan India and even Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh, the group is a holistic network, and with so many minds working, locating the child becomes easier.

Raju adds that when a child is rescued, the District Magistrate decides whether the child needs counselling and can go home or should be placed in a shelter. It is this moment that he waits for. Every case solved is a win for Raju, and he is glad he can step in.

“Children who are trafficked lose hope of ever returning home, but seeing their smiles after their ordeal is the happiest moment for me,” he remarks.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Ragi samosa from Odisha; chuu tagi from Ladakh; murri pandullu from Telangana; hau chutney from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district; dudh puli from West Bengal; ragi dosa from Tamil Nadu — when you come across these delicious but less popular dishes from across India, you are bound to set off on a gastronomical voyage.

But where can you find them?

All these culinary delicacies were available at Samvaad — enabled by Tata Steel Foundation (TSF). The conclave honours tribal culture via art, healing, food, and more.

The five-day annual conclave — from 15 to 19 November, 2023 — in Jamshedpur, brought together 140 home chefs belonging to 35 tribes from 17 states. Samvaad is a platform for healers, artists, chefs, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs to showcase their culture and actively contribute to the development of their communities.

Stepping onto its tenth year in 2023, the theme for this edition was ‘Walk with Me’. It acknowledged the journey of ideas, dialogues, individuals, and collectives among India’s tribes. The participants looked back on their journey and shared their experiences and stories at various events, expressing how the conclave helped them resolve social and economic challenges within their communities.

Over 500 people gathered at the open-air Amphitheatre at Tribal Culture Centre (TCC) for ‘Akhra’ — a journey through powerful personal and collective narratives, and ‘Samuday ke Saath’ — a platform to share one’s artistic expressions of their own life’s trajectory or inspired by others’ lived experiences.

Over the years, Samvaad has celebrated and brought together more than 40,000 individuals from over 200 tribes in India and 17 other countries.

‘Cuisine connects us with the outside world’

Food is central to one’s sense of identity and plays an integral role at Samvaad. Every ingredient, be it vegetable, fruit, or spice, used in a dish represents a community’s biology and sociology, and forms a larger part of its historical narrative.

The Better India spoke to chefs from different parts of India and even got an opportunity to relish some of their food at Gopal Maidan. Despite the difference in their preparation styles and ingredients used, something unified the communities.

For instance, Vasantha from the Irula tribe of Tamil Nadu said ragi (finger millet) is the primary cereal in her village. They use it to make dosa and ragi balls. Meanwhile, Santi Bairak from the Chik Baraik tribe of Odisha uses ragi to make fritters, samosa, manchurian and even milkshakes. Then there is also Swati from the Oraon tribe who makes ragi cakes and pastries.

Although the taste of their dishes — umami, spicy and sweet — are poles apart, the reason for using ragi is the same — health benefits and easy access. And it got more interesting when Vasantha took a leaf out of Santi’s culinary book, went back home, and experimented with it!

For Vasantha, Santi and other chefs, their role goes beyond cooking and showcasing their food; it is a way to connect their community with the outside world.

“Food is actually the easiest way to initiate a conversation with strangers. However, though people may connect via Punjabi, Gujarati, or Goan cuisine, rarely are they aware of tribal cuisine. Part of the problem is the blanket labelling of tribal foods under the term ‘indigenous’, when in fact our food is as diverse as it can get. So, when people visit my stall, I make sure to educate them about our tribe’s history and why we use certain ingredients the way we do,” said Palash Mallick from West Bengal’s Lodha tribe.

He was happy that the sales of his star dish ‘dudh puli’ (rice dumplings) have increased over the years. The fried dumplings are made with rice flour, coconut, jaggery and milk.

A few stalls away, Pritesh Kumar from the Oraon tribe’s Khalko clan excitedly narrated the fascinating story behind each dish while offering free samples. “The baas (bamboo) pickle is good for your blood, and the demta chutney made from red weaver ants is rich in protein and calcium. Jamun powder helps control sugar,” he told the potential customer at his stall.

When asked how cuisine helps uplift his community, Pritesh said, “We get to tell our stories through cuisine by shedding light on ingredients, preparation methods, taste and more. Get us more stalls like these. We will not only survive but also flourish. We offer foods that may not be available everywhere in India. Every generation closely guards these recipes. It is our fourth time here [at the conclave]. Every year, we receive orders from across India once we go back home.”

Mentioning the controversial plant of mahua (Madhuca longifolia), he added, “Mahua is unfortunately only popular as an alcoholic drink and hence people assume our community is backwards due to this. What many people don’t know is that mahua can be used to make pickles and cookies as well. They have several health benefits. We aim to bring these dishes into the mainstream.”

Pritesh and his family earn five months’ worth of earnings within two days at Samvaad. He expressed hope that future generations will be eager to learn these recipes now due to its increasing market demand.

Geeta Sandil of the Munda tribe, who was participating in the conclave for the second time, said she had seen similar profits because of Samvaad.

“I thought we were the only ones, but I was pleasantly surprised to see so many tribal communities. We sold a lot last year, so we are back with several new additions like chicken khichdi, duck meat, dhuska, masoor dal pakoda (lentil fritters) and khasi pieces (goat legs). These dishes are good for bones, kidney stones, heart and gut. We prepare all the spices at home,” she told The Better India.

Seeing the positive response here, Geeta expressed her desire to quit her restaurant job and start her own food service.

Samvaad is helping participants like Geeta who wish to walk on the entrepreneurial road. For instance, this year, it tied up with Zomato to home-deliver traditional cuisines prepared at the conclave across Jamshedpur for five days!

That’s not all, tribal cuisine has been taking over luxury dining tables, as TSF collaborated with Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) to put up food carnivals and workshops at the Taj chain of hotels.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; All photos courtesy: Gopi Karelia)

In the past 50 years, India has lost over 250 languages, as reported by UNESCO. This loss not only affects languages but also various fields like history, biology, and anthropology.

But, there’s good news. Lately, there’s been a growing effort to preserve cultural identities throughout India, and the Samvaad Fellowship programme stands as a significant contributor to this movement.

Started in 2017 to empower the tribal communities, the fellowship encourages their youth to document their history, culture, ecology, traditions, art and more.

“The purpose of the fellowship is to get tribal communities to deep dive into their culture and help them shape their ideas in collaboration with various experts. The idea behind documenting different cultures is to create a repository of information and make it accessible to the rest of the world. At Samvaad, being a tribal is a source of pride. The community answers the toughest questions about their identity and tries to address them,” Sourav Roy, TSF CEO, told The Better India.

The fellowship is part of Samvaad, one of India’s biggest tribal conclaves in the country, enabled by Tata Steel Foundation (TSF). It takes place from 15 to 19 November every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda, a tribal independence activist and leader from Jharkhand’s Munda tribe.

Samvaad stepped into a decadal journey in 2023 and the recent edition’s theme was ‘Walk with Me’. The theme recognised the journey of ideas, dialogues, individuals, and collectives within and among the tribes of India, aiming to address future challenges through shared wisdom, idea exchange, and self-learning. The five-day conclave spotlighted various solution-driven dialogues and initiatives that have emerged from past conclaves. 

It was hosted at five locations — TSF Community Hall (RD Bhatta), Jamshedpur Nature Trail, Tribal Cultural Centre, Gopal Maidan, and Johar Haat. Gopal Maidan and Tribal Culture Centre served as the main activity hubs while Johar Haat housed a cloud kitchen facility for preparing food for home delivery in collaboration with Zomato.

Over the years, the conclave has celebrated and united over 40,000 people from over 200 tribes in India and 17 other countries. The Better India spoke to past fellows — Banwang Losu and Amabel Susngi — about their tremendous action towards preserving their culture.

Preserving lullabies and languages

For centuries, people across the world have followed the nightly ritual of singing lullabies to infants for a peaceful sleep. Closer home, we have thousands of lullabies in different languages. However, this tradition has faded over the years.

Ask yourself whether you remember a lullaby from your childhood!

When 28-year-old Amabel Susngi from Meghalaya observed that the lullabies in her native language Khasi were becoming a thing of the past, she decided to document them. As part of the Samvaad Fellowship, she gathered various lullabies and published them in a book.

A PhD researcher and a singer, she travelled across Meghalaya for over a year to collect these lullabies. She has documented 25 of them in her book ‘Ha Yupiam Ka Bei’ (On Mother’s Lap), which was published in both Khasi and English this year at Samvaad. It also comes with musical notations, and each piece has a QR code leading the reader to its YouTube version.

“While researching the folk music of the Pnar community, I realised that not many people remembered lullabies. That was a shock. Lullabies have been passed down through generations. Whether traditional or something made up by parents, it has been an important fabric of one’s culture,” Amabel told The Better India.

The road to publishing had its challenges, she adds, the biggest being research.

“Parents don’t sing anymore, and elderly people do not quite remember all the lullabies. Some knew only one line or two, and some remembered only the tune or lyrics. Scheduling meetings was not an option, so I had to work around their availability. Samvaad solved the critical funding problem, and it helped me connect with other fellows around the country,” she added.

Meanwhile, Banwang Losu from Arunachal Pradesh developed a script to preserve Wancho — a Tibetan-Burman language spoken in the Longding region of the state and some parts of Myanmar, Nagaland, and Assam.

Banwang first felt the need to have a Wancho script when he was asked to collect data about his community as part of his socio-economic study in college. He was unable to find the right English words to convey subtle tones. He tried to do some research and even started pursuing a master’s in linguistics at Deccan College Post Graduation and Research Institute in Pune.

While developing the script, he took inspiration from nature and Wancho cultural symbols, practices, and gestures. He developed a script with 44 letters (15 vowels and 29 consonants), each letter representing a distinct tone.

Banwang was the first fellow at Samvaad. “While working on the Wancho script, I heard about Samvaad and came here in 2017 without any proposal. However, the jury was delighted to see my work. Being a fellow here was eye-opening as it is the only programme for tribals at this scale. Using the grant, I made textbooks on the Wancho language,” he told The Better India.

Banwang taught the language to 2,000 people, and 20 of them are now teachers. Thanks to his work, over 6,000 students can read and write in Wancho. He also got the script approved for online use by the US-based Unicode Consortium.

“Every language is equally important irrespective of how big or small. We have to look at other minority languages with the same status and build scripts to preserve them. Loss of language is a loss of our own,” he added.

Reviving traditions and unveiling wisdom

Development, which was responsible for the decline in tribal populations, is now being used to preserve culture. Amabel and Banwang are using digital media to document their language and lullabies. A simple act of writing and recording is doing wonders for the community.

Of the 35 applications, 10 received the fellowship after rigorous rounds of interviews and pitches this year. And in between the process, all the applicants went through skill upgradation sessions.

“Most applicants have great ideas but are not savvy enough to write a proposal or give a presentation. When we think of diversity, we often forget about the tribals. We think they are primitive and live in jungles. But when you read the proposals, you learn their diverse wisdom, culture and history. Through this fellowship, we are trying to preserve that,” said Oinam Doren, a jury member this year.

Some of the Samvaad fellows 2023 include — Saka Mashangva, a folk artist who wants to document Tingteila, a traditional musical instrument of the Tangkhul tribe of Manipur which is almost extinct; Santosh Pawar, a social activist who wants to preserve and promote the folklore of the Bhil tribe; Madhavi Meravi, who wants to document the folk tales of Gond tribal communities as part of children’s literature; Pansy Jami, who wants to document the benefits of fermented food from the Lotha Naga tribe of Nagaland.

The applicants who get rejected are encouraged to apply again, shared Oinam. The jury members and Samvaad team continue to provide support by staying in touch to help participants enhance their ideas or pitches for a stronger comeback.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; All photos courtesy: Samvaad by Tata Steel Foundation)

Chandrakala Devi, an ASHA worker from Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, started experiencing severe body pain, fever, chills, nausea, and difficulty walking in late 2021. During the course of her work in her district, these symptoms caused her considerable discomfort and made it difficult for her to continue her job.

She visited nearby doctors and PHCs, who ordered some basic tests and prescribed medicines. After two weeks of rest at home, the 45-year-old did not experience any improvement. A doctor advised her to visit a hospital in Dehradun for better access to treatment, which involved travelling almost four hours to cover a distance of over 150 km.

At a Government-aided hospital in Dehradun, Chandrakala was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and advised dialysis twice a week. As this treatment was not available near her residence, she had to travel to Dehradun and stay there for two nights every week to get the dialysis done.

For this single mother, being separated from her son, spending on travel, and eight nights at lodging every month, was much more than what she could afford, both physically and mentally.

The situation faced by the ASHA worker resonates with many residing in rural parts of the country. According to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2015, Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) ranks as the eighth leading cause of death in India, largely because many patients develop complications leading to end-stage renal disease. A report published in The Lancet estimated that two lakh people in India develop end-stage renal disease every year due to the lack of access to long-term dialysis.

The high costs associated with dialysis care add to the financial woes of patients. Collaborating with the Uttarakhand Government, The Hans Foundation (THF) identified renal care as a major gap. Noticing that many residents in hilly areas were forced to migrate to Dehradun or Haldwani for dialysis, the organisation decided to bridge this gap by establishing last-mile availability of dialysis centres throughout the state, through the Hans Renal Care Centres initiative.

Started with a single centre in March 2022, the programme has now expanded to include over 27 centres across Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab. Over the past two years, THF has helped over 4,000 patients access free dialysis through these centres.

Improving access to dialysis in remote areas

A Government report has indicated an additional demand for 3.4 crore dialysis procedures annually. However, the predominantly private dialysis centres cater to less than half of this demand, making them unaffordable for the majority of patients in need.

In response, the Government initiated the Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Program (PMNDP) in 2016, operating under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to offer free dialysis services to economically disadvantaged individuals. This programme encompasses both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis services.

The Hans Renal Care Centres collaborate with the Government to ensure free dialysis care in areas where this essential healthcare service isn’t available. Each centre is staffed with a medical officer, a technician, a nurse, and a housekeeping staff, and is equipped with three dialysis machines. In addition, a nephrologist is assigned to each centre, who makes monthly visits and is available for consultations and emergencies.

The renal care centres run in partnership with the Government and are located within the Government district and zonal hospitals. While the space is provided by the Government, THF provides the necessary staffing, machines, medicines, and furniture.

In addition to the centres run in partnership with the Government, THF also operates a few private and independent Renal Care Centres, which provide cost-effective and subsidised dialysis care to patients.

So far, over 64,000 dialysis sessions have been conducted across the 30 centres, with 28 of them operating in partnership with different State Governments — including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh. The remaining two are privately managed by the foundation. The private centres, present in Uttarakhand and Punjab, offer dialysis at subsidised rates. The foundation is also soon planning to expand to even more centres in collaboration with the State Governments of Jharkhand and Punjab in the coming year.

For patients like Chandrakala, this is a boon, as it saves them time, energy, as well as money. “Earlier, I had to spend two days in Dehradun, which posed a major challenge due to travelling, especially considering I reside in a hilly area with rugged terrain. Additionally, I have no one to accompany me as my son attends college. Enduring this commute for almost four months left me exhausted and made work exceedingly difficult,” she explains.

In March 2022, The Hans Renal Care Centre opened its doors in Karnaprayag, a mere half-hour journey from Chandrakala’s residence. This reduced her travel time, ensuring that she could return home within the first half of the day, allowing her to promptly fulfil her duties as an ASHA worker.

Understanding kidney health: dialysis, costs, and access initiatives

Healthy kidneys cleanse your blood, removing waste and excess fluid from your body in the form of urine. They also regulate acidity levels and contribute to maintaining a proper balance of water, salts, and minerals in your bloodstream.

“When the kidneys are unable to remove enough wastes and fluids from the blood, it causes a build-up of toxins and waste. Dialysis replaces the functions of the kidney by removing the waste and excess fluid,” explains Dr Ganpat Ram, Medical Officer at Karnaprayag Renal Care Centre.

People with end-stage kidney disease require lifelong dialysis to survive, with the only alternative being a kidney transplant. Dialysis at private centres typically costs around Rs 2,000 per session, and when factoring in travel expenses, it results in an annual financial burden of at least Rs 2 lakh.

The Hans Foundation is working to bridge this gap, ensuring that people across the country, regardless of their financial status, have access to quality renal care in their districts. “The overall goal of this programme is to enable people in remote areas to access quality dialysis services at reduced out-of-pocket expenses and travel time, thereby enhancing their overall well-being,” Dr Ganpat added.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; All photos courtesy: The Hans Foundation)

Throughout generations, it has been the women of the household who have adeptly managed the finances. This tradition has persisted in my own family, spanning over three generations.

My grandfather would entrust his salary to my grandmother, who skillfully managed the modest sum, even though it was in the mere three digits during the 1950s. Similarly, my father would hand over his paycheck to my mother, and together they would make informed decisions on how to invest their savings.

The prudent financial practices of our grandmothers, mothers, and mothers-in-law have proven invaluable during challenging times, such as health crises or job losses. Their careful stewardship has not only ensured stability but also enabled significant investments like purchasing homes and vehicles — a feat accomplished without relying on prevalent practices, such as loans and EMIs.

Cut to today’s era, when managing finances has become increasingly complex, who better to guide us than women?

Navigating personal finances and mastering prudent investment strategies is an intricate skill that demands diligent study. And with a plethora of financial tools and avenues available, simply stashing away cash at home is no longer sufficient. Our financial aspirations have evolved, encompassing everything from retirement planning to annual vacations, children’s education, and home ownership.

Women are excelling in various financial domains, from running mutual fund houses to leading investment banks, showcasing remarkable expertise. These female leaders are carving out spaces for discussions on financial planning, empowering women through comprehensive financial education and support.

Here are seven women who are educating thousands on how to manage your income better.

1. Monika Halan

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A post shared by Monika Halan (@monikahalan)

Monika is a renowned personal finance expert currently serving as the chairperson of the Advisory Committee for Investor Protection and Education Fund at SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India). With her expertise, she has authored two influential books — ‘Let’s Talk Money’ and ‘Let’s Talk Mutual Funds’ — where she demystifies personal finances using relatable examples.

Moreover, Monika is the founder of ‘Dhan Chakra Financial Education’, a platform aimed at simplifying finance for all, including teachers, through educational content and videos. Her podcast, ‘Let’s Talk Money’, delves into various topics — such as ‘How Can We As Women Secure Our Financial Future?’ and ‘How Can You Get Your Investment Choices Right?’.

In a Femina article, she shared her advice to women, “Make financial independence a priority and set goals for yourself to achieve it.”

Beyond her publications and podcasts, Monika conducts talks where she imparts simple yet effective steps towards financial empowerment. Additionally, she runs a blog where she elaborates on various financial topics and addresses queries from her readers.

You can direct your questions to her at mailme@monikahalan.com.

2. Priti Rathi Gupta

Priti established and served as the managing director of Anand Rathi Share & Stock Brokers Limited. Recognising the disparity in women’s involvement in financial markets, she pioneered LXME, a specialised financial platform tailored for women.

As a Harvard Business School alumna, she developed an interactive platform where women can seek guidance on personal finance and ask questions. The LXME application offers live and Q&A sessions with a team of experts dedicated to empowering women to manage their money.

Their mission extends beyond mere financial advice; they assist women in investing for diverse goals and reclaiming control over their lives.

“A woman who is financially literate and makes her investing decisions reaches her goals faster, brings her inherent money management skills to the table and feels more confident about where her money is going. A little bit of understanding, a bit more of conscious decisions, and a whole lot of financially-fulfilled women. This is what defines today’s woman,” wrote Priti in a LinkedIn post.

3. Mrin Agarwal

Mrin brings with her a wealth of experience spanning over 27 years in the financial industry and wealth management sector. Following roles at Citibank and Deutsche Bank, she took the initiative to establish Finsafe, a company focused on financial education.

Recognising the predominantly male-oriented landscape of her clientele, she identified a crucial need for financial literacy among women. Her mission became clear — to empower women and equip them with the skills to manage their finances independently.

To achieve this goal, she started Womantra, a programme that assists women to plan their finances better and achieve financial independence. She has trained over two lakh Indians on money management in the past decade through her organisation. Finsafe conducts webinars, e-learning courses, corporate training, and one-on-one counselling.

In a Deccan Herald article, Mrin shared some very important pointers for women:

“Ladies, it is important to keep some basics of money management in mind. Like no one can take better care of your physical and emotional health other than you; no one can take care of your money, better than you,” she shared.

4. Rachana Phadke Ranade

A chartered accountant, Rachana’s love for teaching and knowledge of the stock markets has made her a popular YouTuber. She breaks down investing in the stock markets and financial concepts through her videos, garnering over 1.5 million followers across her social media platforms.

In addition to free lectures, she also provides paid courses for those who want to learn advanced investing.

“The best investment that anyone can make in themselves is learning! Particularly for women, becoming financially independent opens up so many opportunities for us to explore our full potential and take better control of our lives. Taking small steps towards learning finance can go a long way,” she shared on YouTube.

5. Nisary Mahesh

Former banker Nisary observed the lack of financial knowledge amongst women, across age groups and education levels. She started HerMoneyTalks in 2019 as a platform that provides information, investment tools, mentoring, and workshops for women.

She conducts financial awareness workshops at colleges, corporates, and other platforms to build confidence in women. This initiative stemmed from her observation of educated, working women not having an idea about how their money was being spent.

HerMoneyTalks also has a ‘HERoine’ community, which provides resources on money management.

6. Ratnasri Karra

Ratnasri is a chartered financial analyst, a SEBI registered investment advisor, and a former banker. Even as a banker and CFA, she noticed that financial advisors always spoke to her husband. This prompted her to start ‘Her Mony’ in 2013, which educates, coaches and advises women on financial planning.

Ratnasri conducts financial transformation sessions called ‘Healthy Wealthy and Moneywise’, enabling participants to understand various investment products and money management principles.

‘Her Mony’ provides financial education and training programmes, financial planning and advisory services, and financial consulting for businesses.

7. Hena Mehta

While pursuing her MBA at The Wharton School, Hena realised that financial planning was a pain point for her. On speaking with multiple women, she found out that this was a widespread problem, which led her to start Basis — a financial services company for women.

The Basis application comes with educational content, where you can learn about investments, insurance, financial planning, taxation and more. They have a community of over two lakh women as per their website and provide five-minute ‘knowledge boosters’ on financial topics.

“Educate yourself by chalking out as little as 30 minutes a week to stay on top of your financial situation. Talk money with friends and family. Start investing in small amounts. You can create a SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) for an amount as low as Rs 500 a month,” said Hena to Femina.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Sources

‘Ladies, stick to the basics while managing money’ by Mrin Agarwal for Deccan Herald, Published on 14 March, 2022

‘Co-Founders Of Basis, A Finance App For Women, Say Being Aware Is Key’ Published on 14 November, 2022 Courtesy Femina 

YouTube official blog

‘Don’t Bank On ‘Em’ by Ritu Ailani for Femina, Published on 30 May, 2022

“While the expenses kept on rising, our collective incomes didn’t. My husband works as an office boy and whatever he earns gets exhausted in meeting my in-law’s expenses,” the 24-year-old, who works as a domestic help, tells The Better India.

“Meanwhile, my salary would be exhausted in meeting the household expenses. Living in Gurgaon is an expensive affair. It would cost me up to Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per month in addition to the medical expenses. It was getting extremely difficult for us to manage daily expenses, let alone save anything for the future,” she adds.

In a bid to earn an additional income, Priya set up a small business to sell exotic fruits and nuts. Started in the condominium where she works as a domestic help, today she has managed to earn a strong customer base of 250 people in Gurugram.

This International Women’s Day, we sat down with her to track the inspirational journey that took her on the path to financial independence.

When the opportunity knocks

Coming from a humble agricultural background in Chalsa village, near Siliguri, Priya got married at the age of 18. “My family is into sericulture but that does not earn a stable income — only once in six months. Also, because of the rising human-elephant conflict, it has become difficult for villagers to do any work. Usually, people move out to cities for stable jobs. We did the same after our marriage,” she says.

In 2019, the newlywed couple moved to Gurugram for work. “After two years, I started working as a domestic help for Rashi didi [current employer],” says Priya who could only study till Class 11.

While both of them secured jobs, they would often exhaust all their incomes by the tenth of every month. This worried not only Priya but also her employer Rashi Soman.

“We were trying to find a supplementary income option for her and her husband. At the same time, I realised that we spent an exorbitant amount on fruits and vegetables, which we buy from the stores in Gurgaon. Even then the quality of fruits was not up to the mark. We thought the same could be sourced fresh and at a relatively better price from the Delhi mandi. This seemed like a good option as we had seen others also spend so much on sub-standard nuts and fruits,” Rashi tells The Better India.

On learning about this new opportunity to earn an additional income, Priya decided to set up this small business. So with Rashi’s help, Priya bought around 10 pieces of avocados from the mandi and distributed them to residents in the apartment. “With this, I earned a profit of Rs 300. I was just so happy to earn this additional amount,” she smiles.

Initially, Rashi went along with Priya to help her identify the market trends and the right fruit vendors in the Azadpur mandi — one of the largest fruits and vegetables markets in Delhi. After initial hiccups, Priya and her husband tied up with local vendors and started purchasing a wide range of fruits in bulk to be sold to households at relatively low prices compared to stores.

“When we visited the market, we understood that the price difference was so significant that even after a small mark-up, our fruits were cheaper. Plus, I would deliver fresh fruits on the same day of purchase. It was a win-win for both customers and us,” she adds.

Today, the couple has expanded their range of products to 30 kinds of exotic fruits and nuts — including red globe grapes, blueberry, mandarins, golden and green kiwis, cashews, walnuts, figs, dates, hazelnuts, cranberries, and more.

Taking orders through Google Forms

Alongside fulfilling her domestic help duties, Priya manages to run the business. Every Thursday, she leaves for the mandi at 5 am and purchases fruits and nuts in bulk. Around noon, she reaches Rashi’s house and starts packaging the fruits and nuts based on the orders. By 4 pm, Sanjit loads the packets and starts delivering them to the households. After an exhausting day, the couple winds up the work by 10 pm and starts counting the earnings of the day.

“On average, I am able to earn a profit of up to Rs 30,000 in a month,” says Priya with pride.

Through Rashi’s help, Priya and Sanjit also set up a WhatsApp group of 250 residents. Every Sunday, she mentions the availability of fruits and nuts along with their prices on the Whatsapp group for delivery on Thursday.

“We have created a simple Google Form where anyone can easily place an order. The details are stored in an Excel sheet in the backend. I help Priya generate a simple document using simple formulae that consolidates household level order details including the customer phone numbers, locations, and orders in kg,” Rashi tells The Better India.

“Every Thursday, I move all my furniture aside to keep all the fruits for packaging. My young children also pitch in to deliver orders on their bicycles and earn Rs 5-10 per delivery. With this, my children are also learning the basics of entrepreneurship, the value of money, and above all importance of inclusive growth,” she adds.

Rashi continues to inform that every Thursday, she pitches in the household chores so that Priya has time to cater to all the orders. “There has not been a single day when I haven’t received hot food. Priya makes sure that this work doesn’t affect household duties. Earlier, we would worry about how they’ll fend for themselves when they don’t have any savings. But today, I take pride that Priya has earned financial freedom as well as popularity. She is so enthusiastic,” she says.

She then adds, “Our house helps have aspirations beyond our kitchen and homes. If we just recognise them and give them that little push, then the sky is the limit. We just need to act as a small catalyst in helping such women achieve their aspirations.”

Meanwhile, Priya says she has not only learnt to set up the small business but also to ensure a sustainable financial future for her family. “Whenever I get big profits, I deposit all my money. With this work, I have been able to establish an identity for myself. I also got a kitchen refurbished in our village home and bought a double bed for my home here,” she says.

“Abhi tension nahi hai (I don’t have to worry about anything now). We do not have to worry how much we are spending on our village home and how much we are able to save to secure our future,” she adds.

Looking at her transformation from the old days, Priya wishes to encourage other women like her. “What was I earlier and what am I now! I believe other women can also start small businesses for additional income sources. It is all about your hard work and the community support with which you can achieve financial freedom like I did,” she says.

If you reside in Gurugram, you can join her WhatsApp group and place orders here.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; All photos: Rashi Soman)

He sounds excited at the feat, and he should be.

The journey that Bappan goes on to narrate confirms my belief that education was once a distant dream for this young boy. “When I was nine months old, my parents and I came to Gurugram from West Bengal. I never went to school until I was eight years old,” he says.

His narratives illustrate the division of his life into two phases — early childhood memories characterised by struggle, and a happier period after he turned eight.

After moving to Gurugram, Bappan started attending classes at the Nayi Disha NGO — started in 2014 by Seema Seth — right near the slum cluster where he lived with his parents in Harijan Basti in DLF Phase V, Gurugram. “We learnt so many subjects,” he tells me excitedly. “Seema ma’am would take us everywhere! We would play, study, and have fun.”

Though currently a student at the VIDYA NIOS in Gurugram, Bappan shares that the foundation of his educational pursuits was laid at Nayi Disha. From a young boy disinterested in education to now an adolescent who harbours dreams of becoming an engineer someday, Bappan’s story makes Seema smile, and watching him scale makes her feel very proud.

This is just one example of how diligence can change a life. “You know, I never imagined doing this,” Seema is modest.

But I must admit as she chronicles her journey from an HR professional with 30 years under her belt, to now at the helm of creating a change in the lives of underprivileged kids, I am intrigued at what point one path segued into the other.

“It all started the day I had a conversation with a rickshaw driver,” she responds.

‘Ma’am aap school khol do’

In 2013, Seema, who is now in her late sixties, had had enough of the corporate world. She quit.

But come evening, every day, she would hail an auto to the Government school in Sikanderpur where she would spend the next few hours teaching English to the primary section. “It was something that I was deeply passionate about. While I was working, many a time I would take time off my training assignments to teach here,” she shares.

It was more often than not the same rickshaw driver who would ferry her to and fro from the school. And one day he broke the ice.

“Do you charge to teach the students here?” Mahendra asked her.

“No, I do it for free,” she replied.

“I live in Harijan Colony where there are many children who loiter around,” he explained. “Their parents are maids, drivers, and grocers. They leave for work in the morning and return late in the evening. Ma’am aap waha school khol do (Ma’am open a school there).”

Seema was intrigued.

“Well, if you manage to find me a space to teach, I will,” she said. And within a couple of weeks, Mahendra did exactly that.

Thus started Nayi Disha on 19 March, 2014, in an old warehouse in the middle of the Harijan Colony with 35 children. Since its inception, the NGO and Seema have attempted to create a linkage for these underprivileged kids into mainstream schooling by providing them with the academic foundation they need.

Transforming kids’ lives in real-time

The effect of time is evident in the dreams of Nayi Disha. What started as a handful of kids being taught English in a small room in the basti has now scaled to over 100 kids spread across eight rooms learning a variety of subjects — English, Hindi, mathematics, environmental science, art, computers and theatre.

More astounding than the children’s participation has been the support of the parents, notes Seema. “They have begun to see an improvement in their children,” she says, adding that this realisation deepened during the lockdown that ensued amid the COVID pandemic.

“Because of online classes, it so happened that parents were at home while the kids were learning. We would send them activities and worksheets to solve. The parents ended up learning a lot in the bargain,” she chuckles.

At the end of the lockdown, the entire basti knew the days of the week, months of the year, and multiplication tables on the tips of their fingers.

“The parents got to see how much value we are adding to the children’s lives. They realised that their children actually study at Nayi Disha and that there are people who are spending dedicated time with them,” she shares.

This change in mindset is refreshing. The parents’ new view of the NGO as a space of learning, in contrast to seeing it as a creche, is a win according to Seema.

School is freedom for these children. Right from the 9 am assembly and the circle time — where they share their observations about the weather, talk about their day and express themselves — to the chatter at the mid-day meal distribution and English classes that are conducted by volunteer students from colleges across Gurugram, each moment is a celebration of learning.

But, the kids love theatre sessions the most.

“It makes them confident and outgoing. It encourages them to speak up,” she explains. “This is great because we noticed that a lot of them are shy and reluctant to speak.”

But at 1.30 pm when the kids file to go back home, brighter than the smile on any of their faces, is the one on their teacher’s face.

Nisha, who has been with Nayi Disha since it started, is Seema’s rock. “Seema ma’am was looking for a teacher and someone put me in touch with her. Since the start, I have been teaching these children many subjects and have watched these children grow. I remember them being unruly, but with time, we taught them etiquette and manners along with other subjects. They have picked these things up well,” says Nisha.

Keeping abreast with the times

For 10 years now, the eight rooms have been bustling with students’ chatter, laughter, and cheer. However, the success of the model is overshadowed by the challenge of retention of the kids.

Elaborating, Seema says, “The people who live in these slum clusters have their roots in remote villages of India. So, at the drop of a hat they leave for the village — sometimes because someone is getting married, other times because they are building a home there, or they need to tend to their fields.”

She adds, “The children miss months of school and then come back blank.”

This creates a dilemma for Seema and the team of 12 teachers about whether to take the children back or not. “If we don’t take them back, we will be encouraging them to be loitering around. If we take them back, we will have to put in an extra amount of effort into teaching them the same concepts again,” she shares.

But Seema always chooses the latter.

With the popularity that Nayi Disha gained through the years, she started another outlet at Indira Colony with five rooms. Currently, 65 students study there.

Once students reach Class 5, they must take an entrance test that will give them entry into one of the public schools under NIOS. Those who clear the entrance are admitted into schools — such as Delhi Public School, Shiksha Kendra, SRF Vidyalaya and Lotus Petal Foundation.

“The students are being trained in the NCERT curriculum even while they are at Nayi Disha,” she emphasises.

She adds that teacher trainings are conducted once a month to check if the syllabus is being followed, and to understand any challenges the teachers are facing. “There is also a parent-teacher meeting on the last Saturday of every month.”

Coming by funding to keep Nayi Disha going is a challenge. But, not for Seema. “I’ve become a believer that there’s somebody in the universe who’s always listening to my thoughts. Whenever I think of something which is for the children, it always ends up working out,” she shares.

Circling back to the story of Mahendra — the auto driver because of whose request the plan was set into motion — Seema says it was destiny. “Mahendra had lost his parents in the 1999 floods of Odisha and had come to Delhi as an orphan. He’d always wanted to study but never had the chance. Coaxing me to start a school for kids in slum clusters was his way of making sure he could play a role in someone else’s dream coming true.”

And today, Nayi Disha is the missing piece of the puzzle.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

“I was standing at the edge of the diving board and when I looked at the vast sea, I got scared. My scuba diver yelled at me to jump. But I refused,” she recalls in a conversation with The Better India.

“It was like taking a big step into the water before going deep inside it with the pressure. Initially, this process looked a little messy to me. I doubted myself, but then I closed my eyes and remembered that it was my first and the last opportunity. If I quit now, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life,” she adds.

Uma, who was training to become a certified scuba diver, took this decision a year before turning 50. Since then, there has been no looking back. “When I dived, I finally saw the coral reefs for the first time. My age never came into my mind,” she shares happily.

Today, the homemaker-turned-scuba diver has made it her life’s mission to raise awareness about rising marine pollution and protecting coral reefs.

From a happy homemaker to a scuba diver

Born into a conservative family in Chennai, Uma didn’t have many aspirations. After pursuing higher studies in literature from the Madras University, she got married and moved to the Maldives in 2004 where her husband worked as a doctor.

“I was always interested in painting since childhood but I never got a chance to learn art professionally. I was not introduced to an atmosphere that fosters professional growth or conversation for women. So, I got married and focussed on being a good housewife,” she says.

“I was tutoring kids at home but I never did a full-time job. I travelled with my family, wherever my husband’s work took us. Although I was a happy housewife, I couldn’t help but feel that I should have focussed on my career or pursued a PhD,” adds Uma, who currently resides in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu.

It was only at the age of 45 that Uma revived her interest in painting. “When I started to paint, I felt like I was reborn. Then, I saw a documentary on coral reefs which encouraged me to read more about them. I started painting them and holding exhibitions,” she shares.

Once while speaking on the impact of pollution on coral reefs, she was mocked by one of her cousins. “He asked me if I had seen coral reefs in real life, or how the ocean even looked underwater, or what the colour of the ocean was. Although it appears to be blue and beautiful outside, it’s full of pollution inside. This sparked my curiosity to dive deep into the water,” she adds.

Eventually, Uma took up swimming to become a diver. “My family supported me in this decision. The same year, my husband and I were to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. As a present, my son paid for my certification course and encouraged me to learn to dive. I advised myself to seize the opportunity as it hardly comes to anyone at this age,” she says.

As Uma dived in deep, she was taken aback by the underwater beauty. “It’s a surreal world. When the water envelopes your body, you forget about the outside world and the worries. Despite carrying such heavy gear on my waist and shoulders, I felt light as a feather. It seemed the time had stopped, and before me were these beautifully coloured coral reefs. I was overwhelmed to see them for the first time,” she adds.

For oceans turning into garbage bins

With time and experience, Uma’s interest in the coral reefs slowly turned into a deep concern.

“Every time I dive into the water, I see the coral reefs destroyed further by irresponsible waste disposal, oil spills, untreated sewage, and toxic chemicals that are dumped into the sea. This is very disheartening. Oceans are the biggest carbon sink helping us breathe good oxygen but we keep using them as our largest garbage bins,” she says.

As a result, coral reefs — considered one of the most significant marine ecosystems — are dying at an alarming rate. Motivated to take action, she met documentary filmmaker, Priya Thuvassery, to urge her to make a film on coral reefs.

And her efforts paid off and how!

In 2019, their award-winning documentary titled ‘Coral Woman’ was released, featuring Uma’s journey to raise awareness of the damage being caused to marine life. “In India, we do not talk about the coral reefs, so this film was an eye-opener,” she adds.

Over the years, Uma hosted several painting exhibitions across the country to draw interest to the subject. “The coral reefs in my paintings are not happy anymore. Today, I depict the walls of the ocean on my canvas and paint their sufferings. I believe art is a very powerful medium to bring about social transformation.”

It has been a decade since her first dive, but Uma continues to raise awareness about marine pollution in schools, colleges, and corporate organisations. Recently, she was named the ‘Earth Champion of the Month’ by Sony BBC Earth. 

“Personally, the transformation from being a homemaker to a scuba diver has given me an immense sense of responsibility. The oceans do not have a voice. I am one of the few who could communicate the reality. My work is small and it will take an entire village to bring about a change. We do not just need to talk the talk but walk the walk as well,” she adds.

(Edited by Padmashree Pande; All photos: Uma Mani)

“The government is expected to provide daycare facilities to these children of migrant labourers at the construction sites but most of the time, a dai or mausi is hired to look after these children. It is to be noted that these women lack skills or training to give attention to the nurturing and growth of children,” Manjusha Doshi, chief executive officer of Tara Mobile Creches Pune, tells The Better India.

“There is ignorance at the parent level as they get busy in their construction work. If they leave the work, then they lose their daily wages,” she adds.

In a commendable move, the nonprofit has set up mobile crèche-and-daycare centres at the construction site so the mothers could safely leave their children involved in activities enabling their holistic development.

While the organisation focuses on children in the age group of 0-18 years, it also assists students in pursuing higher education and landing stable jobs. So far, the organisation has reached out to at least 1,16,621 children of migrant families with its 16 mobile creches established in and around Pune city.

In conversation with The Better India, Manjusha Doshi reveals how their mobile creches are transforming the lives of children of migrant workers.

For holistic development of migrant children

Established in 1980 by Sindhutai Sawardekar, Tara Mobile Creches Pune works in partnership with builders, contractors, donors, CSR companies, and volunteers to run daycare centres in the city.

It works on three pillars: health, nutrition, and education. This includes weighing children and providing special meals for those who are malnourished, visiting the doctor for regular checkups, providing age-appropriate pre-learning activities and education, and engaging parents and community members in overall child-development.

Manjusha says, “We conduct general health checkups of all the children monthly as well as of the pregnant and lactating mothers to minimise their morbidity. While minor illnesses are taken care of at the daycare, we accompany them to the hospital for treatment in serious cases. We also focus on the nutrition of malnourished children.”

At these mobile creches, the children are provided with age-appropriate nutrition three times a day, including milk, rice, pulses, legumes, vegetables, and fruits.

“Apart from this, we help these children enrol in government schools so that they are engaged in the mainstream of education. At times, children of these migrant families coming from states like Rajasthan, Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, and Karnataka, do not have necessary documents like Aadhaar cards and birth certificates. Our programme coordinators help facilitate such admissions,” she says.

“We also have additional coaching classes at the daycare centre where teachers take tuition to enhance the foundational learning that gets affected because of late schooling,” she adds.

Furthermore, the non-profit also conducts various non-academic activities to capture their interest for example – arts and crafts, painting, street plays, sports and music-related activities.

Manjusha informs that the non-profit continues to assist these children until the construction work nears completion. The migrant families move on and so do these mobile creches.

Escaping lives of drudgery to become leaders

Interestingly, the nonprofit assists students till they attain adulthood and secure a stable future. Manjusha says, “While their families frequently migrate, we offer the support of a residential education facility where the child will be put into a hostel and could continue their education irrespective of the working sites of their parents.”

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“After they complete their class 12, we keep in touch with most of our children. We also conduct an aptitude test and according to the test results, we guide them to pursue higher education in their fields of interest. Although there is no formal vertical, we keep a very close watch on these students and extend our support whenever needed. To some extent, we have also helped our children get stable jobs with the help of our sponsors, NGOs, and builder partners,” she adds.

For instance, Smita (name changed), who was once rescued from child marriage, is now working in a non-banking financial company with the support of the nonprofit. She tells The Better India, “I have been associated with this organisation since I was 5 years old. Initially, they helped me enrol in a government school. After completing class 10, when I went back to my hometown, I was informed that my marriage had been fixed with a man who was 10 years older than me. At my haldi ceremony, a team from the NGO came to my rescue, and with the help of the police, my marriage was stopped.”

“Thereafter, I came back to Pune and continued my higher studies till class 12 and secured a job in a bank. Whatever I am today is because of the efforts of this NGO,” she smiles.

Talking about the long-term impact post-handholding, Manjusha says, “Recently, we organised an alumni meet of our 200 students. It was really overwhelming for me to learn how these children are doing well in their lives. Some of them are working with multinational companies, some of them have become principals of schools, and some are working at the construction site, but as civil engineers and not as labourers. The impact motivates us to keep on going.”

Edited by Padmashree Pande. All photos: Manjusha Doshi.

However, the same village has now become a model for gram panchayats in the Adilabad district of the state. The village has transformed in many facets – local people today responsibly segregate waste, help maintain cleanliness around the property by utilising a soak pit, and households have become energy self-sufficient.

For its incredible transformation, the village has also bagged several national-level awards including the National-level Gram Urja Swaraj Vishesh Award 2023, Swacch Sujal Shakti Samman 2023, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Shashaktikaran Purashkar 2022, and the Biodiversity award and Swacch Sarvekshan Award 2020.

Behind this huge village makeover is its sarpanch Gadge Meenakshi. For her remarkable efforts, she was felicitated by President Droupadi Murmu ahead of the International Women’s Day last year.

In conversation with The Better India, she sheds light on how she achieved this massive transformation.

Taking on a village in dire straits

Growing up, Meenakshi herself experienced the lack of basic amenities in the village. “We had school till class V in our village. For higher studies, we would be forced to go out. This was the period when most of the girls would drop out. Anyway, I pushed myself to study till class 12 at least,” she tells The Better India.

“For this, I would walk for three kilometres to the highway to catch a bus to the school that was further eight km away. In all, I would daily travel 11 km to reach school,” she adds.

Highlighting additional woes of the village, she informs, “There was no proper drainage system in the village. Often, drains would overflow on the pathways, making it difficult to move about. This would also become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Doctors did not stay long in our village because of poor infrastructure and the huge patient workload.”

“Our complaints would fall on deaf ears of the previous sarpanch who lived very far off from this village. The condition, and the littering habits of people, remained the same,” she adds.

The village’s plight continued until 2019 when Meenakshi was elected as the village head.

In her first step towards transformation, Meenakshi focused on achieving an Open Defecation-Free (ODF) tag by constructing toilets in all households. “Often, women would complain that they felt shy and embarrassed to go out in the fields which were also used by men for defecating,” she says.

Initially, there were 22 toilets in the village. Under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Gramin, the gram panchayat constructed toilets in all the 210 households of the village. “In addition to this, we constructed soak pits in every house so that we could prevent water leakage on the roads to keep the mosquitoes at bay,” she says.

Turning waste into gold

Interestingly, the village is also earning revenue by selling vermicompost fertiliser produced by adopting the waste management policies. The panchayat distributed two separate bins to the villagers to collect and segregate dry and wet waste at the household level.

“So, the waste that would earlier be thrown out in public spaces earlier, is now being converted into vermicompost. Every month, we are able to convert at least 50 kg of waste and sell its compost to farmers in and nearby our village. So far, we have earned Rs 10 lakh in the past 3-4 years with waste. We have also earned Rs 70,000 by selling plastic waste,” adds Meenakshi.

With the profits, the model village has also installed two rooftop solar grids to produce 6 kilovolt of electricity, making the village energy self-sufficient. “Over the years, we installed solar lights in the village schools, anganwadis, roads, and gram panchayat. This has reduced monthly power bills expenses of Rs 15,000 for our gram panchayat. Now, we get zero power bill,” she informs.

Other than this, Meenakshi has helped the village get 1,000 tap water connections under the Har Ghar Jal mission of the central government. She has also roped in the community to plant 1 lakh fruit-bearing trees on the roadside, promoted usage of eco-friendly cutlery in weddings, set up a digital library, and deployed a free school bus to pick and drop school-going children so that they are not forced to stop their higher studies.

Subhash Gadge, a resident of the village, tells The Better India, “Our sarpanch madam had been advocating for social work from the time when she was not even elected as the village head. And today her efforts have led to a behavioural change among the community. We not only use the toilets in our homes but are also aware of how to segregate our waste.”

Subhash, who also works with the mandal parishad’s territorial constituency of the village, adds, “This village has become a model for 408 gram panchayats in the state. Today, many sarpanches from other districts visit our village to witness how we achieved this transformation.”

It is to be noted that the village has utilised Rs 36 crores as funds from the state and the central government to successfully implement various government programmes and achieve the change. Other than the official help, Meenakshi credits the community for the success.

“Every panchayat is entitled to the same funds but we stood apart from them because we utilised them for betterment. But this success could not have been possible at the individual level. Only when you involve the community and give them a sense of ownership, can you achieve a drastic transformation,” she says.

“I grew up seeing the problems of this village. Now, at the age of 40, I have witnessed it getting transformed. It is immensely satisfying to be able to see my village transform in my lifetime,” adds Meenakshi, who is now working on producing biogas at the village level.

(Edited by Padmashree Pande; All images: Subhash Gadge)

These are profound questions that Sarah Iyer — a 58-year-old former special needs educator and founder of the Madras Animal Rescue Society (MARS) — has been answering with conviction for nearly five years.

Since October 2019, the Chennai-based MARS, an animal welfare trust affiliated with the Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board, has been running Daaman — a dog shelter situated along the East Coast Road (ECR) in Krishnan Karanai near Mahabalipuram.

Daaman has over 380 dogs in their care, of which 42 are paraplegic puppies and more than 50 are either partially blind, blind or have neurological issues. The shelter is also home to more than 100 paraplegic adult dogs while the rest are old, abandoned and suffer from other disabilities.

Backed by six full-time staff members (all women), Sarah and Gerry spend their days feeding, treating, rehabilitating, and caring for these forgotten creatures. Despite their abiding love for these dogs, it has not been an easy task. From offering lifelong care for these abandoned dogs to raising funds for them, these five years have been extremely challenging.

But speaking to The Better India, Sarah says, “Once you see a video of a dog suffering or people ask you to rescue a dog, you can’t say no. In most cases, the only option for old, blind or paraplegic dogs is euthanasia. Nobody will let them survive on the street. I can’t live with the guilt of refusing shelter to a dog who needs it. I would rather see them alive than put down.”

Finding PK

Nearly two decades ago, Sarah relocated to Chennai from Mumbai. At the time, Sarah had completed her master’s degree, trained to become a tutor for children with special needs, and worked with them.

“Once my daughter finished high school and left for the United States to study for her undergraduate degree, I took a break from everything, including teaching. That’s when I first got the time to get into animal (dog) welfare full time,” recalls Sarah, speaking to The Better India.

What followed were three major events which would take Sarah to where she is today. Around a decade back on New Year’s Eve, they were living on Harrington Road. 

“We had just watched the movie PK. Like Aamir Khan’s alien character in the movie, this puppy just appeared in our lives out of nowhere. We heard a dog crying but assumed that someone in the neighbourhood had just brought a young pup who was crying. But by 8 pm, however, I felt something was wrong. So, I stepped out of our home and finally found this black and white puppy wedged between a parked car and the wall,” she adds.

Their initial attempts at pulling this puppy out weren’t successful. Though injured, he was feisty and did not allow them to touch him. Gerry finally managed to pull this pup out.

“But we struggled to find a vet on New Year’s Eve. We eventually found one but had to pay five times the rate to get them over to our locality and give it first aid. On New Year’s Day, all clinics were shut. We could only take PK for treatment on the 2nd (of January). Having a spinal compression and a broken leg, PK was paralysed. After much care, attention and physiotherapy for more than a month, PK started walking, running and playing. Although we were initially reluctant, we decided to adopt him,” she recalls.

A mother’s wish

One person who was delighted to see Sarah and Gerry adopt PK was her mother. After losing her father early, Sarah recalls how she was brought up by “three strong women” — her mother, grandmother, and maasi (aunt). “They were strong and kind women,” she says.

Sarah had also grown up with dogs and other pets. She had keenly watched her mother, aunt and grandmother feed them, groom them and love them like their own family members. As a result, Sarah had no fear of dogs and nurtured a strong affection for them.

“Growing up, I always saw them showing kindness to animals. They never explicitly instructed me to be kind to animals. It’s just something I imbibed by watching them. Eventually, there came a time when my mother would tell me, ‘Guddi, you must start a shelter’. At the time, I was in Mumbai and more concerned with raising my daughter. However, my mother would keep insisting that I should start an animal shelter,” recalls Sarah.

“When we moved to Chennai and got PK home, my mother was very happy. Also, since I had more time for myself after moving to Chennai, I told my mother that I would think about opening a dog shelter. In 2016, however, my mother suddenly passed away. To make matters worse, my aunt also passed away within a year of my mother’s death,” she adds.

Saving Mehrunnisa

Months after adopting PK, Sarah and Gerry left their Harrington Road residence and moved to Palavakkam, a locality closer to the beach.

“After moving to our new place, I noticed a man walking with his labrador. Near them was an indie dog who had littered (gave birth to pups) and started barking at the man and his labrador. In response, the man hit this indie dog very hard with a big stick he was carrying with him. The next day, I found that this mother dog couldn’t stand up. Her legs kept slipping beneath her and she was unable to feed her four puppies. I took her to numerous vets, but none could do anything about the injuries,” recalls Sarah.

“We took her in and named her Mehrunnisa (Neesa), which means ‘sun among women’. She was a beautiful and petite dog. While we got two of her pups adopted, we took in the other two. Neesa was paralyzed for life. It was only then I realised that she needed so much care. We had to put underpads under her [stomach] because she would get all sorts of sores and wounds. Leaving dogs like Neesa on cement or tile floors, they develop wounds and start bleeding from their sores. That’s how they develop secondary infections and sometimes die,” she adds.

Meanwhile, Sarah was part of a WhatsApp group with 180 people on it who were organising daily rescues from all over the city and sterilising strays. She claims, “Other people in the group would donate here and there for the cause but ultimately I would pay for the retrieval and treatment of these rescues. At this time, we were rescuing about eight dogs per day. Imagine paying for the boarding, transport, and treatment facilities for these rescued dogs.”

Moreover, after rescuing a dog, what does one do? “I realised that I couldn’t put these old, injured, paraplegic, and disabled dogs back on the street. Initially, I would put them up in foster care. For one dog, these foster care centres would charge me about Rs 10,000 per month. That’s a lot of money. What’s more, the foster care people were taking money for these paraplegic dogs but their condition was only getting worse,” she explains.

Sarah knew that if she wanted to help more dogs and completely transform their lives, she had to be more systematic and that’s how she decided to form a trust. Moreover, having taken care of Neesa and given her 24/7 attention, Sarah also began thinking about the fate of other paraplegic dogs suffering on the street.

“How are they even going to find food? By dragging themselves they develop abrasion wounds and the healthy dogs won’t even allow them to eat because they’re territorial by nature. Besides establishing a trust, what we also needed was to build a shelter for them,” she notes.

Fortunately, Sarah had a friend who owned a piece of land on the outskirts of Chennai next to a beach which she could rent out. It had not been used for the previous eight years and so. 

“Out of our own pockets, we cleared up the space and started building enclosures. Despite establishing the trust sometime in May 2019, no money was coming in because people didn’t know about the kind of work we wanted to do. Initially, we built two enclosures followed by another two and so on. By October, we started the shelter and called it Daaman,” she says.

Amidst all this, Sarah was still dealing with the sudden and devastating loss of her mother. To deal with the pain of losing her mother, she focused on establishing this trust, setting up the shelter, and caring for the paraplegic and abandoned dogs who came in

“As I mentioned earlier, I also lost my aunt within a year of losing my mother. They were integral parts of my support system. To deal with the pain of losing them, I immersed myself in helping these dogs. In the process, I fulfilled my mother’s wish of establishing a dog shelter,” she notes.

Lifelong care

Upon receiving a call from people about a dog getting hurt in a part of the city, Sarah and her team send out a vehicle or an autorickshaw to collect it and get it treated. Following this, the dog is brought to the shelter and given a ‘forever home’. It’s lifelong care for these dogs.

“About 99% of the cases we receive are of dogs who are really old, paraplegic, and cannot go back to the street. What’s more, nobody wants to adopt these dogs. Yes, we do have a visiting vet but we don’t have a full medical set up at our shelter. Every day, I have to travel with at least four to five dogs to clinics in Neelankarai and Pallikaranai which are about a 30 to 45-minute drive from the shelter, and we bring them back,” explains Sarah.

“I’ve also learnt to do physiotherapy for paraplegic dogs. The sand in the shelter offers a very good surface for these dogs to regain some of their ability to walk because it gives them a good grip. The sand is also excellent for these dogs because it prevents pressure sores and bed sores, and their wounds heal faster. Our physiotherapy work and the sandy surface facilitate quicker recovery for them. We also provide them with good nutrition,” she adds.

Each month, the Trust requires 3,000 kg of chicken, 1,700 kg of rice, 500 litres of milk, 800 eggs, and a lot of vegetables to feed the animals, ranging from young puppies to adult and elderly dogs. Quality food makes a massive difference to these wounded animals.

“Depending on their injury or health condition, we have to give them extra amounts of food. These dogs enter our shelter in a pathetic condition. What also takes up a great deal of our funds is the cost of medicine and regular check-ups. A lot of them get secondary infections. We also have old dogs with renal failure or enlarged livers or spleens. Another major hassle is managing tics, and buying quality medicine for it is also expensive. It also costs money to maintain these enclosures and the fencing surrounding them,” she explains.

However, the problem remains that the people who have brought some of these dogs to the shelter don’t want to take them back, and Sarah can’t put them back on the street. After six months, one can’t expect the dog to go back to the street. Given their territorial nature, the recovering pup or old dog will get attacked or chased down by other dogs on the streets who may not recognise it. Also, in the six months the dog has spent at the shelter, he/she has forgotten how to scavenge for food since they feed them regularly twice a day.

“Dogs who had only a couple of months to live when they first came to our shelter end up living for a couple of years. This is why the number of dogs under our care has increased. Also, no one comes back to adopt paraplegic dogs because they poop and pee wherever they can drag themselves. People don’t have the patience to adopt them once they’re rescued,” she says.

Daaman also houses a few abandoned breeds. “People will come and tie their Rottweilers, Labradors, Great Danes and German Shepherds to the gate and go away. People sometimes leave a cardboard box with five newborn indie puppies taken away from their mother at our gate as well. Who adopts them? Where do I find homes for these breeds? We’ve not had very good luck with breeds we have given out for adoption. I will not give a dog for adoption until and unless I know the person or someone recommends the ‘dog-parents’ to me,” claims Sarah.

“For example, we recently had one Dalmatian puppy ‘Simi’ who was diagnosed with a hole in her heart and doctors said she couldn’t survive this condition. Thankfully, she has been with us for about eight to nine months now. Forget about paying us for her upkeep, the people who dropped her here haven’t even called to check up on her once. We are so busy 24/7 that we can’t chase people down for funds. The need to create and maintain a sizable corpus of funds is so important for us,” she adds.

Sarah’s shelter also gets calls from people all over India, asking her whether she can admit their paraplegic dogs. “People from Kerala, Mumbai, Hyderabad and even Himachal Pradesh call us to ask whether they can admit paraplegic dogs into our shelter,” she adds.

Dealing with loss

“Our dream is to have no dogs suffer on the streets. Backed by an extremely robust animal birth control program and proper shelters, we would like to see fewer dogs on the streets. With their numbers on the street reduced, there will be fewer accidents and fewer paraplegic dogs as well. We wish to showcase this here in Chennai and then roll it out through the state,” she says. 

Besides the work required in caring for them, it’s also an emotionally draining process. Some of these dogs come into this shelter as puppies and she cares for them all their life. Eventually, however, they pass away. How does she deal with that emotional toll?

“Honestly, whenever one of my dogs passes away, I tell Gerry that I want to shut the shelter down. Recently, I lost a German Shepherd called Zain. He was my dearest baby. He came to us as a three-month-old pup with his pelvis crushed and by the time he was ten months old, he had become this massive fellow following me around everywhere. We name all the dogs in our shelter and choose them according to their personality. I’m still grieving for that boy,” she says.

“Even if an old dog stays with us for two months and passes away, it tears me up from within. I’m shattered for the next few days until I see a video of another dog or puppy on the streets of Chennai who needs our assistance. I focus my energy on helping that dog. I find a way to block that pain by immersing myself in taking care of the other dogs in our care. But it also gives me great joy seeing these dogs get shelter, recover, and play around,” she adds.

(Sarah needs your assistance to maintain her shelter for old, abandoned, disabled and paraplegic dogs. If you want to contribute, click here.)

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(Edited by Pranita Bhat; Images courtesy MARS and Milaap)

When a child is born, parents celebrate each milestone in their life — from the baby’s first rollover to crawling and walking. Another significant moment every parent eagerly awaits is their baby’s first word. Each child develops uniquely, hitting these milestones at different times. However, parents need to remain attentive and raise concerns if these milestones are delayed.

Hearing, an invisible aspect, often goes unnoticed until the child begins to speak or, in some cases, doesn’t. A child who is not able to hear won’t be able to respond to noises or their name, and won’t start babbling and trying to imitate sounds by six to eight months. If parents are not aware of such childhood milestones they may not become aware of potential hearing issues until around the time the child reaches two years of age.

Thanks to advancements in healthcare and technology, newborn hearing screenings can now detect hearing loss much before even the earliest milestones-based diagnosis. These screenings aid in the early detection of hearing problems, allowing for follow-up consultations with paediatricians within the baby’s first two to three months of life.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that there are 63 million people in India who suffer from significant auditory impairment. It further notes that up to five out of every 1,000 babies are born with hearing loss or acquire it soon after birth.

So, the key to effective management of hearing loss is early identification and prompt treatment. 

Children experiencing mild to moderate hearing loss can benefit from hearing aids. For those with profound hearing loss, Cochlear Implants (CI) offer a solution. These electronic devices serve to replace the function of the damaged inner ear, facilitating the sense of hearing.

This enables children to engage with the auditory world and lead lives similar to other children in every aspect. However, the cost of Cochlear Implant (CI) surgery is expensive for a large portion of the population in India. To assist children in regaining their hearing abilities and leading fulfilling lives, The Hans Foundation (THF) runs the Cochlear Implant Programme. Through this initiative, they have already helped over 900 children so far.

A two-hour surgery that can change lives

When Sukhjot Kaur turned two, her parents started worrying about the fact that she hadn’t uttered her first word. The elders in the house told the concerned parents not to worry as everyone in their family had started speaking late. However, it was an alert neighbour who helped Sukhjot’s parents identify her problem.

When the toddler was playing outside her house in Delhi, a passing car honked many times but she didn’t move. The neighbour who noticed this immediately told Sukhjot’s mother, Rajinder Kaur, “I don’t think your daughter can hear. Take her to the doctor!”

Rajinder hurriedly took her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to a hospital in the national capital, where the doctor diagnosed her with severe hearing loss.

“We went to many hospitals after that, including AIIMS. Everyone gave the same diagnosis. They said that we needed to get a cochlear implant, which would cost almost Rs 6 to 7 lakh. My husband is an auto driver and we couldn’t fathom how to cough up such a big amount of money,” Rajinder tells The Better India.

Years passed as the couple visited various hospitals and explored different options. In 2014, when the child was five years old, they were introduced to The Hans Foundation, which offered assistance. With their financial support, Sukhjot received a cochlear implant that year and is now flourishing in a mainstream school just like any other child.

“My daughter can now speak well and is a good student. She also paints very well,” shares Rajinder, adding, “We were yearning to hear her speak. Now, we can’t have enough of it!”

The Hans Foundation’s intervention has supported the surgeries and rehabilitation of over 900 children across 14 hospitals in seven states, from its start in December 2013 to date. Dr Ravi Bhatia, an ENT surgeon at Sarvodaya Hospital — a partner of THF — explains that a cochlear implant aids children with severe hearing loss in listening, understanding, and beginning to speak.

“The cochlear implant is an electronic device which is implanted through surgery into the baby’s ear. It bypasses the damaged hair cells of the inner ear or cochlea to provide sound signals to the brain by stimulating the inner ear, which helps the child to start hearing. There is an internal and external device,” he explains.

The implant comprises an external component placed behind the ear and a second component surgically implanted under the skin. This surgery can be performed as early as six to eight months of age and ideally should be completed by the time the child reaches three years old, ensuring timely access to schooling.

“During the newborn hearing screening, the doctors can assess if the baby has any hearing loss. Through a battery of tests and follow-ups, by the time the child is three to four months old, it becomes clear if the baby needs a cochlear implant,” adds the doctor.

When the baby reaches eight months old, they are ready for the surgery, which typically lasts two and a half hours. However, it’s important to note that the surgery alone addresses only 20 percent of the problem. What’s equally important is the post-surgery Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT), which spans two years and requires parental involvement to ensure the child develops spoken language skills.

THF states that each cochlear implant procedure with the device, surgery and rehabilitation costs about Rs 8-9 lakh per ear. THF also provides support for this therapy and ensures that parents from underprivileged backgrounds have access to therapists and can continue the therapy.

‘Don’t ignore warning signs of hearing loss’

Just like in Sukhjot’s case, many parents come to doctors late, says Dr Bhatia. This lack of awareness causes significant delays in the surgery, affecting outcomes. An internal study conducted by The Hans Foundation revealed that hearing outcomes among children who received implants between the ages of zero and three were two and a half times improved compared to those implanted at ages four and older. Hence, it is crucial to identify and undergo implantation before the age of three for a favourable outcome.

“A lot of parents are in denial about their children’s hearing loss in India. Elders also support their beliefs saying that even we spoke late. When a child doesn’t listen to sounds or react to sounds, parents must raise a red flag. Go to a doctor and get your child checked if you notice anything wrong,” says Dr Bhatia.

As The Hans Foundation grows its commitment to supporting several life-changing medical interventions for children from underprivileged backgrounds under its larger umbrella of Hans Paediatric Care, support for children who need cochlear implant surgeries remains a key part of the organisation’s mission.

THF works closely with its hospital partners for these surgeries. Doctors from the partner hospitals and their networks identify children who need support and connect them with the foundation’s programme. THF ensures that the family is prepared to commit to post-surgery therapy and maintain the device properly. Dr Bhatia emphasises the importance of periodic battery replacements and regular cleaning of the device. Additionally, patients should take precautions to avoid ear injuries and promptly seek medical attention in case of infections.

Based on a decade of experience with the programme, the Foundation has observed that the success of a cochlear implant is based on a multitude of factors. The cause and type of hearing impairment have an effect, but so does the age of the child, time elapsed since the onset of hearing loss, active implant use, and also family support which affects the quality of speech and educational rehabilitation.

Dr Bhatia urges parents saying, “Do not ignore any warning signs or doubts. Just go and consult a doctor. Cochlear implants are nothing to be wary of – they are a well established technology and can change a child’s life for the better”

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; All pictures courtesy The Hans Foundation)

During lunch breaks and after school, he hurries to the science park where he not only enjoys playing on the swings but also engages himself in scientific games.

“As and when I get time off from my regular classes, I go to the science park as it is very exciting to learn so much about the subject. For instance, here I learnt about parabolic reflectors. In this, my friend and I stand at opposite ends of the reflectors that are 20 m far off. When he speaks at one end, the sound waves propagate to the other end where I listen to a high-frequency sound,” the class 6 student tells The Better India.

Established in an area spread across 6,500 square-feet, the ‘open science park’ has become the talk of the town. At least 28 such open science parks have been set up across Chandrapur district in a bid to boost interest in science among rural children.

Apart from this, 75 sports complexes have also been opened to tap into the potential of rural children in sports. All of this has been possible thanks to the district’s chief executive officer, Vivek Johnson.

Recently, the IAS officer was recognised for his remarkable efforts to transform the Chandrapur district. He was bestowed with the ‘Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year’ award in the ‘IAS Promising’ category. We sat down with the IAS officer to learn more about his exceptional initiatives.

A move to get innovators from tribal areas

After completing mechanical engineering in 2014, Vivek went on to pursue a career in civil services. This quest led him to join the Indian Revenue Services where he worked for two years and later joined the Indian Administrative Services in 2018.

Originally from Malappuram district of Kerala, the 31-year-old was assigned Maharashtra cadre. Over the years, he worked in the Yavatmal district as an assistant collector and in October 2022, he joined the Chandrapur district as chief executive officer.

It was during his visit to Nagpur that he first saw the success of a science park. This inspired him to open similar science parks in his district. “When I visited Nagpur, I thought that my students should also avail the learning experiences of an open science park,” the IAS officer tells The Better India.

“Children in rural areas usually remain unaware of the scientific discoveries around the world. We aimed at providing a space where they could boost their scientific knowledge,” he adds.

Nearly a month after his posting, Vivek launched the Open Science Park initiative in Chandrapur to ignite a passion for science and nurture the next generation of innovators. Beyond rote learning, the parks are aimed at encouraging the exploration of new ideas, designing experiments, providing hands-on learning experiences, and fostering a research-oriented environment.

“These parks are transforming the way students engage with science. This will motivate the children of these rural areas for higher education and careers in science and technology,” says Vivek.

As of now, at least 28 open science parks are operational across the district and 50 are more in the pipeline. Each park has a dedicated team of teachers who assist students.

One such teacher is Sudhir Zade, who teaches science at an upper primary school in Muthara village of the district. 

He tells The Better India, “The science park is open for children 24×7. Here, we have provided models to understand Newton’s laws, periodic tables, solar systems, gear wheels, how to change the frequency of sound, and chairs to understand the workings of gravity. It is designed for children studying above Class 6.” 

“We have noticed that children have started finding concepts interesting with practical lessons at the open science park,” he adds.

Tapping rural talent in sports

Other than open science parks, Vivek launched Khelo Chanda Sports Complexes the same year in 2022. “During my field visits, I would meet several students in villages who complained that they lack a dedicated space to play so we decided to change that. I had grown up playing so I could understand where they came from,” he adds.

As part of the initiative, 75 sports complexes have been built across 15 talukas of the district. These sports complexes provide readily available spaces for rural school children to engage in physical activities. Every sports complex has running tracks, basketball and volleyball courts. The initiative’s focus is on development programmes to tap into the talents of rural young athletes and encourage their wider participation in sports.

“For this, we have utilised MGNREGA and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan funds. We used the amount for basic leveling of the ground, installing LED lights, setting up toilets and recreational rooms,” he shares.

“I received good feedback on the complexes as they are built near the schools. Many students have started playing basketball and volleyball for the first time in their lives. A large number of these tribal students did not even know the names of these sports initially,” he said.

“Today, they are preparing for the Khelo Chand Fit India competition,” he informs. 

In all, the district utilised at least Rs 25 lakhs to prepare each playground. It is estimated that at least 10,000 rural students are availing these sports complexes and open science parks.

For his remarkable works, the IAS officer was recently awarded the Bal Snehi Award from the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) department of the Government of Maharashtra.

Looking at the district’s transformation, Vivek says, “I was inspired to become an IAS officer in college as the canvas of this role is really big. We can change people’s lives. It is extremely satisfying to see that today, I am actually able to see that transformation. But this could not have been possible without the support of my Zilla Parishad (district council) team.”

(Edited by Padmashree Pande; All photos: Raj Hiware, educational officer, Chandrapur district)

So, when he undertook the challenge of transforming the condition of the dilapidated school he was assigned to teach in 2018, he did so with unwavering determination.

“On the risk of sounding too unrealistic, I want to emphasise that at the time of renovating the school, I had nothing but a passion towards education. The school had under 23 students back then, and today, we have more than 100,” Gopal tells The Better India.

The increase in the number of students at the Integrated Middle School in Mohanpura Colony was made possible after Gopal took on the mission of renovating the school. Towards this, he spent Rs 3 lakh from his own pocket, using which he revamped the walls and washrooms, planted a garden, brought water to the school, and set up a library.

Transforming a neglected school

When Gopal was assigned to the middle school, what greeted him were a handful of students and four poorly lit classrooms masquerading as a school.

“The school was in a deplorable state, to put it mildly. The walls lacked paint, and there was a noticeable lack of enthusiasm in the students’ eyes, which troubled me the most. However, I could empathise because even I wouldn’t want to study in such conditions,” he reflects.

Gopal explains that most of the students and residents hailed from villages near the Mohanpura Dam. “The construction of the dam forced these people to relocate. The Government built a few houses and roads, and labelled it Mohanpura Colony. However they did not create any employment for the people displaced who had lost their lands and had no avenue of income. So most of the people were worried about bringing food to the table at the time, and educational concerns were far from being in their mind,” he says.

He continues, “Also while setting up the colony for the people, the villagers were given a broken-down building to be used for a school.”

For almost more than a year, Gopal struggled to bring students to attend the school. “There were more dropouts. So I decided to go out in the evening, mingle with the community, and talk to them about sending the kids to school,” he says.

While he was able to convince the parents, he realised the students would not like the conditions they were being taught in. “Of course, it would be boring to study in such a school. There was no water connection in the school, and the walls were dark and boring. There was nothing in the school to attract the children,” he shares.

Wanting to bring improvements to the school, he looked for funds. “While I knew, there were funds allocated to bring such improvements, the bureaucracy of it all would take too much time. So I decided to invest my own money to make the school better,” he says.

Of wall paintings and a library of magic

In 2020, when the pandemic hit, Gopal found the perfect opportunity to make use of his free time. “I started to plant saplings all around the school so that it blooms into a garden when it is time for students to come back. Since there was no water connection in the school, I decided to buy a tanker of water to maintain the garden,” he says.

The tanker would cost about Rs 300 and would last for a week. Calling himself an “artist” of sorts, he says that he wanted to do something fun with the walls.

“The walls were mundane and not fit for a school. I wanted to paint animals, birds, murals and whatnot on them. I undertook the task of making the place the most colourful building in the area,” he says.

Upon entering the school now, one is no longer greeted by a shabby-looking building; it’s as if a rainbow itself has splashed colours onto the structure.

Gopal shares, “I cleaned up the surroundings of the school and adorned the walls, and even the ceilings, with colourful paints, creating images and inscribing inspirational messages. The outcome was a cheerful, radiant, and lively environment.”

Once the outward appearance of the school improved, he turned his attention to filling it with books. “I started a library, housing as many as 2,000 books for the children to explore and read. I aimed to create a fun and conducive environment for them to learn,” he explains.

As the pandemic subsided, more and more students began enrolling. “The students were amazed to see the transformation of the school. With water, proper lighting, painted walls, and a library awaiting them, word started to spread, and more students began to arrive,” he remarks.

Currently, with over 100 students, the school is teeming with creative minds. “The shift in parents’ conversations and attitudes towards the school is striking. Now, they find it unusual if their children are at home during school hours,” he notes.

‘We don’t wanna go home’

Amidst the crackling sound of a bad network over the phone was the enthusiastic voice of a student studying in Class 10, Shivani.

She recalls, “I clearly remember the old school. It was a school in name only. It did not have water or proper washrooms. But I love studying and did not want to miss out on it. But now, the school has changed completely. Gopal sir has always been a great teacher, but he is also a great person. The school now has water supply, mid-day meals, proper classrooms with beautifully painted walls, and also a library!”

Shivani says she loves to read and thoroughly enjoys the library. “Pehle school aane ka mann nahi hota tha, ab ghar jaane ka man nahi hota hai (Earlier, I did not like coming to school, and now, I don’t feel like going home),” she shares.

Supporting this claim is Sonu Verma, who is currently a student in Class 7. “Earlier, it used to be so hot inside the school. There were no trees or shade around the building. Now, the school has so many beautiful plants all around. There are lights and fans that keep the classes cool,” he says.

Sonu says he wants to become a teacher when he grows up — just like his favourite Gopal sir!  He adds that the school’s colourfully painted walls are his favourite part of the school.

Gopal informs that he keeps the kids involved by taking their help in maintaining the school. “This way they feel ownership and responsibility of the school too,” he notes.

Speaking about future plans, he shares, “The number of students is increasing, and I have already alerted the authorities that we will need more rooms. I also want to introduce smart education to the school. I have been planning on purchasing LED televisions and other equipment to facilitate this.”

Reflecting on his achievements, he says, “While I have expended a considerable portion of my savings for this cause, what gives me immense satisfaction is the smiles on the students’ faces. They are more enthusiastic than ever to come to school. That makes it all worthwhile.”

You can help Gopal in bringing smart education to the school by donating in cash or kind. You can reach him here 7566955502.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; All images credit: Gopal)

It is to be noted that Section 98(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Revenue Code 2006 does not allow a landowner belonging to a Scheduled Caste to sell/gift/mortgage/lease any land to a person not belonging to a Scheduled Caste, except with the previous permission of the collector.

Narrating the woes that were brought to the family because of the year-long-pending case, Laxmi tells The Better India, “We had married off our daughter and have also been bearing medical expenses of Rs 20,000 a month. To manage these expenses, we took loans worth Rs 5 lakh. To repay the loan amounts, we needed to sell the land. So we brought our case to the collectorate’s notice but nobody listened to us.”

This January, her case was resolved. “Thanks to the present DM sahab, our case got finalised in the second hearing, and we got the permission to sell our land. There were people in our village whose cases were pending for as long as five years; their cases were resolved too,” adds the farmer, who lives in Basti district’s Palha village.

In a remarkable initiative, the District Magistrate Vamsi Andra spearheaded the resolution of about 50,000 pending cases in nearly four months. In a conversation with The Better India, the IAS officer sheds light on how he achieved this feat.

No more justice denied

Hailing from Ongole village of Andhra Pradesh, Vamsi is a computer science engineer by education. After his graduation in 2006, he went on to pursue a career as an IAS officer. In 2011, he was selected for Indian administrative services and later worked in several districts — including Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Mathura, Prayagraj, Moradabad, Kushinagar, and Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.

Last September, the 38-year-old was appointed as the District Collector of the Basti district – where the local people are largely employed in agriculture and agro-based small-scale industries.

The IAS officer points out, “In an agrarian structure, people’s major economic activities are tied to farming where the field issues related to land paymaish (measurements), medh (farm boundaries), nali (drainage), kharanja (pavement), and batwara (fund allocation), are very prominent. These are petty little disputes where people waste their time unnecessarily.”

“When two people fight, there will be a dispute, and if you linger on petty things, the dispute will last forever. Such circumstances also promote animosities amongst them, at times leading to criminal activities. So, justice should be delivered on time as justice delayed is justice denied. So, that is a mantra that we worked on,” he adds.

Cracking the whip

Of the long list of pending cases, Vamsi found out that most were related to mutation, correction of records, title declaration, measurement and demarcation of the land, renewal of the encroachment upon Government lands, consolidation, the revenue collections in terms of stamp duty, Gangster Act, the validation of the pattas (land deeds), and correction of the maps.

To work towards a dispute resolution mechanism, the IAS officer roped in all the officers — including additional collectors, sub-collectors, tehsildars, nayab tehsildars, consolidation officers, data entry operators, lekhpals, councils, and bar associations — to resolve the long-pending cases.

Collectively, the team started opening all the cases.

“We took out the summary of long-standing cases and formed a systematic, daily status monitoring report of each and every case. We finalised the number of new filings and the number of old filings between one year and five years. People were given a daily target. If the council was not present, the presiding officers were authorised to go to the field and dispose of issues based on the written statements given by the plaintiff as well as the complainant,” says the IAS officer.

Vamsi also identified and dropped proceedings of cases where people were wrongly included in heinous crimes. “Apart from that, there were so many people who would not even turn up to the hearings. For example, a person had been given 33 notices, and yet, they didn’t turn up. So we have set a bar post which, such cases will be nullified. So that’s how this entire activity was carried out,” he shares.

This was followed by the monitoring of daily status reports by the presiding officers and a review of the delays by the management. “Their entire basic work has been monitored very strictly. There is no dearth of officers and field authorities, and all of them are asked for their daily status reports. Even they have to file the verification reports to get the case to a logical conclusion,” he adds.

Together, the collectorate disposed of 49,823 cases in four months between October 2023 and January 2024. The IAS officer informs that the district still has a backlog of 19,900 cases. “Of these, 5,700 cases are about one year old, 1,150 about three years, and 1,650 are above five years old. A person should not have to visit the court for as long as five years. Our priority is to resolve these cases as soon as possible,” he says.

Talking about the impact of the work, Vamsi says, “More people are coming to us for the dispute resolution. While old cases are being resolved, we have filed 17,700 new cases in the last four months. It is another symbol of trust that people are coming to the court with the hope that now their issues will be discussed very quickly. It makes the citizens happy from a broader perspective.”

Vamsi credits his entire team for this feat. “It was the collective effort. I want to thank all the members from data entry operators to additional collectors. Currently, the Government is working at a very fast pace. This has also helped us achieve this feat. Besides, I don’t want myself to be predicted as someone superlative. It is a standard routine affair for any district collector,” says the officer.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; All images: IAS Vamsi Andra)

Grizzly deserved a new life and an enthusiastic companion once more, thought Akriti as she narrowed down on NGOs where she could donate it. Months later, another little girl’s day was made as the teddy bear entered her life. The circle of love was complete.

Likewise, an ajji (grandmother) in Bengaluru shares how she was the sole caretaker of her two grandkids. “I used to wash their clothes and uniforms by hand every day. Now the washing machine I received through ‘Share At Door Step’ has made it easy for me. In the time that I would spend hand-washing the clothes, I now tell stories to my grandkids,” she says.

These heartwarming tales highlight the core purpose that drives charitable donations, an intent to let someone experience the same joy you once did with an object of clothing or a toy. This is the foundational idea of ‘Share At Door Step’ created by Anushka Jain from Delhi.

The computer science engineer who is now in her thirties is no stranger to the concept of ‘sharing’.

Every birthday, Anushka would ask her mother which NGO they would be visiting that year. It was a new one each time, you see. “My mum would pick an NGO in the city and we’d take sweets and snacks and have a great time with the kids and parents,” she says.

But why should the fun be limited to just one day in the year, thought Anushka. She wanted ‘sharing’ to be a part of her routine. It was only in college that a deeper delve into this question led Anushka to the answers. People didn’t shy away from donations because they didn’t have the time. Instead, it was the ordeal of navigating the thicket of NGOs that kept them at bay.

“It is tough to figure out which NGO your donation will benefit the most,” agrees Anushka who moved to Bengaluru in 2012 with a dream to solve this dilemma and a hunger for entrepreneurship. While she joined her dream company Accenture, where she worked the night shift, her mornings were spent very differently.

“The idea of donating to NGOs never left me. So, I created a website, asked people around the city to register the items they wanted to donate and went around in the mornings doing pickups!” After hitting 200 pickups, it dawned on Anushka that the idea was getting traction. She needed hands on deck.

Making donating hassle-free

Bengaluru proved to be the perfect incubator for this novel idea. The city’s “entrepreneurship vibe” was just the kickstart Anushka needed. The local charity events organised around the city were great ice-breakers for the techie who would pitch her idea for ‘Share At Door Step’ to anyone and everyone who would listen.

“Did you ever feel happy and satisfied after spending a birthday at an NGO?” Anushka would ask the people she met. “What if you could do it again and make someone’s day?” The group’s enthusiasm evident, many of them would sign up to volunteer and conduct pickups across the city. But it was only after touching a milestone figure of 10,000 pickups that Anushka felt there was a lack of sustenance to this idea. It needed something more.

“What if we were to get brands onboard and introduce a voucher system?” she thought. The pickups would get sponsored and in contrast to the volunteer service that Share At Door Step was looking like at the time, it would give way for a more focused business model. To sharpen her skills in marketing and planning, Anushka went headlong into a new job role as a marketing manager at another company in Bengaluru where she says experience was the biggest teacher.

“I learnt everything there was to know about marketing, starting a business, sales, and logistics,” she smiles. In 2018, Anushka quit to devote all her time to ‘Share At Door Step’, which was now a registered for-profit venture.

How does ‘Share At Door Step’ work?

With its presence in 11 cities across the country, ‘Share At Door Step’ has many arms to its work. Not only does it provide cause-related marketing solutions to companies, but also supports Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) related activities, and provides doorstep donation services to individuals and corporate donors.

“The CSR bit came in later,” shares Anushka, adding that its purpose was to “integrate circularity and impact into the brand’s customer experience”.

“Think of it. How wonderful is it for a brand to be able to give their customers a better experience, but while doing this also involve them in creating impact? So, whenever a customer shops with a certain brand that is partnered with us, they will be prompted to make a donation (Share At Door Step will do the pickup and this is sponsored by the brand in question) and they will get a voucher in turn that they can use on their next purchase. So a customer is donating their old shoes, mattresses, suitcases, all while getting a discount on the new shoes, mattress and suitcase he/she purchases!”

The opacity in the donation gambit is thus erased.

For individuals who wish to donate items, the process is simple:

“Go to our website, book a pickup based on your city and location, register the item you’re looking to donate and also mention if it is light (small items like bags, purses, clothes) or heavy (large suitcases, decor and furnishing items, etc) and then proceed to book the pickup. The agents will be there at the designated time and your donation will soon be directed to one of the 135 NGOs we are associated with,” she informs.

Manual intervention could muddy the waters while deciding which items go to which NGO. This is where AI steps in. The items are matched with the NGO’s requirements through an algorithm.

The success of the model in India — over a million donations — prompted the team to expand to foreign shores. In March 2023, Anushka set sail to introduce the people of Singapore to this unique idea. The fast-fashion culture coupled with the native society’s willingness to contribute to circularity in the economy were the factors that led the country to become the place of choice to expand to.

Now that the venture is reaching a point where donations sometimes exceed the demand in a certain country, “for instance, during Chinese New Year”, Anushka is exploring her options of starting cross-border donations. “But there are many nitty-gritty to take care of there,” she points out.

Through her time of being at the helm of an idea that is championing change in society, Anushka says the lessons have been many.

“You realise how the motivation to donate differs as we shift time zones. In some places, it is driven by emotion or altruism, while in others it is driven by the need to become sustainable. But the willingness to ‘share’ is what unites people from across the world,” she says.

Reach out to Share At Door Step here, to spread the love.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat)

Childhood cancers are a rising problem globally. The WHO states that over four lakh children develop cancer each year, with India accounting for 50,000 of these cases. While survival rates are high in high-income countries, India still faces the problems of lack of diagnosis, delayed diagnosis, access to care, and continuation of treatment. An ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) paper states that there is a need for specific policy work to bring childhood cancer under control in India.

Similarly, an ICMR-NCDIR (National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research) study found that a dedicated paediatric oncology department was available in 41.6% of government hospitals. 

Take, for instance, 10-year-old Saksham (name changed). Residing in Timbi village of Himachal Pradesh, the playful child started experiencing unexplained fatigue, frequent infections, and fever in 2022. His father, Ramesh (name changed), a farmer, consulted local doctors (for which he had to travel 20 km), but none of the medications they gave worked on the child.

Saksham was then taken almost 90 km away, to ‘The Himalayan Hospital’ in Dehradun, where blood tests revealed that he had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL), a type of blood cancer. Father to six children, with barely any income, Ramesh had already spent about Rs 50,000 for his travels and different treatments. The treatment for ALL, doctors estimated, would be about Rs 8 lakhs. 

“I had lost all hope. My income was just enough to feed my family. I didn’t know what to do and how to save my child,” says Ramesh.

The doctor then informed Ramesh about The Hans Foundation’s Hans Bal Aarogya Karyakram, which supports cancer treatment and bone marrow transplants. Working with the hospital and the family, the programme has covered the cost of chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant, blood transfusions and other medical expenses for Saksham, who is now on the road to recovery. 

The Hans Bal Aarogya Karyakram, run in collaboration with the Uttarakhand government, is bridging the gap of financial access for children who can’t afford treatment for critical diseases like cancer. So far, over 2,500 children have benefited from this initiative and have received life-saving treatments. 

Helping parents access quality cancer care

Established in 2017 in close partnership with the state government, the programme provides free treatment to children aged 0-18 years who are suffering from critical diseases or conditions, complementing the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) and subsequently, Ayushman Bharat schemes by supporting treatment for conditions outside the schemes’ purview,

The District Early Intervention Centers (DEICs), established under the RBSK, identify infants and children with developmental delays, disabilities and diseases. Once identified, these children are referred to two empanelled medical colleges, namely The Himalayan Hospital (Swami Ram Himalayan University) and Shri Mahant Indresh Hospital. The Hans Foundation has partnered with these two colleges and reimburses the treatment expenses for diseases like cancer. 

While the programme is broadly designed, 90 percent of the patients who need support are cancer patients, as cancer treatments require a lot of time and money. The average cost of treating common cancers in children like ALL and Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) can easily range from Rs 5-15 lakhs or even more, depending on the complexity of the disease at the time of diagnosis. Most of the children who come in for treatment are either infants, or between the age group of 5-8.  

Common cancers in children are different from those seen in adults. Dr BP Kalra, Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun states that leukaemias (cancer of blood-forming tissues), lymphomas (cancer of the lymphatic system) are the most common, followed by brain and bone cancer and tumours like the Wilms Tumour (renal cancer). 

“We see that most commonly, children get cancer in the first or second year of life, or in the 5-10 age group. In the school-going age group, leukaemias and lymphomas are most common. The outcome is generally good in this age group,” says Dr Kalra.

The Himalayan Institute caters to children from across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and sometimes Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and more.  The reason, the doctor adds, is because of lack of facilities for treatment, which makes parents and children travel far and wide for basic access. 

What is needed for good outcomes, according to Dr Kalra, is an early, prompt, correct diagnosis which should be followed by effective, evidence-based therapy after which supportive care is paramount. 

Helping 2,500 children get cancer treatment

Childhood cancer management in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), including India, is characterised by delayed diagnosis and treatment initiation, inadequate/incomplete treatment and low survival rate, according to a report in Indian Cancer Society. 

For starters, parents must be aware of the common symptoms and go to a doctor when they notice these including: recurrent fevers, loss of appetite, loss of weight, swelling in parts of the body, persistent pain, sudden tiredness, fatigue, headaches, any lumps or mass. 

After the first step where families notice symptoms and access care, the second step is clinical evaluation and diagnosis. Facilities like the DEIC should be able to help in this step. The last and most crucial step is accessibility to treatment. As the majority of public hospitals don’t have paediatric oncology care, parents either have to take them far to a government hospital that has the treatment, or go to a private hospital nearby. 

The role of trusts like The Hans Foundation is very important in such cases, as they help families afford quality healthcare and save the lives of their children through timely treatment. 

Dr Kalra says that his biggest request to parents is to continue treatment. 

“Parents must remain hopeful and continue treatment. The results are good and most children do well, after early diagnosis. We are thankful to The Hans Foundation which makes it possible for so many children to access treatment,” adds Dr Kalra.

The Hans Bal Arogya Karyakram, which has been working on ground since 2017, has helped over 2,518 children. A medical audit found that the survival rates of children had improved by more than 80% post-intervention.

Based on the success of and the learnings from the programme in Uttarakhand, The Hans Foundation is now ready to expand its support to children suffering from cancer under its Hans Paediatric Care programme and extending services to RN Tagore Hospital in Kolkata, G Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital in Coimbatore, Narayana Multispeciality Hospital in Howrah and SGVP Hospital in Ahmedabad. 

Their goal is to make access to cancer treatment possible for children across the country, irrespective of their location. 

“There is a way out. The disease can happen to anyone. Don’t lose hope and have patience and faith in your doctor. Try the treatment and complete it,” says Dr Kalra.

(Edited by Padmashree Pande; All pictures courtesy: The Hans Foundation)

Wahida Khatoon (26) remembers 22 February, 2023, like it was yesterday, as she welcomed her first child, a baby boy, into the world. She was discharged from the hospital after eight days and was all set for the trials and tribulations that a new mother has to face. But two days after she went home with her bundle of joy, the concerned Kolkata resident started noticing alarming signs.

The 10-day-old baby was turning blue when he cried. They immediately rushed to a doctor, who diagnosed that there might be a problem with the baby’s heart, and advised the parents to take the baby to a bigger hospital. Wahida recounts that her son was then diagnosed with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD).

CHDs are present at birth and can affect the structure of a baby’s heart and the way it works. They can affect how blood flows through the heart and out to the rest of the body. CHDs can vary from mild (such as a small hole in the heart) to severe (such as missing or poorly formed parts of the heart).

A report in the National Library of Medicine stated that nine out of 1,000 babies have CHD. In India, more than two lakh babies are estimated to have this condition annually. One-fifth of these babies will likely need intervention in the first year of their life, due to a serious birth defect.

The challenge, though, is twofold, as early and timely intervention is of prime importance in this disease. But specialised care is lacking in most government institutions, which causes a financial constraint on parents with low incomes, like Wahida.

Wahida found help through The Hans Foundation, a charitable trust, which, through its ‘Little Hearts’ programme, has helped over 3,000 children with CHD in the past decade.

Where timely intervention is key

Started in 2009, The Hans Foundation works for the health and well-being of marginalised and rural communities. As the foundation worked closely with children and persons with disabilities, it soon realised the need for better medical facilities and early intervention for the underprivileged.

During interactions with doctors, they found that a major area which needed attention was CHD, which is one of the most common birth defects in newborns. The Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 found that CHD was the seventh biggest contributor to global infant mortality and caused 1.8 lakh infant deaths in 2017. As such, in 2013, the foundation started working to provide aid for surgical interventions for children born with congenital heart defects, in partnership with leading hospitals in the country, under its ‘Little Hearts Program’.

“Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) holds the foremost position globally in causing deaths linked to birth defects, persisting as a significant contributor to mortality and morbidity in both paediatric populations of developing and developed nations. In India only, it accounts for 10 percent of infant deaths, despite notable advancements in diagnosing and treating CHDs,” says Dr Viresh Mahajan, Director of Paediatric Cardiac Sciences & Scientific Director of Clinical Research, Sarvodaya Hospital, Faridabad. 

Detecting congenital heart disease is possible during prenatal and postnatal stages through diverse diagnostic methods. 

“Time sensitivity is critical, as any delay can prove fatal for infants. Timely treatment is very important as a child can lead a normal life in most congenital heart defects if treated at the optimal time,” adds Dr Mahajan.

Doctors state that early intervention is key. Dr Mahajan adds that children with CHD can lead healthy and lengthy lives with early identification and prompt intervention.

Dr Vishal Changela, Paediatric Interventional Cardiologist at SGVP Holistic Hospital in Ahmedabad, states that only some patients with CHD need surgery.

“Some patients just need medications and follow-up. 90 percent of children with CHD can lead a normal life with timely intervention. The problem lies with the time of diagnosis. If done early, we can act immediately,” he says.

If the diagnosis is not done on time, Dr Changela has seen cases of adults with irreversible damage to the heart and lung, in which cases only palliative care is possible.

Surgical care has also evolved with hospitals seeing success rates close to 98 percent, according to Dr Mahajan.

RBSK (Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram) — a national initiative to screen and treat childhood diseases and disabilities, including CHD has been running since 2012. Yet, lack of awareness prevents women from going for antenatal screenings and screenings after birth.

Despite advanced diagnosis and treatment, CHD still remains largely undiagnosed or is diagnosed when it’s too late.

But what happens in cases like Wahida’s son, who was diagnosed on time, thanks to the alertness of the parents, but faced with a massive bill of over Rs 3 lakh.

After being treated at a government hospital, Wahida was asked to visit a specialist at a private hospital, R N Tagore Hospital, Kolkata. Here, the doctor assessed the baby and diagnosed him with a Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), which needed surgery. The surgery (done when the baby was 1.5 months old) would cost over Rs 3.5 lakh.

Wahida’s husband, Aslan, works as a salesman with an income of Rs 1.2 lakh per annum. As they explained their situation at the hospital, they got help through The Hans Foundation, which financially supported the surgery. The baby also needed an open heart surgery in January 2024, which would cost Rs 4.8 lakh. This too, was supported by The Hans Foundation.

Thanks to the timely intervention, the baby is now well and is meeting all his milestones just like any other infant, says Wahida.

Saving 3,000 lives

The Hans Foundation is working on solving the financial problems as these surgeries are very expensive for the common man. But this one surgery can save a child and improve their quality of life. In most cases, CHD requires immediate paediatric cardiac care, either in the first month or first year of life.

“In certain instances, surgery may be imperative within the initial hours or days of the child’s life. Hence, early diagnosis and timely management stand as pivotal elements in the treatment process,” says Dr Mahajan.

The Hans Foundation has partnered with 15 hospitals — such as the National Heart Institute, Wockhardt Hospital, Fortis, Apollo, The Narayana Group and more — across the country. So far, they have helped over 3,000 children with CHD get surgery as soon as required — including a 26-day-old baby.

The Foundation provides this financial support to patients with an annual income below Rs 2.5 lakh and children below the age of 20. The Little Hearts Programme supports a diverse range of surgeries — including procedures such as Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) and more complex surgeries.

In addition to providing immediate financial assistance, the foundation also offers post-surgery care, which is equally vital. In cases where parents are unable to afford medications or specialist fees, the foundation extends support. Moreover, they conduct awareness programmes in collaboration with hospitals to ensure that parents are knowledgeable about symptoms and know when to seek assistance.

“Parents should remain vigilant and not overlook common congenital heart disease (CHD) symptoms in newborns, including challenges in feeding, rapid breathing, or bluish skin discolouration, as early recognition is crucial for timely intervention,” says Dr Mahajan.

Buoyed by the response to the programme and with an intention to help more children, The Hans Foundation is now expanding its intervention under The Hans Paediatric Care programme that will focus on various aspects of child health. It hopes to partner with more hospitals to provide financial access to families and build a world where every child has equal access to quality healthcare.

For parents like Wahida, this financial assistance is of paramount importance.

“I went through such a tough time when I suddenly discovered that my 10-day-old baby had a heart problem. While I got the diagnosis soon, we didn’t know how to arrange the money. My baby is hale and healthy today, all thanks to The Hans Foundation,” says Wahida.

After surgery, babies can lead a normal life. What advice does Dr Changela give his patients? “The only thing I tell parents who ask me about what precautions they should take is to be free of worry!”

Edited by Pranita Bhat

When Jita Mallick, an educator at Durgapur Anganwadi (early childhood learning and development centre) in Rourkela was assigned to work with children in a leprosy colony community, she could see how “the young children from the community continued to bear the brunt of the social stigma despite not being affected by the disease”.

India is home to the largest number of leprosy-afflicted people in the world. Currently, there are close to 1,000 leprosy colonies in India, consisting of over three million people. They mostly reside in the fringes of cities and villages. The younger generation from the leprosy families are not affected by the disease anymore. However, the leprosy-affected community continues to face stigmatisation and isolation, which has been normalised due to a lack of awareness that persists to this day.

The Durgapur Leprosy Colony lacked a dedicated play area for young children. “There is no play space in the community. Children play in spaces full of mud and stagnant water. Sometimes it leads to infections,” rues Dullamani Pradha, mother of a six-year-old.

The young children and caregivers’ range of mobility, being limited to the neighbourhood daily, also impacts their access to safe and healthy play spaces and outdoor time, as compared to surrounding formal settlements.

Recognising the challenges faced by the community, the Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) and Rourkela Smart City Limited (RSCL) decided to bring about sustained transformation through the creation of a young children and caregiver-friendly public space under the Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge (NNC).

Led by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Smart Cities Mission (MoHUA) and supported by the Van Leer Foundation with WRI India as its technical partner, the NNC is bringing a young-children-and-caregiver-friendly perspective to urban planning across 10 Indian cities. This experience offered many learnings that could benefit Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) working with such vulnerable communities.

Listening to the community is key

RMC and RSCL interacted with Leprosy Pada residents, both young and old, and conducted regular community engagements to understand their needs better. Such interactions not only helped in garnering a consensus but also helped in identifying the existing usage patterns of the residents that enabled the clustering of different activities.

Suitable sites for the interventions were then identified based on the data collected to ensure the safety, accessibility, and footfall of young children and their caregivers. The involvement of local women from the start has further ensured the maintenance of the transformed space under the MUKTA (Mukhya Mantri Karma Tatpar Abhiyan) mission.

Testing solutions to gauge community response

Trial interventions that involved all stakeholders helped foster a sense of ownership in the project. RMC and RSCL piloted and tested out the solution using low-cost, easily available materials such as tyres and sand. These temporary play elements received an overwhelming response from the community children.

In a first, an event organised in this neighbourhood attracted outsiders as active participants. The open play space was clearly demarcated with fencing and seating was added near the playground for the accompanying caregivers. “Our children are now spending the whole day in the playground,” laughs Nandini Bariha, a caregiver of a five-year-old.

Reimagining the surroundings towards shaping one public realm 

Seeing the growing public acceptance, RMC and RSCL started appreciating the public space and began enhancing the overall area by closing open drains, installing seating, and setting up an outdoor gym. While the play area sees a high footfall of children, the adjacent areas are turning out to be dynamic entities, attracting residents from both Leprosy Pada as well as from the adjacent colonies.

This area is today a gathering space for multiple activities including health camps and women’s self-help group meetings.

Securing funding through scheme convergence

With the growing footfall and demand from children, RMC and RSCL expanded the scope of the work to add formal play equipment in the park and enable the maintenance of the space. RMC and RSCL secured finance for the same by converging funds from various programmes and schemes — such as the JAGA Mission, MUKTA Mission and SHAKTI Mission — that aim to provide quality livelihood opportunities to slum dwellers in different cities in Odisha.

“We are happy to see outside communities come to Leprosy Pada and use our park and gym. This makes us feel dignified. We have become equals now and there is no difference between us and them,” says Gopal Bini, an 80-year-old resident of Leprosy Pada.

Through the active participation of the community, a public space for young children was not just improved but is now thriving as a space for everyone. People from adjacent communities now visit the Durgapur slum more frequently, blurring the physical and social boundaries that once existed. This is also fostering a sense of dignity in the residents who now feel like a part of the larger community giving them the hope that there is a better, inclusive future for their children.

Watch this video to know how the community is thriving:

This article was co-authored and contributed by Dr Shubhankar Mohapatra, IAS (Collector and District Magistrate, Jajpur; Former Commissioner, Rourkela Municipal Corporation; and CEO, Rourkela Smart City Limited); Arunima Saha (Program Associate, Sustainable Cities & Transport program, WRI India); Sree Kumar Kumaraswamy (Program Director, Clean Air Action, Sustainable Cities & Transport, WRI India).

(Edited by Pranita Bhat)

“But I did not know as a child that there were women in the same blue uniform doing the exact same work as well. Despite flying the mean machines in the Indian skies and conducting all the ground duties, they were still not getting what I saw my dad get,” Garima, now 32, tells The Better India.

“The opportunity to be in service for as many years as the male officers and retirement benefits, to name a few, were out of reach for them,” she adds.

In 2020, her father ‘retired’ from the rank of Air Marshal after serving for a good 40 years, whereas women officers were ‘released’ from the service only after 10-14 years of service.

Knowing the ropes of gender inequality in the armed forces, Garima, who practices law in the Delhi High Court, decided to fight for women’s rights along with a large team of lawyers. They were led by Rekha Palli [now sitting Judge of Delhi High Court], and her competent team of female advocates.

In conversation with us, she explains how the team fought for gender equality in the Indian Air Force.

The case in detail

In the late 90s, the Indian Air Force invited applications from women to join as Short Service Commission Officers (SSCOs) for the first time. It was said that the female officers would initially be granted a Short Service Commission (SSC) for five years at the end of which, a permanent commission would be granted subject to vacancies and suitability.

Surprisingly, the IAF considered only male officers for permanent commission and women were excluded.

So, the principal grievance of the women SSCOs was that by denying them permanent commission – which carries with it certain privileges of rank including pension – they had been subjected to gender discrimination.

Garima explains, “The short service commission officer will only be given 10 years in service and an extension of four years maximum. So, female officers did not serve beyond 14 years and didn’t reach the age of retirement. Whereas a permanent commission officer will serve for about 30-35 years, or more depending on the rank.”

“That opportunity was not given to women officers. We’ve been as good as men in uniform, or maybe better, then why were we not given permanent commission?” she asks.

A Kargil war veteran (who prefers to remain anonymous) who joined the armed forces in 1996, says she was ‘released’ from the service after a total of 12 years of service.

Talking about her experience in the IAF, she tells The Better India, “I underwent the exact same training of one year along with male cadets. We never took help from anyone in doing our duty or task, be it night guard patrol check duty or any other professional task. My trainer said no one should be able to say that we were less than any male counterpart. And I ensured that no one could point out anything just because I am a female.”

“In the Air Force, individual officers are good but female officers in general were treated like guinea pigs – experimented on and then thrown away. I wanted to be part of the IAF and serve for more years, just like my male counterparts, but we weren’t allowed to do so,” she adds with a sigh.

To raise this issue, 32 female officers reached out to the court and in 2003, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was instituted before the Delhi High Court titled ‘Babita Puniya for the grant of permanent commission to women SSC Officers’, highlighting the gender discrimination being meted out to women officers in the armed forces.

After years of struggle

In 2010, the High Court stated that the Permanent Commission shall be offered to women officers after the completion of five years, subject to vacancies and suitability.

But the judgment was said to be implemented by the IAF for only those officers who were in service or those retired/released officers who were not in service as on 12 March 2010 but had filed writ petitions before their release – a criterion that did not match with the appellants and hence they were left out from the reinstatement plan of the IAF.

They immediately approached the Delhi High Court challenging the manner of implementation of the decision in Babita Puniya’s case by the IAF. However, by an order dated 27 September 2011, the Delhi High Court dismissed the review petitions filed against the impugned judgment.

Most of these officers joined the service between 1993 and 1998 and were eventually released from service between December 2006 and 2009. As these female officers put in long years of service for the IAF, the lawyers were of the view that they should be considered for the grant of pensionary benefits.

Thanks to the team of lawyers, including Garima Sachdeva, the Supreme Court in 2022 directed the Indian Air Force to consider granting pensionary benefits to 32 retired female SSC officers deeming they had permanent commission.

Thus, a 12-year-long legal battle was finally put to rest.

The Kargil war veteran (who prefers to remain anonymous) says, “It’s the Supreme Court of India who gave us justice and sadly, it didn’t come from the organisation which is still our first love — the IAF. We fought our battle up to the highest court of justice and won against IAF. The decision has given me mental peace. Now, I await my pensionary benefits that are in the process.”

Garima opines that these 32 women have set a benchmark for other female officers. “It was unfortunate that the matter went on for such a long time. It was heartbreaking to see how these women officers who fought for so long didn’t really get any tangible satisfaction out of it. The only satisfaction was that they won and they set up a benchmark for all the coming generations ahead,” she adds.

For Garima, the court order gave her an immense sense of pride and strength. “Coming from an Air Force background, I had my heart and soul in this matter. I was happy that I could get the best out of my capabilities,” she adds.

“I think nothing beats the satisfaction that comes out of fighting for women in the male-dominated systems and emerging victorious for those who have high hopes in you,” says Garima, who was recently appointed as a Senior Panel Counsel at both the Delhi High Court and the Principal Bench of Armed Forces Tribunal. She currently represents the armed forces before these forums.

(Edited by Padmashree Pande; All photos: Garima Sachdeva)

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Every second, the world disposes of or burns clothing equivalent to a truckload. This alarming statistic underscores the severe environmental consequences of the fast fashion industry and our collective actions.

In 2019, a 13-year-old named Nirvaan Somany encountered another staggering statistic that made him get up, take notice and act. He read a United Nations article which stated that 10,000 litres of water are needed to produce a single pair of jeans.

Do you know how much water that is?

To put this into perspective, consider that urban areas, as recommended by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, should receive 135 litres of water per person per day, while rural households should get 55 litres per person per day. On average, if an individual consumes approximately 100 litres daily, the water used to make one pair of jeans equals the amount one person in India uses over 100 days in urban areas or almost 180 days in rural areas.

In essence, one pair of jeans utilises the water needed by one person in rural India for nearly six months!

Upon learning this, the teenager promptly opened his closet and realised he had a lifetime supply of water neatly folded in the form of clothes. The revelation shocked him, highlighting the profound environmental impact of clothing consumption.

This incident happened during the winter season, as the Delhi resident observed his family donating blankets to the underprivileged on the streets. Nirvaan recognised that blankets offered only a short-term solution and might not endure the harsh winters in the national capital.

To address this, he decided to kill two birds with one stone: repurposing old denim to create sleeping bags. This initiative not only prevented jeans from ending up in landfills but also offered a durable and warm sleeping option for the homeless during freezing winters.

Started in 2022, ‘Project Jeans — Blue To Green’ has distributed over 2,000 sleeping bags across Delhi-NCR, Himachal, Bengaluru, Pune, and even Turkey and Syria by recycling over 12,000 jeans in the past two years.

A warm hug on cold winter nights

Project Jeans first began as a business pitch by a 17-year-old at the Young Entrepreneurs Academy. His proposal involved crafting sleeping bags from old jeans, and the idea received positive feedback. The inspiration for these sleeping bags came to him after experiencing the comfort of one during a camp, which helped him understand the practicality of the idea.

Why did he think of jeans to make sleeping bags?

“Denim has very good insulation properties, and it is tough and lasts long. It is used in the United States and other countries to make insulation panels. On further research, I found that denim would be a much more rugged and long-term solution to battle the harsh winters. Blankets are not a complete and effective solution. I wanted to make something that can be slept on,” Nirvaan tells The Better India.

Buoyed by the response to his pitch at the YA, the teenager decided to work on making his idea a reality. He had ready access to an expert at home — his mother Shivani who runs a clothing business.

Nirvaan pulled out his sleeping bag, opened it up and worked with his mother on how they could make a perfect one using old denim. They used the jeans they had at home and started experimenting with prototypes.

“We started cutting the jeans in different sizes and lengths to understand what would work. We took help from our tailors to sew it. The first one was a little small. Every time we created a prototype, we compared it to the sleeping bag we had at home to achieve a similar level of comfort,” says his mother, Shivani Somany.

Four prototypes and one month later, the mother-son duo had cracked the code to stitch a perfect denim sleeping bag.

A Class 12 student at the Shri Ram School, Moulsari, Nirvaan started asking his friends and family to donate their old jeans and started making sleeping bags using them. After making the bags, he slept on his porch during a winter night to check how comfortable they were.

Nirvaan initiated collection drives using WhatsApp and later created an Instagram page. Initially, with only three donors, news about his initiative spread, and people from various parts of the country expressed interest in contributing.

To expand his reach, he established collection centres in cities such as Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Pune. Nirvaan collaborated with corporates through their CSR initiatives for funding and connected with individual donors. He partnered with the Robinhood Army for bag distribution and collaborated with schools, colleges, hospitals, and corporations to organise collection drives and facilitate donations.

Recycling old jeans to provide cover

Explaining the process of stitching a sleeping bag, Nirvaan says one sleeping bag needs seven old jeans.

First, the jeans are cleaned and washed. Then, the belt and zip portion of the jeans are cut. The legs are cut into long strips and sewn together. Then a cloth lining is added inside for comfort along with a foam layer for insulation. The lining is filled using fabric scraps from Shivani’s boutique.

Today, Project Jeans employs 15 local women, including wives of tailors from Shivani’s unit and others from Rajokri village in New Delhi. Each bag costs Rs 800 to make, which includes Rs 500 labour cost, Rs 250 for the foam, Rs 25 for the zip and Rs 25 for other overheads.

Nirvaan says that they have distributed 2,000 bags so far. They also sent 200 sleeping bags to Turkey and Syria in 2023 for those impacted by the earthquake.

“We’ve repurposed over 120 million litres of water, which would have been required to make these bags otherwise. We are saving 70,000 litres of water per bag,” he adds.

Discussing the carbon emissions in the life cycle of jeans, he mentions that it takes 33.4 kg to produce one pair. He proudly states, “We’ve repurposed over 4 lakh kg of carbon emissions.”

Nirvaan spreads environmental awareness through his monthly newsletter, Environotes. Launched in 2022, he has distributed 6,000 copies to Government school children in the national capital. Additionally, he conducts awareness sessions in educational institutions and corporations, shedding light on the environmental impact of the fashion industry.

“In schools, we learn about the harmful effects of firecrackers, cars and planes. Surprisingly, the carbon emissions from the fashion industry surpass those of the entire travel industry. Despite this, fashion pollution often goes unnoticed. My goal is to raise awareness and educate people about this issue,” he says.

Nirvaan won the Diana Award in 2023, established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, for his social action. Currently, he is planning to pursue an undergraduate degree in sustainability while continuing his work with Project Jeans, hoping that no denim ends up in landfills.

“Every child in the world deserves access to clean water, clean air and a warm bed to sleep in. We can all do our part to make this a reality by making conscious choices as consumers. Make informed choices before purchasing and disposing of any piece of clothing. Don’t throw any piece of clothing, instead donate it to organisations who donate or upcycle them,” he shares.

Join Nirvaan’s mission by providing warmth to one or more persons this winter. Donate here:

You can reach out to Nirvaan through his website or Instagram page.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Hailing from an impoverished family in Uttar Pradesh, Yashoda had only studied till Class 12. As she searched for means to support her family, she struggled to make ends meet.

Eventually, she decided to learn how to make videos on YouTube to earn a livelihood. Through dedication and practice, she started her own YouTube channel called ‘English with Dehati Madam’, where she teaches spoken English and grammar to her followers.

Dressed in a saree and wearing a bindi, Yashoda takes English lessons. She said in an interview, “The fact that I am a villager should not mean that I cannot speak English.” This struck a chord with the audience.

Today, she teaches spoken English to millions on YouTube and has amassed nearly three crore views, earning up to Rs 80,000 a month. Her success reflects the power of the Internet to empower individuals from all walks of life.

Watch this video to learn how Yashoda scripted success with sheer determination:

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Edited by Pranita Bhat

About 13 months ago, I embraced a new role as a mother, which has become the source of my greatest joy. However, navigating motherhood is like riding a roller-coaster, filled with its own set of challenges. When I joined work after my six-month maternity leave, I was excited to resume the work role that brings me fulfilment, but I was afraid about managing the demands of being a working mother.

Deciding whether to pursue a career or stay at home, contemplating parenthood, and considering how it might impact one’s professional trajectory are dilemmas faced by women of all ages and backgrounds. These questions are not exclusive to any particular demographic; they resonate across various roles and positions within organisations.

Even individuals in top leadership positions, such as Radhika Gupta — the Managing Director and CEO of Edelweiss Asset Management Limited — grapple with these uncertainties.

Radhika, who is a mother to a 19-month-old boy, has been outspoken about these issues and advocates for women to voice their concerns in the workplace. As the only female CEO among asset management companies in India, she embarked on motherhood at the age of 39, grappling with concerns about balancing work and life responsibilities.

Sharing her thoughts on a podcast ‘The BarberShop with Shantanu’, she mentioned that she “desperately Googled examples of Indian CEOs who were pregnant, but couldn’t find a single example as most women have had kids earlier”. She found the story of former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, which gave her confidence and hope that “Yes, if she can do it, I can do it”.

To spark dialogues around maternity and the workplace, and to encourage women to keep going and set an example, this ‘shark’ on Shark Tank India Season 3 decided to share her personal struggles online. 

‘No mother is a bad mother’

Busy building her venture ‘Forefront Capital Management’ during her 20s, Radhika went through two miscarriages, which she kept to herself.

“The social stigma attached to miscarriage is so bad that I didn’t tell a soul in office. I didn’t even tell my boss. I was back at work the next day and went through that pain alone, which I regret,” she shared on the same podcast.

In June 2022, she welcomed her son Remy into the world. However, postpartum depression hit her hard. Despite this, she returned to work after just six weeks, as her professional identity had been a significant part of her life for over 17 years.

She even brought her son to work, with many feeling this was a privilege accorded to her, due to her position as CEO.

To this, she says that a woman is going to be judged for whatever you do. “Never, ever, let yourself feel guilty,” says Radhika.

“Whether you join work early, or take a break, you will be judged. Whenever I go to an event, I would be asked who is looking after the baby. I think the judgment is tremendous. I know that my son is my joy and I’m doing the best for him. We just have to drown out what the world says,” adds Radhika.

She also urges women to speak up on matters of maternity, miscarriage or just asking for what they deserve. “My boss told me that motherhood is a big part of your life, and six months is just a small part of your career,” she adds.

Radhika urges women to have big dreams and not give up on them. She shares that she embraced motherhood at 39, and manages money and diapers with equal elan.

To women confused about how to manage work and home or when to have a baby, she says, “Do not fall for the debate, and do things as per your time and will. If you want, you could always freeze your eggs, which gives you an option of having kids later.”

“My mom gave me the best piece of advice on motherhood. She told me that no mother is a bad mother. You can be poor, rich, educated, uneducated, working, not working, but not a bad mother. By definition, a woman goes through a second birth to have a child. No mother wants less than the best for her child. Stop telling yourself that you are a bad mother,” she shares.

As she shares on Linkedin, a working mother’s story is full of smiles and sacrifices, trump and tears, magic and madness. And yet, a baby’s laugh is what keeps us going.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Established in 2018, the NGO has been providing meals and support to hundreds of seniors (ajjis and azobas) in Pune. They offer regular tiffin services to elderly individuals without caregivers. The team of volunteers not only delivers nutritious meals but also takes care of household chores, provides groceries, blankets, and medicines.

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Deepankar was only two years old when he lost his father. Growing up fatherless came with a lot of issues but one of them was bringing food to the table. “My mother raised me and my elder sister all on her own. We often went to bed hungry and famished,” he tells the Milaap Foundation in an interview.

So with a deep understanding of what hunger and helplessness feels like, when Deepankar started to earn an income, he started taking some time out to deliver food to the senior citizens of Pune.

Later, he decided to give up his career and dedicate all his time to serving others. Treating all the elderly people like his grandparents, Deepankar has provided thousands of free meals through his foundation, so far.

“When I was very sick once, a dadi told me that a person who feeds hundreds need to be alive for as long as he can,” he says, adding that this love he receives from these seniors keeps him going.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat)

At the core of human existence, our experiences shape us. The personality formed in our formative years is a gift from those we encounter, leaving lasting impressions. When these experiences involve abuse and violence, they penetrate deep, becoming part of a person’s essence. Such memories can hinder emotional growth, trapping individuals in cycles of fear and self-doubt.

At 43, Mansi Poddar still wrestles with the traumas of her early life, haunting her and leading to toxic cycles.

“I endured a troubled early life filled with abuse and violence. I had no one to turn to back then. As part of my healing process, I am working towards creating an ecosystem where no one feels unheard,” she says.

Now a psychotherapist and the founder of the Heal Grow Thrive Foundation, Mansi engages in heartfelt conversations to open up about her healing journey with The Better India.

‘Abuse became my normal’

Born and raised in Kolkata, Mansi’s childhood was challenging, to say the least. “Growing up in Kolkata in a joint family setup was challenging, but it became even harder when my grandfather passed away,” she says.

“My father’s side of the family wanted my grandmother to go to Banaras [Varanasi] and live her days as a widow. My grandmother had to essentially fight for her survival and place in the house,” she recalls.

While Mansi was too young to perceive the patriarchy her childhood home was seeped in, she recalls her grandmother’s suffering. “For a child, this is a traumatic experience. Even today, I try to break down that instance and understand how it affected me as a person,” she says.

Growing up in a patriarchal home came with its set of challenges, but things started to get tougher as Mansi grew up. “I got my periods early and so my body started to change. I looked older and different from girls my age,” she recalls.

But the first time Mansi was molested, she says, was at the age of four. “I didn’t realise it was abuse at that young age. In those days, children were not taught about good touch and bad touch,” she says.

At then when she was 13, Mansi says she was molested by a house help. “I did not know what to do. It was not a stranger exactly, and I did not know who to turn to,” she says. “While I did turn to my mother for help, I was too scared to open up about it to anyone else, so I pushed myself into a shell.” 

The abuse continued and Mansi kept suffering in silence.

“School was no better,” she says. “All this trauma and abuse was affecting my growth. I was not good at academics and I did not have a lot of friends. All I had in school was bullies and abuse.”

The impact of the constant abuse led her to believe that it was something she deserved. “Abuse became my normal and comfort zone. These experiences primed me for dissociation. Even now, I can easily slip into a mental space where I’m not fully present, where my body and mind disconnect. This dissociation is one of the lasting effects of abuse. Surprisingly, it led me towards more such instances in my life,” she says.

Finding myself and breaking the cycle

“I remember in school, I tried to reach out to a teacher when I was 15. It took me a lot of strength to open up, but she did not believe me. She judged me for being a poor student and thought I was just making excuses,” she recalls.

“It was a disaster. The rejection pushed me deeper into isolation. I remember having a full-blown breakdown in school. Things were bad and every small abuse would push me closer to the edge.”

Talking about how these experiences affected her as a young adult, she says, “Unconsciously, we tend to repeat what’s familiar to us. Growing up in an environment that wasn’t conducive to a healthy childhood, I found myself mirroring this chaos in my relationships, particularly in friendships.”

“I eventually married a partner who proved to be extremely abusive. The abuse began during my teenage years when I met him in college. Initially, it started subtly, perhaps with a mild action like him pressing my neck, pushing me, or tightening his grip. Strangely, I never identified it as abuse because, for me, these actions were normalised,” she adds.

Pondering how the mind of an abuse survivor works, she says that it would lead her to believe that everything was her fault. “Whenever someone treated me wrongly, I would always find ways to justify it. I thought that maybe they’re struggling, perhaps something is going on for them, or maybe I inadvertently offended them,” she says.

Mansi recalls how she needed someone to tell her that this was abuse. “I had a few people and friends that would constantly remind me of how abusive my relationship was. I needed to get out of it, but for years, I did not know how,” she says.

In 2007, she decided to finally take the leap and divorce her husband. “Things were getting out of hand and I decided to leave. It was during this time that I decided to take therapy,” she says.

Taking therapy changed her life in many ways. “It was for a brief time, but it was a huge step for me. I was able to express what was inside for so long. This was, in a way, the starting point for my journey towards betterment,” she says.

While in therapy, Mansi also realised how she was a good listener to other people. “I am not sure if it was because I was going through so much that made me empathetic to people’s suffering. People would come to me and tell me about their issues. I would never give them advice but always listened to them attentively,” she says.

Later she decided to go to NYU and study psychology. “I applied for a master’s and after graduating, I started a small practice in the US. In 2012, I decided to come back to India with my current partner,” she says.

Healing is not linear

Trauma holds in your body in different ways and comes out in outbursts. Taking therapy and studying psychology helped Mansi understand herself better. “It was only when I delved into the study of trauma and immersed myself in that work that I became aware of the extent of trauma I carry within me. It manifested as rage outbursts, struggles with substance abuse, and eating issues,” she says.

“Trauma manifested in various ways in my life. In my 20s, I battled an eating disorder, struggling with bulimia. I was battling something, I did not even know existed,” she adds.

Returning home, she realised how there were so many people who went through the same things as her. “I realised that what happened to me is more common than you can imagine. I wanted to help them heal.”

Therapy was not very popular back then and she found it very difficult to get a job anywhere. “I noticed that while there were a lot of graduates of psychology, there was no place for them to start their careers. This is how the Heal Grow Thrive Foundation came into being. Since we are self-funded, the therapy is done for a small fee but what we focus on is healing,” she says.

With a fleet of 20 young and budding therapists, she has helped over 500 survivors so far.

A patient of Mansi who prefers to be anonymous says, “When I first talked to Mansi, she created a safe space for me. It was a space where I could really be ‘me’. I did not understand how much I needed the help until I took it. The best thing is that she focussed on the ‘why’ instead of turning to medication. Why was I feeling a certain way, why is the trauma so deeply rooted, and what I can do to help myself? I am glad that I took the step for myself.” 

Mansi shares, “The main focal point of my practice is to heal by processing things. As a survivor and a psychologist, I know how taking medicine can feel like a way out. However, I sincerely believe in trying everything in my power before referring patients to a psychiatrist. We believe in creating a safe space for the trauma survivor and helping them heal.”

Talking about how healing is not linear, she adds, “Even though I am an adult out of that house and all the trauma it brought, I still get stuck in toxic cycles. I am happy that I am away from it, but I still believe that healing is not linear and you can always slip back. I still have the ability to isolate myself and disassociate from my body.”

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“But what is important is the first step towards healing. Once you reach there, you will start to get better,” she says.

To anyone who is suffering as she did in the past, Mansi says, “I believe, more than anything, that parents should read and comprehend the importance of not stigmatising mental health. It’s crucial for parents to advocate for their kids, not necessarily through confrontations with teachers and others, but by genuinely sitting down with their children and understanding their perspective.”

She adds, “My message is directed towards parents, teachers, and adults in general, urging them to become more trauma-informed. It’s essential to recognise what might be traumatic for a child and to avoid hindering their access to mental health care.”

(Edited by Pranita Bhat; All pictures courtesy: Mansi Poddar)

Needless to say, at the end of the month, there is hardly any money left for the ‘savings jar’. 

The overwhelming burden of finances often used to cause Vikas to skip school. Because, even while admission to public schools is free in India, books, stationery items and school bags aren’t. As the family navigated through the financial crisis, these expenses would add to their woes. 

The easiest option was to drop out of school. Vikas’s story is not an exception. It is the ground reality of thousands of children in remote Indian villages whose parents work as farmers and labourers, earning just enough to live hand to mouth. 

“Bear in mind that even the ‘Rs 150 a day’ is the promised amount only as long as the contract goes on, which is usually six months. The remainder of the year these farm labourers do not have work since there are no rains,” Amol Sainwar, founder and president of Shivprabha Charitable Trust tells The Better India. 

The situation is grim for marginal farmers too. Sainwar explains, “A farmer with three acres of land earns Rs 1,20,000 a year. But the profit is zero.” These financial woes snowball into problems that affect each member of the household, leading to a decline in the standard of living. 

But, since 2007, Sainwar and his team have been working with underprivileged communities in nine states and 43 districts of India to bring equity in education, whilst also championing change in other areas extending but not limited to health services, electrification, rural development and entrepreneurship programs.

The vision is to bring like minded people together so true change can be achieved.

And now you can be a part of this revolution. 

Education in rural India – a distant dream 

Anyone who asks Vikas about his day will be treated to a tale of how he loves going to school. 

As he packs his notebooks and art supplies into his brand-new schoolbag, there is a spring in his step and a smile on his face. Vikas and his school kit are now inseparable.

Shivprabha is at the helm of this novel idea to encourage children to continue their education. “Imagine if the daily earnings of the family are Rs 150,” Sainwar urges. “The cost of notebooks, basic stationery, slate and school bags averages Rs 500. How will the family manage to pay for these expenses for the child? In the case of families that have many children, this is a tough feat.” 

In 2014, he concluded that providing kids free admission and mid-day meals is one of many solutions to draw them to schools. They must also be assisted with the material necessary to continue their education. Thus, the idea of the school kit was born. 

Recalling its inception, Sainwar traces his steps back to an article he read in 2014 about a Class 10 student committing suicide. “The article stated that the child’s father could not afford a bus pass that would allow him to travel from the village to the taluka. This made the child take the drastic step.” This spotlighted the hardships that children of daily wage workers face, and Sainwar and his team decided to investigate the issue. 

“We came to understand how these labourers and farmers earned so little that they couldn’t even afford to buy a small notebook or even pens for their children. While we consider these small expenses, in their eyes they are big,” he adds. 

But the problem had bigger repercussions on the child, they discovered. “When the child would go to school without a notebook or pen, the teacher would reprimand them. This would affect the child’s morale and eventually, the child would stop going to school.” 

Finding these loopholes in the system gave Sainwar and his team a sense of agency to tackle the problem by stepping in and filling the gaps. Sainwar shares that one of Shivprabha’s trustees Parsharam Narwade, also the headmaster of one of the beneficiary schools, was instrumental in guiding the team with the essentials that the school kit must include. 

Each kit, he says, comprises a school bag, notebooks, a drawing book, wax crayons, a slate, a pencil box and a pouch that comprises stationery. Children in Classes 5 to 7 are also provided with a geometry box, while children in classes 8 to 10 are provided with a graph book in addition to the above. 

For some children attending English medium schools, where it is insisted that students wear shoes and socks, these are also provided for. 

Narwade is a picture of enthusiasm as he speaks of how these kits have transformed the children’s lives. “Seeing them carry school bags in contrast to plastic bags is amazing. All these children who we help come from families of labourers. Their parents are struggling to make ends meet. We aren’t only assisting them with these kits, but also provide scholarships to the meritorious students so they can continue their education and help their families out with the money.” 

Take Shivam Vitthal Jevalewaad’s story for instance. The Class 2 student of the Zilla Parishad school in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal was previously living with his parents. They are a part of a tribal community in a remote village in the Painganga Sanctuary. Vitthal observed the hardships of life at a young age as he watched his parents cut sugarcane in the fields, often witnessing losses due to a bad crop.

While Vitthal’s parents sent him to live with his uncle in Yavatmal, Vitthal would often skip school as he lacked the motivation and supplies. Narwade adds, “Shivprabha provided all materials that Vitthal needed and now he has become quite good in his studies.”

Like Shivam, over 9,000 children have been impacted through these school kits. And the numbers can steadily increase with your help. The kits will be distributed across 20 Zilla Parishad schools in the villages of Aaregaon, Yeranda, Dhampeth, Ganpur, Kopara and others in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal and Chandrapur districts.

Inspired by experience  

Sainwar prides himself on being at the helm of the change that Shivprabha is bringing about. Thrust into the working world at a young age after he lost his father when he was just eight years old, Sainwar says he learnt to push the boundaries early on in life. 

“I used to sell newspapers when I was younger and then began giving tuitions and working at a tyre repair company when I was older. The money I earned helped me continue my education till Class 12. But then I hit a roadblock.” 

Exorbitant fees for professional courses made Sainwar reconsider his options. The few thousands he had managed to save up through the years were no match for the engineering fees. But help comes to those who persist, he shares. His professors stepped in and funded his engineering course, where Sainwar shone and topped his batch in the final year. 

Thereafter, he began preparing in earnest for the GATE exam (an entrance examination for postgraduate programs in engineering). Recalling his own struggles that he’d seen in his academic journey, Sainwar decided to donate the books he had purchased to his college library once the exam was over. 

“I told them to give the books to a student who wanted to attempt the GATE exam but did not have the money to buy the books. The student could return the books once they were finished and these could help another student.” 

Elaborating on this cycle of good, Sainwar says, “I wanted to support people in education because society had supported me the same way.” With this belief, in 2007, Sainwar along with his friends came together and started an organisation HOPE (Help Our People for Education) that would help anyone who wanted to study but whose financial condition did not permit it. 

In 2012, the organisation diversified into myriad activities and began work in several areas of rural development. In 2014, Shivprabha Charitable Trust was launched. Sainwar’s journey of creating a space where ideas become reality to better the lives of people in rural areas of India has been telling. 

Changemaking does not need to be an individual journey. You can be a part of it too by making your contribution and giving a child, both hope and supplies for schools.

Edited by Padmashree Pande

The documentary film tells the story of Ranjit, a farmer from Jharkhand, who demands justice for his daughter Kiran, after she was sexually assaulted by three men when she was just 13. It is the tale of incredible resilience by this father-daughter duo in the face of challenges, posed by the villagers as they pressurise Ranjit to withdraw the case. But he continues despite every roadblock and stands by his daughter as she wishes the perpetrators be brought to justice.

Beyond all, the movie has been praised for being a poignant story of a father’s love for his daughter, and the young teenager’s resolve to fight for justice.

“Their story, their struggle, their commitment to justice, the fact that as a man, he (Ranjit) stood by his daughter, which is so rare. The film is about the underdog, a David vs Goliath story, and it’s a film about love,” said Pahuja to The Hollywood Reporter.

Filmmaker Nisha Pahuja, who is based in Toronto, Canada, had actually set out to shoot a different documentary — about an NGO in Jharkhand which was working on a sensitisation program with men and boys. But during the shooting of the documentary, Pahuja heard about Kiran and Ranjit, and started filming their story.

‘My fear goes away when I think of my daughter’

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In April 2017, when Kiran was returning home from a wedding, she was sexually assaulted in the woods by three men. When she finally made it home, she told what happened to her father, who immediately went to the police, who arrested the three men.

But what followed makes the tale harrowing. Going against the entire village, the film follows Ranjit from the time he first reports the crime and his journey over 14 months as he pursues justice and ensures that the criminals are brought to trial.

It documents how village elders expected Kiran to marry one of her abusers. A woman in the village is heard saying, “This could have been settled in the village. They already had sex, might as well get them married”, which shows the stark reality for many abused women, which is scary.

Against this backdrop and mindset, the relentless pursuit of justice in the face of pressure and intimidation to drop the case is worth every plaudit. Ranjit, his wife Jaganti, and Kiran remain unfazed. “When I think of Kiran, every fear goes away,” remarks Ranjit in the film.

“Ranjit simply refused to accept the status quo and, because of that, showed us that change is possible,” Pahuja told The Guardian.

In fact, as Kiran turned 18 by the time the editing of the documentary film was completed, she chose to come on the screen, not wanting to remain hidden. She wished to encourage other survivors through her story.

“The film would also connect with many on its quotient of resilience and how we can go that extra mile when it comes to protecting those we love. On its surface, it may feel like a film from India but it’s actually a film about what it feels to be a human. That’s why it continues to resonate, touching something deep inside,” Pahuja said to The Federal.

The now Oscar-nominated film documentary ‘To Kill A Tiger’ was released in September 2022 and has been screened in film festivals across the world, receiving over 20 international awards — including the Best Canadian Film at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Best Documentary at New York Indian Film Festival and Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Young Dev somehow managed to rent a videocassette recorder to watch Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Having studied in a Government school in Kemriya hamlet of Tehri Garhwal, he hardly understood English, yet he was thrilled to watch the movie. “I started to learn ABCD only when I was in Class 6. This movie helped me understand language as the actor spoke English very slowly,” says Dev, now 47.

But what left him fascinated was the life of the martial arts superstar. “Unlike others, Bruce Lee would fight without any weapons. He was a champion of the martial arts. I found him very creative and I aspired to be like him,” adds Dev, as his eyes sparkle recalling the episode.

The fictionalised account of Bruce Lee’s life shaped the schoolboy into what he is today — a successful actor who has starred in at least 35 films and TV dramas, including The Trapped, My Roommate is a Detective, Strange Legend of Tang Dynasty, Wolf Pack, and Xing Chen Da Hai.

Interestingly, Dev’s inspiration journey is taught in the schools of China today.

Following in the footsteps of his idol

Before rolling into films, Dev moved to Delhi to support his family financially. Having studied till Class 10, he took odd jobs like selling milk, driving cars, and working as a waiter.

In 1998, he went to Mumbai to live with his elder brother who worked in a production house. To survive in the metropolitan city, he took up a job as a security guard and would accompany his brother to the set. “This is where I first met Puneet Issar (who played the role of Duryodhana in the epic TV series Mahabharat) who was then directing the serial Hindustani. I watched him and other actors work closely,” he says.

Then one day, Dev was asked to read a few dialogues in front of the camera.

“I felt this was my first step towards becoming an actor. I was very excited. I memorised the dialogue. But, as soon as he said ‘Lights, Camera, and Action’ and a bright light fell on my face, my legs started trembling. I couldn’t even utter a single word. That day, I realised, acting was not that easy,” he adds.

Heartbroken, Dev returned to Delhi and took up a job as a waiter in a restaurant. His days passed cleaning tables and dishes. “One day, my friend asked me ‘What happened to your dreams? You wanted to go to China. You wanted to learn martial arts and become an actor.’ I had nothing to say,” he recalls.

As fate would have had it, soon after, Dev was introduced to a restaurant owner who owned a few Indian restaurants in China. “He offered me a job as a waiter. I immediately accepted it,” says Dev.

So finally, in 2005, he moved to China. “But my purpose in China was not to work as a waiter but to learn martial arts and become a ‘kung fu’ master. So, I would work in the day and learn martial arts in the night. I remembered how Bruce Lee also worked in a Chinese restaurant as a dishwasher. My life was similar when I came to China,” adds the now-Xi’an resident.

In just five years, he went from being a waiter to a supervisor and then became a general manager. His unwavering dedication and tireless efforts are evident today as he proudly owns a thriving chain comprising 13 restaurants strategically located in key districts across China.

“The reason behind this progress was that I never believed in shortcuts but in consistent efforts. Today’s younger generations lack that. They are in a haste. I improved myself using the internet and through failed interviews. Without any hotel management degree, I went from earning Rs 15,000 to Rs 3.5 lakh per month. Instead of working eight hours, I worked 18 hours to improve my skill,” says Dev, who owns the Amber Palace restaurant in Xi’an.

Acing his big break

But how did Dev’s success in the restaurant industry get him his big break on TV?

By 2015, he established a picturesque restaurant in Chengdu province. And by chance, Chinese director Tang was impressed by its setting and planned to shoot a short scene in Dev’s restaurant.

“He came to me and offered me a small role of greeting the main character in the hotel. Even after all those years, it still reminded me of the episode in Mumbai when my legs were trembling. But I told myself that this was now my chance,” he shares.

And that is how Dev debuted in acting with a TV series named SWAT. Today, he is one of the most successful actors in China. His journey is so well known among the Chinese that his life story has been included in school textbooks as a rags-to-riches tale of inspiration.

Tina, a teacher at Xi’an International Studies University (XISU), China, says, “Dev’s story has a very important impact on our students. It took a lot of hard work and perseverance for him to open a restaurant, make a film in China as a foreigner, and succeed. His success story inspires young children to have the courage to pursue their dreams, defy difficulties and keep working hard.”

“Dev also demonstrated the importance of cross-cultural communication. He not only brought Indian food culture to China but also spread Chinese culture to India through films and other means. This kind of cross-cultural exchange helps to improve the understanding and friendship between different nationalities,” she says, adding, “As an Indian, Dev did not forget his roots after tasting success in China. On the contrary, he has brought Indian culture to China so that more people can understand and recognise it.”

“Today, I employ nearly 100 people including Chinese and Indian workers. And 30 percent of the money I make goes to charity, either in India or China,” shares Dev.

“It was an honour for me that my life journey is being taught in Class 7 in schools of Xi’an, where I started my entrepreneurship journey. Although I’m neither a graduate in hotel management nor a trained actor, I visit several universities in China to teach students. And at least 20 documentaries have been made on my life,” he adds.

“I believe if you are passionate about something, do not let that passion die. And this mantra helped me reach greater heights that I could have never imagined coming from a small hill village of Uttarakhand,” he remarks.

Edited by Pranita Bhat; All photos: Dev Raturi.

The 42-year-old is far from ordinary. Born in Chennai and raised across three continents, the world was really her oyster. The national level swimmer started swimming at the age of three. 

Shortly after the 1983 World Cup, inspired by Sir Vivian Richards, she also started playing cricket at four. Playing for the Tamil Nadu state team at just eight years old, she was the captain of the under-19 state team. 

With her sights set on joining the national team along with achieving excellence in academics, she felt that everything was going her way.

“Not even the shadow of failure had touched my life,” she explains.

But, everything changed in the blink of an eye when she was 18. Enjoying with her friends on a Puducherry beach, she suddenly fell down while playing in the water. A spinal cord injury left her without any feeling under the neck. 

Through the unwavering love and support of her parents, and her incredible resilience, she emerged like a phoenix, and today provides wings to hundreds of people with spinal cord injury through her venture ‘Soulfree’, a charitable trust.

Soulfree INSPIRE (Integrated Spinal Rehabilitation Centre) in 2013, the trust’s rehab centre, provides holistic treatment, rehabilitation, medical care, education, counselling, employment opportunities to persons with spinal cord injuries for free. The 20,000 square feet facility in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, has helped over 200 people with severe disabilities live a life of dignity so far.

Swimming against the tide

After the accident, Preethi was in shock and faced a really tough time. From excelling in all spheres of life, being confined to a wheelchair broke her spirit.

“My heart was totally broken. I had a privileged existence for the first 18 years of my life. I was showered with love at home, was in the top 2 percent of students in America, played cricket with legends, was extremely fit and beautiful. I was making my way towards success, when the accident left me in complete shock,” Preethi shares with The Better India. 

She adds that from being able to throw the ball with full force, she was unable to even move her little finger. 

“From being extraordinary in every way, I suddenly couldn’t even feed myself, bathe myself. I couldn’t even get out of bed. It really broke me,” she adds.

Her parents stood by her like rocks through this entire ordeal. Her father quit his job to take care of her and they moved to Tiruvannamalai, a spiritual, temple town, to heal.

Preethi then tried to get admission to a correspondence course for BSc Psychology, but she was rejected as there were practical classes and the colleges were not disabled-friendly. There were no elevators or ramps.  

She remembers being asked, “Why do people like you come to study?” Her father, her biggest cheerleader, bought her books to study, and motivated her to educate herself, degree, or no degree. He would read out to her from various books across genres, from fiction to educational books to spiritual books. She would fight with him, but he didn’t let go of her hand, and helped her overcome her pain. 

Just as she started piecing her life together, another big wave hit her. Her father died of a heart attack in 2007, and just four days later, her mother, too, had a heart attack and had to have a bypass surgery. 

“My world was rocked again. I had an 80-year-old grandmother to take care of. We had to go to Chennai for the surgery. We had no idea how we would manage the next meal or who would even help me sit on my wheelchair. I had to start earning money and life seemed difficult all over again,” says Preethi.

At this point, her friends reiterated the need for her to get a formal degree. She took up BSc Medical Sociology as it had no practical exams. She also did MSc in Psychology despite wanting to do counselling psychology.

“I wanted to counsel people as my voice is the only thing I have. I was denied admission and had to settle for psychology,” she says.

‘We too deserve a life of dignity’

During this time, as she grappled with getting an education and a treatment for her mother, she encountered two deaths that shook her to the core. 

“Not wanting to take care of them, two paraplegic girls who I knew were apparentfly poisoned by their families. It left me wondering, India has one of the largest populations and yet there is no place for a quadriplegic or a paraplegic person to live with dignity. There was no one to take care of me when my mom got sick,” she adds.

She then started researching and found that there weren’t many long-term rehabilitation centres or places that offered care for people with spinal cord injuries. Her mother then persuaded her to start such a haven that provides a life of dignity for people with severe disabilities. 

“At first, I laughed off the idea as I had no clue about running or financing a non-profit organisation. But the death of these girls made me wake up. If I am just going to be afraid to do something, I’m part of the problem. No one understands this better than me due to my lived experience. I decided to raise my voice and do whatever I can to somehow uplift this segment of society because we’re so completely invisible,” she adds.

With this in mind, she started Soulfree Inspire. People come with a caregiver and spend about 6 months in the centre. They receive training, which Preethi calls re-engineering, where they get emotional and physical rehabilitation. 

“We restore their will to live. Our aim is to restore self-reliance from a physiological, psychological and socio economic perspective. It’s important for them to go home and be able to earn some money. We are giving international standards of care free of cost. We have physiotherapy, occupational therapy, hydrotherapy, sports, counselling sessions, training sessions, tailoring, computer classes and more. It’s a holistic system born from an experiential framework,” adds Preethi.

Soulfree also offers knowledge and awareness programs about spinal cord injury. They have a special focus on women and provide a support system to those with severe disabilities through educational and employment opportunities. They also provide wheelchairs and medical care to those in need. To keep everyone’s spirits up, they also have conference calls.

Karthikeyan (25), was bedridden after he fell from a tree three years ago. He came to Soulfree six months back and is now able to walk with a stick.

“Being bedridden made me contemplate ending my life. I also had some bedsores. I was using a wheelchair. Now, I am able to walk using a stick and do my daily chores and have learnt tailoring and computers, which I will use to support myself once I’m back home,” says Karthikeyan.

Preethi is also working with the Tamil Nadu government to include rehabilitation in the government insurance scheme. She is a member of the advisory board for the ‘Welfare of the Differently-Abled’ in Tamil Nadu.

“Most people, after a spinal cord injury, go home and don’t know what to do. The government should work on providing proper recognition for our disability and with employment opportunities for people like us,” she says. 

What gave her the strength to do so much while she herself faced innumerable challenges in her daily life? 

“I came to understand that instead of feeling sorry for myself, I should try to make use of the opportunity of the challenge because otherwise life would have been too easy for me. When you have special abilities, you are given special challenges. If you succeed when everything is going your way, it’s not a big deal. It’s when you have to box with your hands tied behind your back and save the world, that’s when it’s a victory,” she smiles.

She still has days when she feels low, that’s when she gets on a conference call with her friends from Soulfree, who tell her that life will get better. Soulfree has helped over 2,500 people so far. 

“These lives are invisible and the world discards us so easily if we die. I believe that every human life has a value regardless of your ability or disability, no one deserves to die. My goal is to ensure that no one dies of bedsores or due to their family’s compulsions,” she adds.

When the world closed the door on Preethi, she decided to create change and opportunities. She is now pursuing her PhD from IIT Madras.

If you wish to donate to Soulfree, you can do it here. 

Edited by Padmashree Pande.

“I lost myself when my father passed away. He had always been my support system. I went into depression, and nothing seemed right. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was gone, and I felt disconnected,” she shares.

In search of the elusive connection to her late father, Portia sought solace in the mountains. “I thought that if I could be high up in the mountains, I would be closer to heaven, and thus, closer to my father,” she reflects.

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While on this personal quest, she visited Kaza in Spiti Valley, where the realisation of the dire need for a free education system for underprivileged children struck her.

So in 2020, she made a life-altering decision to quit her job and career to relocate to Spiti. For approximately two years, she immersed herself in Kaza, dedicating her time to teaching underprivileged students for free, and conducting classes beneath a tree.

In 2022, she embarked on a new chapter in Komic — the highest village in India — by establishing a free boarding school for underprivileged kids. Starting with just three children, the school has since grown to accommodate 10.

Portia, lovingly known as a ‘mother’ to these children, attributes her greatest inspiration and motivation to her late father.

If you’re interested in supporting Portia’s cause, you can contact her at 93680 68121. (Given that Komic is a remote village with limited network connectivity, reaching out via WhatsApp would be the most effective option.)

(Edited by Pranita Bhat)

It has been eight months since they first queued up for a similar exercise. At the time, the results had been shocking. A notable 27 percent of the sample size was found to be malnourished. This incited a probe into the matter by IAS officer Shubham Gupta, the Assistant Collector, Etapalli, whose role as project officer of the Integrated Tribal Development Project, Bhamragadas meant overseeing eight government schools in the area.

The day Gupta was presented with the findings of the study — 61 girls out of 222 being malnourished — it confirmed his hunch. As he watches the queue snaking its way, inching closer to the machine, the Jaipur-born officer shares how he conceived this project.

“It all started with an observation I made. During my posting as a project officer, I would frequent these Government schools to oversee infrastructure projects, academics, etc. Once, on a visit to the Todsa Ashram School, I observed that the girls looked slightly undernourished,” he says.

But the question of why the children’s state was this despite being provided with all meals at school, begged to be asked. “It definitely got me thinking,” the officer shares. He adds that as per his knowledge, the Government was providing substantial funding to schools to see that every child was getting their fill of the daily nutrient requirement.

Then where did the problem lie?

A growing problem of undernourishment

Before taking stock of how Gupta attempted to solve this problem, let’s backtrack to the growing crisis of malnourishment in India. The latest statistics as of March 2023 reveal findings by the Government’s Poshan Tracker. The mobile app was rolled out by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in March 2021 and is leveraged to identify conditions, such as stunting and under-weight prevalence, as well as the last mile tracking of nutrition service delivery.

Simply put, the tracker is an attempt to aid anganwadi centres in identifying which children are not getting their due right of nutrients. So, in March 2023, when the results of two years’ worth of data revealed that over 14 lakh children in India are “severely malnourished”, it segued into conversations revolving around how children’s nutrition requirements could be better seen.

Gupta, who chose a civil service line of work in an attempt “to give back to society and do something for his people”, is grateful that he could champion a project like the one he undertook at the Todsa Ashram School.

Recalling his own journey of working from the age of 15 at his father’s shoe shop, Gupta says he was no stranger to making the most of meagre resources. An education at Vapi was followed by preparation for the UPSC exam at Delhi, where Gupta got an AIR 6 on his fourth attempt.

It was during his posting at Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli in 2020 that he was introduced to Etapalli’s “extremely backward, poor, rural society where even basic facilities were tough to come by”. The tribal children in this Naxalite area often bear the brunt of this lack of resources. But, as Gupta explains, a desire to change their destiny was the crux of the initiatives that he undertook for the 25 months (2021 to 2023) he was posted in the area.

Why students were malnourished despite all the meals being supplied to them remained a mystery, which in Gupta’s opinion, manual intervention couldn’t solve. He knew he needed to radically alter his approach and introduce technology.

“Earlier people would write it off as a lack of funds. They would say this was the reason for children not getting their nutrients and meals. But since I personally knew the meals were being provided, I had to get to the bottom of this. I would need tech to arrive at the answers,” he shares.

AI to the rescue

It was while ideating on pre-emptive measures to tackle the problem that Gupta reached out to Feeding India — the non-profit arm of food delivery platform Zomato, intending to tackle malnutrition in India — which put him in touch with Udyog Yantra. The platform has tech at its core and intends to streamline the process right from food procuring to food distribution by integrating algorithms.

Image recognition and a language of pre-fed codes came in handy allowing the machine to recognise the patterns in the food quality that were being served to the tribal children, and point out the anomalies.

All that needed to be done was for the machine — now ready with the pre-fed data — to be installed into the district school. Every lunchtime saw the girls line up in front of the machine with a plate full of the day’s servings. A snapshot later, the machine would crawl through 2,100 images and data points that had been coded into it to deliver a set of results on whether the food was up to the mark.

Among the many data points analysed were the temperature of the food, the physical appearance of the fruit, the quality of the eggs, etc.

However, a bemused Gupta laughs at how even before coming to any conclusive findings about the main culprit for kids’ declining nutrition, the eggs and bananas suddenly started to improve in quality.

“Our strict watch had made people vigilant. They knew that stringent checks were being conducted on the food and that in itself contributed to a significant improvement in the quality.” But even so, the machine’s dutiful relaying of findings helped the team understand where the problem lay.

Elaborating on this, Gupta shares, “We noticed that in some cases, children were wasting or not taking the snack or fruit because it was overripe or because it did not look palatable. In this case, there are two problems — one that an overripe fruit is not giving children the exact amount of nutrients they need, and the second that children are not even getting a portion of it when they choose to waste it.”

Being in the loop of the Government system for years now, Gupta wondered why the problem of malnourishment was so severe when the Government provided each district with the set requirements a meal should have to fulfil children’s daily needs. “Artificial intelligence (AI) enabled us to co-relate this too with the data being relayed by the machine. It helped us plan the local menus and incorporate which local produce must be used in the meals,” he adds.

Gratis the machine’s deep tech, the team soon arrived at the main problem — menu compliance.

The beauty of the algorithm

“We concluded that out of the five items that were supposed to be served to the students on a particular day, only four were getting served,” explains Gupta citing why menu compliance is an issue. He adds that the fifth item was not being paid for and hence wasn’t served. “To this end, the students were getting less nourishment according to the menu itself.”

To resolve this, Gupta and his team worked out the logistics with the school and district authorities. But even so, the deteriorating quality of food remained a concern. Watery dal, rice that was cooked to a sticky glue, and hard eggs were some of the major concerns.

Months of working closely with suppliers, checking the raw materials to ensure their storage was at the right temperatures, and ensuring these negligences were not a frequent oddity soon achieved its desired result. The food served to the kids significantly improved.

“We also alerted everyone involved in the process that we’d be conducting random checks on any day to assess whether all rules were being adhered to. I think all these measures resulted in better food quality,” notes the officer.

Dilip Miralwar, superintendent, Todsa Government Ashram School, said, “The technology is really transformational. It has not only helped us improve the nutritional parameters but also ensured menu compliance and quality food for the students.”

In fact, the success of the pilot led the team to replicate this in the other schools of the district. “It wasn’t easy considering my team was unfamiliar with the tech aspect of it initially, but eventually it became seamless,” he adds.

Reeling from the success of this pilot, Gupta is all set to take on a new project this time in his capacity as chief executive officer, Zilla Parishad in Maharashtra’s Dhule district. His enthusiasm is rife as he talks about an upcoming app that he’s developing which, similar to the machine, will assess students’ nutritional needs, but at the click of a button.

“This app may not be able to detect the temperature of the meal, but it will be able to judge whether the nutrient criteria and the quantity of food are right, and also check parameters about the quality.”

Meanwhile, the line of students filing in queue to have their BMI checked has almost reached its end. “Only 20 students are still undernourished compared to the previous 61!” Gupta exclaims, happiness etched on his face.

As worrying statistics of malnourishment in India’s remote areas come to light every year, it beckons everyone to take inspiration from this officer. Before a tipping point is reached, there is a lot that can be done to avert the catastrophe.

Edited by Pranita Bhat.

G Srikanth from Gudiyatham, Vellore, grew up in the lap of nature but later moved to Chennai for work. Through the years, every visit back home would sadden him as he watched the state’s rich natural legacy fading away before his eyes.

In 2017, Srikanth decided to lay the foundation for change. He began by planting 1,000 saplings in the barren wasteland that outlined the Palar riverbed. Today, over 15,000 trees stand as a testament to his dedication.

Srikanth has been successful in turning the 25-acre deteriorating landscape into a vibrant canvas that boasts three forests, all while fighting the local land mafias who wanted to have sand quarries built in the area.

“They would cut or uproot the trees the evening we planted them. Almost 800 trees were cut off by this mafia. They would threaten me over the phone, call me to their office to intimidate me, and offer me money to stay away from this land. When I was clearing the land, they threw sand at me as the entire village watched. They even threatened my family,” he adds.

Through his work, Srikanth has tried to advocate the message of how sustainability is paramount in the face of urban development.

Watch this video to know how he achieved this milestone:

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Just two days after his father Manubhai Panchal’s death, the 44-year-old started serving food to the underprivileged. What started as a wish to fulfil his father’s wish by doing seva (service) has grown into a full-fledged initiative to distribute full meals daily to over 500 senior citizens in Gujarat’s Vaso taluka.

Less than two days before the father passed away, he had a conversation with his son that sparked this important mission. It started as one person’s effort to feed the poor and has now grown into a registered trust that employs 18 people, serving over 2.5 lakh meals until now.

Christened ‘Visamo Tiffin Seva’, Rakesh’s motto is ‘He who gives, receives’. So what exactly did his father say that changed the trajectory of this businessman’s life?

Honouring his father’s last wish

Rakesh dropped out of college in his second year of BSc and started working in a local private news channel to pursue his passion for journalism. He then joined a news channel in Hyderabad and worked in cities like Delhi, Gujarat and Mumbai.

“The first salary I drew was Rs 200,” recounts Rakesh in a conversation with The Better India. However, he had to return home to his father about a decade ago when his father’s health deteriorated. Rakesh decided to settle down in Vaso and eventually started expanding his father’s construction material business.

“I spent three years working with my father. I learnt a lot about business as well as life in this time! I got an insight into the workings of his mind. He would keep a jug of cold water and give it to anyone passing by to quench their thirst. This was his way of doing seva,” he adds.

During this time, Rakesh used to frequent the Vaso Government Hospital for work. After the construction was complete, the hospital authorities told him that food was a major problem for patients who were coming from neighbouring villages. They requested him to find a way to provide them with food.

Parallely, Rakesh’s father Manubhai shared his wish to give free food to the poor. “He wanted to do Ram roti seva (free food for the poor). I told him that it would be expensive and we could do it after a few years. But just three days later, he died suddenly. That conversation kept playing in my mind and I felt very bad,” shares Rakesh.

He then visited the hospital and asked the doctors what breakfast would be good for the patients, specifically pregnant women. As per the doctor’s advice, he started getting sheera (a sweet made with semolina, ghee, sugar and dry fruits) and served it to three pregnant women. He planned to do this for 15 days to honour his father’s wish.

“I thought that I would feel satisfied after serving these women hot breakfasts for 15 days. But I started enjoying it and wanted to do more. I met an old man behind the hospital on the 15th day who didn’t even have one square meal a day. I asked a man who used to provide tiffins to everyone to give him one daily and take the money from me,” says Rakesh.

‘Only a lucky few get a chance to serve the poor’

Initially, it would cost Rakesh about Rs 300 per day to distribute food. As he started paying for meals for abandoned senior citizens, his costs rose to Rs 500 per day. He posted about it on Facebook, and one of his friends donated Rs 500 to the cause. Soon, more donations started trickling in.

From feeding one old man, he gradually started feeding 15 old people, with each meal costing Rs 50 per day. He knew that outsourcing wasn’t going to cut it anymore as more people reached out for food. During the COVID lockdown too, he couldn’t serve food as the tiffin service wasn’t optional.

To avoid such gaps, he registered ‘Visamo Sarvajanik Charitable Trust Vaso’ and started a kitchen of his own. “We first took a place in Vaso itself where we could cook for 100 to 200 people. As the number of people we served increased, we moved to a kitchen in Nadiad, which had a commercial gas line and could easily cook for 500 people,” says Rakesh.

Today, the Visamo Tiffin Seva provides hot lunches consisting of roti, dal, rice and sabzi to more than 500 people in Vaso and four nearby villages. They have 18 employees and numerous vans to transport the food.

Rakesh also provides milk and biscuits for breakfast at the hospital daily. It costs him Rs 21,000 daily and he has been managing to bear the costs through crowdfunding.

Rakesh says most of these seniors don’t have anyone and stay on the roads, or alone at home. “These people are dependent on the benevolence of others even for one roti. I found a widow whose house was strewn with Rs 5 snacks. On enquiry, she told me that she would fill her stomach with that, and it was years since she had eaten dal, roti or rice as she couldn’t cook. I cannot forget the joy in her eyes after she ate a full meal,” adds the social worker.

Rakesh found ‘Visamo’ (resting place) written on the cremation ground after he finished the last rites of his father. That’s why he named the trust Visamo, as he wished it to provide relaxation to the elders.

“This provides satisfaction not just to the people we provide food to, but to me also. I feel an aura of positivity whenever I serve food. It has given my life a new purpose,” says Rakesh. But there is a long way to go, he adds, wanting to expand his services to provide food to more poor people.

“My father would often say that anyone can earn money through hard work. It’s only a lucky few who get a chance to do seva. I’m trying to live by his words,” he says.

If you wish to help Rakesh’s endeavour, you can donate here.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

So now, when her feet encounter thrash at the beach every few steps, she is aghast.

“Even when I was younger, there was waste at the beach, but it was mostly food waste. Today, the kind of waste found has dramatically changed; it is majorly plastic packaging,” she shares.

Worried about the fate of the planet, Oza decided to channel her concerns into an endeavour ‘Change Is Us’, which is led by two engineering graduates Akshat Shah and Shubh Mehta.

It is almost deja vu for 75-year-old Oza as her weekends are once again packed with trips to the beach, albeit for different reasons now. As the 23-year-old founders recall, she is one of the most excited volunteers they have seen on their clean-up sprees.

Oza shrugs when asked the reason for the unconventional hobby choice at 75. “I believe it is important to stand up and take responsibility for our environment. This planet and the positive change that we encourage in society is the most impactful legacy that we will leave behind.”

Change starts here and now

Cleanup drives are loved at ‘Change Is Us’. Volunteers find it satisfying to watch thrash pile up in buckets as it leaves golden sands behind. 

But in 2019, when the venture was launched, it was just a duo that was at the helm of affairs. Akshat and Shubh have watched the initiative take root, and grow wings as it has scaled its impact, diverting over 450 tonnes of waste off the shores of Girgaon Chowpatty.

For Akshat especially, the month of November 2018 holds profound meaning. It is then that this idea took shape in him. A Class 12 student at the time, Akshat was scrolling through social media one day when his feed was flooded with news of global climate campaigner Greta Thunberg’s angst against officials. The 15-year-old’s protest demanding action against climate change was making headlines.

“The first thought that crossed my mind was ‘What is going on with our Earth?’” shares Akshat. “If things had reached this state now, what would they be like in a few years?”

Gratis the Instagram algorithm, soon, Akshat’s feed resembled a collation of warnings about the planet’s doomed fate. Anxiety brewed in him.

And in January 2019 when news of the Amazon Rainforest being ablaze was added to the list of climate anomalies, Akshat knew he couldn’t sit quiet any longer. Change starts in the smallest of ways, he says in hindsight. He couldn’t start a revolution, but he could pick up a few pieces of thrash.

The next few months witnessed him approaching beach clean-up drives around the city of Mumbai trying to gauge how they operated. He credits the ‘Mahim beach cleanup’ group led by couple Indranil Sengupta and Rabia, for introducing him to the fascinating world of cleanups and creating impact through drives.

Determined not to let anything dim the spark that had now been ignited, Akshat reached out to his school friend Shubh, who is an integral part of the initiative today. The duo were all set to lead change from the front.

Bettering today for tomorrow

What is fascinating is how dynamics of age, gender, and caste are blurred as a clean-up drive ensues. Jamila Saleem (18) has been volunteering with the group for the past seven months now. While the first time she did it to give her friend company, she says it soon transformed into a habit she wanted to keep following.

Meanwhile for 55-year-old Kranti Salvi, beach cleanups are just a small part of the plethora of climate-related activities she is a part of. A member of ‘Women For Climate Change of WorldC40’, Salvi devotes her time to mountain treks, plogging runs, and mass events to champion change.

“It makes me feel like a careful and responsible citizen of the planet,” she shares. 

Akshat and Shubh are delighted to have formed such a diverse group of volunteers. Chronicling their journey, Shubh says, “The majority of the people that used to come for the cleanups were young people. Some were motivated to do something for the climate, some wanted to spend their weekend doing something different, some found beach cleanups therapeutic while others found it to be a good place to mingle and meet new people.”

But he says, over time they have witnessed an evolution of mindsets. “Now people want to do something for their planet. They are more inclined towards the climate.”

Currently, Shubh can be seen leading the drives on the ground, while Akshat, who is pursuing his master’s in the United States, is a part of things virtually.

The duo recalls their first-ever cleanup in July 2019. “We were joined by 18 volunteers,” Shubh says. Cut to today, when over 25,000 eager people have been a part of their initiatives.

‘Change Is Us’ has grown through these years, with 80 team members being at the helm of operations. From social media management to taking care of the logistics before a drive, they oversee everything.

Leading an initiative that has positivity at its core comes with its own share of heartening moments. One such moment was when an 80-year-old signed up to be a part of one of the drives. “It felt like the reason we had started this endeavour was finally realised. A dream-come-true kind of moment,” says Akshat. But, he is quick to add that aside from these highlight moments, each drive is an experience in itself.

One of his favourite anecdotes to share is a drive conducted in 2019 where a few foreigners were part of the volunteers. “They were working so hard to collect the thrash, that watching them, others at the beach soon joined in. Soon, we had covered over 500 metres of the beach — more than the average area we usually manage to clean up. That’s when it dawned on me that cleaning a beach transcends all national and international boundaries.”

When the team isn’t occupied planning a drive, they are busy conducting youth advocacy sessions and workshops at schools and colleges, addressing topics such as plastic pollution, sustainability, global warming, etc. They have conducted over 25 of these sessions. At other times, their empathy drives are spreading cheer around South and Central Mumbai as they visit orphanages and old age homes to spread awareness about their endeavours and climate change.

Remind them of the massive impact they have managed to create — 450 tonnes and counting — and they say numbers keep them going but it isn’t the reason they started.

“In our initial months of starting, we were just counting the numbers of buckets filled with thrash,” shares Shubh. “It was only later that we realised understanding metrics and statistics was important because that quantified the impact.” However, he notes, their focus has always been to increase their number of volunteers in contrast to the numbers of thrash cleared. “Once the former increases, the latter must.”

It is, of course, saddening when the morning after a cleanup, thrash floods the beach once more. But, the ‘Change Is Us’ team gets back to work. Revolutions are not a one-day job, they believe. If you are looking to join the team or start something similar, don’t be disheartened by not receiving support, says Akshat.

“Look at any great movement in history. It all started because one person decided to move out of their comfort zone and ask ‘What can I do?’ Likewise, one day people will see your purpose and support you. But it’s you who has to take the first step.”

To volunteer for the upcoming beach cleanup drives, click here.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

“There is a village far away from where I currently work called “Chaurasi”. The name always intrigued me and I later found out that it was because the place was once adorned with 84 temples. The temples now stand dilapidated, with scattered stones showcasing fine craftsmanship and some engraved with intricate statues. Coming here [SPJIMR], I saw each participant as the stone of that temple, and this programme as shaping an edifice out of them.” In his farewell speech, Maulik Sisodia, the Executive Director of Tarun Bharat Sangh and son of Mr Rajendra Singh, the Waterman of India, shared these poignant words.

After dedicating 14 years to an organization founded by his father nearly five decades ago, focused on water conservation, Maulik Sisodia recognised that he and his team needed to build the capacity to take the organization to the next level and decided to join the Post Graduate Programme in Development Management (PGPDM) at SPJIMR, Mumbai.  

SPJIMR stands out for the socially responsible management education and their PGPDM introduced in 2011 is no different. The overarching aim of the programme is to develop value-based leaders who can innovate and transform social sector organizations to make a larger impact on society. Through a unique model that enables working professionals to attend classes whilst continuing their jobs, the programme is a testament to ‘learning by doing’. The programme is ideally suited for professionals working in or intending to work for the social sector. The unique design and pedagogy of the programme are a result of an understanding that while the development sector needs to draw upon the management principles to get impact at scale, the conventional corporate management principles are inadequate for the complex social sector. The programme uniquely blends the realms of development and management, harmonizing theory and practice seamlessly. 

It was this unique model of the programme that drew Satendra Singh Lilhare, Co-founder and CEO of a social enterprise, towards it. In the remote corners of Chhattisgarh, stands tall Satendra’s organisation heartingly called Bastar Se Bazaar Tak. It was born out of a deep understanding of the challenges faced by tribal farmers to access the market for their produce and is now on a mission to uplift their lives. The journey from Bastar to the Bazaar is indeed a difficult one and Satendra explains how the PGPDM at SPJIMR makes walking the path a little easier. 

In a single statement summarizing his experience, he proudly expresses, “The programme made me a believer.” Initially, he had an understanding that the core values, vision, missions and aims of an organization are outlined in the website just for the sake of it; the core idea drifts too frequently to be etched as solid statements and which is why many organisations outsource the task of developing these ideas to external agencies. Eventually, his learnings from the PGPDM gave him so much confidence and insight that he has not only developed an unshakeable belief in the core values that his organization will carry but also charted them out into full-blown implementation strategies. No surprise, during the program, Bastar se Bazaar Tak won the Tata Social Enterprise Challenge (2020-21). 

Another alumnus Bhushan Kamble who graduated in 2023,  realized his leadership potential during the programme and went on to build his own artisanal brand ‘Vhaan’ which retails the finest handcrafted leather products by traditional leather craftsmen spread across multiple villages of Western Maharashtra. Growing up in the chawls of Mumbai, Bhushan believes that these artisans from the countryside connect us to the history of the area they come from through the stories they weave into each stitch and design. The goal of Vhaan is to restore this art form’s authenticity while making sure that the true storytellers take back the spotlight and are treated with dignity. 

“The course taught me everything I needed to know about becoming a social entrepreneur. I learned how to think clearly, take care of accounting & finance, undertake surveys, build a team, design a project,  gauge where we are headed as a team, and most importantly, how to incorporate previous learnings into new assignments,” he adds.

The assignments during PGPDM which necessitate drawing from various courses throughout the programme ranging from Theory of Change to Program Design, Fundraising to program Evaluation and Impact Assessment, from Public Policy to Advocacy & Networking and the series of management courses prepared Bhushan and other students to adapt to an ever-changing social sector and apply the learnings in real time scenarios.

Similarly, Maulik does not have one big but many small takeaways from the course. He shares how the course provided valuable insights into aligning his grassroots work with SDGs and staying relevant in the evolving development sector. Having always worked on the ground, he thought courses like Marketing & Branding  Management were only for corporates. Today, he has created the brand guidelines for Tarun Bharat Sangh. New concepts like the Theory of Change and Design Thinking were implemented in his work resulting in improvements, including a refined website with a clear vision and mission. 

Maulik concluded his farewell speech accepting the shift in the social perspectives: “My house in the village has a window with iron bars. Our Bibi’s Suti Saree was used to cover the window, just like in the olden days. When it was sunny, the room would light up and when it showered, slight rain would enter the room. But whatever was happening was happening outside. The curtain was so high that we could only see people’s shadows beyond it. But during this programme last year, something changed, or maybe you all made it happen. The string of the curtain loosened up, and it came down a little. Now, I can look eye to eye into the society beyond. Now, as I go back, I have to see those faces with a new perspective and apply what I’ve learned here.” 

Almost every student and graduate of PGPDM has a similar story to tell; a story of personal transformation for the transformation of the society. 

For more information on the programme and eligibility criteria, click here.

This article was contributed by SP Jain Institute of Management & Research

But The Gulf of Mannar prides itself on more than just this identity.

In the recent past, it has become popular as a benchmark for the local communities’ efforts towards protecting the indigenous species here — corals, seahorses, crustaceans, whale sharks, green sea turtles, and humpback dolphins among others. It is important to note that this change of heart of the locals comes after years of dependency on fishing as the main livelihood.

What provoked this transformation? How did a land infamous for over-harvesting become one leading conservation from the front? It is impossible to answer this without mentioning the name of Indian Forest Service officer Jagdish Bakan.

“It was never an ordinary role,” he emphasises referring to his posting here two years ago.

The strategic location of the bay coupled with its role of being host to endangered species necessitated more than patrolling the forest. Soon after being posted here, Bakan assumed the post of director of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust (GOMBRT) — a Government body that streamlines projects related to biodiversity conservation in the area. And since then change has followed.

“My jurisdiction lies in Ramanathapuram and Thoothukudi. I oversee the the National Park that comprises 21 islands which runs from Rameswaram to Tuticorin Port. There are over 252 villages spread across these areas,” notes Bakan. It is here that he has encouraged the locals to opt for alternative livelihoods, in turn reducing their dependency on local flora and fauna. In addition to this, he has been instrumental in creating green jobs, undertaking coral transplantation and mangrove planting in these areas.

Earlier this year Bakan’s efforts were globally recognised when he won UNESCO’s Michel Batisse Award 2023. Though his case study on ‘development of sustainable livelihood and community-based biodiversity conservation and environment protection’ was applauded by the world’s experts, he emphasises that creating change is not an overnight job.

Sowing the seeds of a biodiverse dream

The journey has been an unconventional one for Bakan. During his time as a chemical engineer at Hindustan Petroleum, he was introduced to the idea of civil services. Bakan decided to study for the exam while pursuing his full-time job and the rest is history.

But as the 2017 batch officer says, in hindsight, his knowledge of chemistry has played a great role in shaping his conservation efforts in the bay. “Some areas need scientific details analysed. For example, in coral monitoring, we regularly take temperature-salinity profiles and check the pollution levels in the area. My chemical background helped me oversee this better.”

When Bakan first started work in the area, he was laser-focused on averting the damage to indigenous flora and fauna. But if the local communities had to be discouraged from over-harvesting, they needed to have another livelihood to turn to.

This idea compelled Bakan to come up with a system of micro-credit. “Each village has an eco-development committee (EDC) under which there are 10 self-help groups (SHG) each,” he explains. “So in total, we have 2,700 of these SHGs which comprise around 36,000 villagers. That being said, over 93 percent of participation is of women. Through the micro-credit system, they engage in activities such as shell craft, palm craft, pickle making, tailoring, nursing, etc.”

Another activity Bakan started in the area is preparing boxes from the leaves of the palm tree, which are then sold as packaging to local shops. This is a thriving model, he adds. “Until last year, we have generated over 7,788 new jobs for the villagers this way.”

He adds that they scaled the model last year and micro-credits distributed were increased by 50 percent. However, changing the mindsets of the community was a challenge.

“Overharvesting was recognised a long time back. Convincing the community that this is bad has been a journey. Because what we are trying to change is not just their mindsets but also their sources of livelihood. But we have been seeing a shift in their perceptions. The locals now take pledges to protect the endangered sea cow, dolphins and more at every meeting.”

A self-sustaining model

What drives the people of the area are the eco-tourism projects.

“We certify the local youth in lifeguard training, boat driving, etc. Through this, we deployed over 58 people for the six eco-tourism sites we have created. 60 percent of the profits through eco-tourism are used for ecological restoration and wildlife protection. The remaining 40 percent is given to the local villages. The people of the village come together and decide towards which repairs and maintenance they wish to channel these funds.”

While the locals are encouraged to choose alternative livelihoods, Bakan also oversees the overall health of the ecosystem in the bay. Elaborating on the mangrove plantation, he says they managed to plant over 70,000 trees. This year we are undertaking more than 100 hectares of plantation.”

The impact of this project has been evident, he adds. “We see them as catalysts in preventing natural disasters such as cyclones, tsunamis and coastal erosion. We have seen the erosion rate being less in the area.”

However, out of all the challenging projects Bakan has undertaken in the area, the one that’s had the most magnetic hold for him is coral transplantation.

“This is a very scientific and very delicate process. It’s an underwater process and we have to select a specific area and depth. Then we have to study the sedimentation cycle to see that the sun is not overlapping the transplantation area. Over the years, we have standardised the techniques.”

He adds that they get an annual growth of 7 to 10 centimetres. Over 600 square metres of coral have been transplanted until 2022.

But what really gave impetus to Bakan’s work is the Michel Batisse Award. He sees this not just as a recognition of his service but as a stage for future projects. The potential is now alive in the bay as Bakan says the scientific community is showing a keen interest in their work. But what he hopes for, is for people to observe and replicate their model.

“An interesting project that we have undertaken is the plastic check post for which we have been awarded the UNEP Environment Enforcement award,” he shares.

Elaborating on that he adds, “This is a one-year-old check post model. The 22 km coastal road leading to the last point of India in Rameswaram Island used to be full of plastic thrash. For a year we’ve been checking all tourist vehicles going along the road, seizing the plastic and giving them eco-friendly options. This is being done by the eco-development committees. Every 2 km, there is someone deployed. All the plastic collected is given to the rural development department where it is shredded and used for road construction. Every month we collect four tonnes of plastic.”

As the bay enjoys a revival of its biodiversity, Bakan takes pride in leading the community towards change. As the mudflats and coral reefs are bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the efforts of the locals are visible in every sapling planted and in every turning tide.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

The duo found some respite to these woes in 2021. That year, hope arrived in the slum area through a project started by NGO Shelter Associates — founded by Pune-based architect Pratima Joshi in 1993. As Joshi shares with The Better India, the founding idea of the NGO was (and is) to facilitate access to sanitation, housing and water in the slum areas of India.

Misal was one of the many residents in Pune’s Indira Vasahat who was provided with a toilet inside her house; a rarity that she still recalls to be a “blessing”. While Misal was enjoying this newfound luxury in her Pune home, 150 km away in Parshiwadi, Thane, another gentleman Janardhan Gopal Jadhav was getting ready to construct his home toilet with the material provided by Shelter Associates.

It was high time. Jadhav and the other residents of the area had been appealing for new drainage networks for years. But their cries fell on deaf ears. That year, Joshi’s team visited the area equipped with sanctions and materials.

“Because of this, we could get toilets built in our house at a very low cost. This has been a boon to several families residing here, especially for disabled people,” Jadhav notes.

“These stories are the reason I started,” Joshi emphasises.

Despite an architectural background, she chose not to go the traditional route of commercial projects and opted instead for the development sector. She credits her master’s course at London’s Bachelor’s School of Architecture and Planning for her unconventional choices.

“Topics like urban poverty are rarely covered in architectural courses. But these interested me. During my master’s, we were taught by several leading planners and architects. By the time I was through with the course, I had made up my mind to devote my skills to the have-nots of the city.”

A year later, Joshi moved to Pune where she started her social venture. As she adds, the vision at the time was to revolutionise slum settlements in India through a community-centric approach.

Thirty years later, this vision hasn’t changed.

Breathing hope into the slums of India

Remind her of the impact Shelter Associates has managed to create today — 27,000 slum homes equipped with a toilet inside the home — and Joshi says these numbers were once only a dream. “I had no social work background,” she reminds us.

But even as she stood precariously on the edge of this new project in 1993, with nothing to guide her but pure instinct, her amateurism turned out to be a boon. The newness of things was frightening but also liberating, she adds.

Three decades strong, Shelter Associates has survived the test of time. Pointing to the secret sauce that has paved the way to success, Joshi says it is “data”.“This was the missing piece when we started.” Early on, she saw the lack of well-formulated data to be the reason behind haphazard policies and projects that were being done. The impact was invisible.

Data was new territory to the architect too. Without data, they couldn’t proceed. Mind you, this was in the late 90s when technology such as Google Maps did not exist.

Resorting to the only resource she could find, Joshi opted for GIS (Geographic Information Systems) — software that stores, manages, analyses, edits, outputs, and visualises geographic data. She used the software to analyse data — such as overall census information, infrastructure, and information about access to facilities such as toilets, and water.

“We were well ahead of our times,” Joshi boasts, smiling at how their “obsession for data”, which was often laughed at, became their strongest anchor.

In 2005, when Google Earth was launched, the mapping done by Shelter Associates got a shot in the arm. The satellite-backed maps went on to form the basis for a key project of the NGO — providing homes in slum areas with plus codes and digital addresses.

These plus codes are determined from the latitudinal and longitudinal location of the slum cluster and are unique to each home. Today, over 87,500 homes are reaping the benefits of having a ‘plus-code’ as it helps them get deliveries, groceries and more, particularly when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

But that being said, Joshi was intent that the only purpose of mapping shouldn’t be to bring order to the chaos but also to answer important questions. “Sure, mapping lets us know the position of every manhole, every water stand post, garbage bin, electric pole, etc. But I thought ‘What if one was to look at a map and immediately be able to point out the homes that had their own water connection, or their own community toilet?’ Now that would be a great map.”

With the idea of bringing the maps they had created alive, Shelter Associates began conducting surveys on the ground to understand the finer dynamics of the slum clusters.

Access to sanitation is a basic right

What are the stereotypes you’ve harboured about slums? “That they breed in large numbers, that they don’t mind living in unclean conditions, that they want services for free?” Joshi asks and answers.

“Well, the data we gathered suggested otherwise,” she notes.

A survey conducted by Shelter Associates deduced that 70 percent of families wanted a toilet in the home in contrast to a community toilet. In fact, they were even willing to shoulder a part of the cost. That’s exactly what the venture’s ‘One Home One Toilet’ project was aimed at. It was launched to help tackle the problem of open defecation and the resulting stress on sanitation systems in slum areas. That goal has been achieved across key slum areas of the city.

Another survey looking at family sizes concluded that the average family size is 4–5 in areas across Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Kolhapur and Navi Mumbai where their work is concentrated.

“You see how data helps bust myths?” Joshi is quick to point out.

While Joshi hatched a dream of improving housing services for slum dwellers, she was keen that it shouldn’t uproot their lives. Case in point, she elaborates on the ‘Slum Rehabilitation’ project that was undertaken in Sangli-Miraj between 2011 and 2015.

“A whole citywide approach was adopted to work out a very sensitive solution for people living in 29 settlements across Sangli and Miraj. The project was completed with more than 1,500 families getting a secure roof over their heads. These families got a very well-planned house which has light ventilation and what’s more, is that these people were completely involved in the design process.”

Her next focus is another rehabilitation project in Kolhapur, which she says is one of the first of its kind in Maharashtra. “An entire community is getting rehabilitated!” Joshi says.

“This could be a template for other tier-two cities to follow,” she adds. “It really looks at every settlement with a vulnerability matrix — you start working backwards from the most vulnerable to make sure that they all get brought into mainstream housing.”

Aside from this, through the menstrual hygiene workshops conducted by Shelter Associates, they urge women and girls in the slum areas of India to opt for menstrual cups that are sustainable. “This program is helping underprivileged slum women and girls to change the conservative attitudes around menstruation,” notes Joshi adding that over 2,500 girls have made the switch.

The venture’s solid waste management project focuses on segregating different types of solid waste and their safe disposal. “Our trained volunteers use spatial data to track and monitor the waste collection helping waste collectors reach every last household. We also help community members to coordinate with the respective ULB members to lay drainage lines, arrange for garbage bins, and clear dumping sites,” Joshi adds.

As she watches the urban clusters silhouetted against the Mumbai skyline, Joshi’s dream is for people in slum areas too, to get access to better standards of living. As for the road ahead, she is certain it is going to be a long one. But she says her initial years shaped her learnings.

“We really sort of jumped into it and then learned to swim. We learned the hard way.”

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Look closely, and you will see that the source of the hues is fabrics and clothes. If these could speak, they’d tell a compelling story of the long journey they’ve had, travelling from different parts of the country to get there.

At the centre, they will be sorted, recycled and directed to remote villages where their purpose is to bring smiles to countless faces. Behind this unique endeavour is the Gurugram-based ‘Clothes Box Foundation’ led by 32-year-old Sajan Veerr Abrol.

Share the warmth this winter. #DonateABlanket and begin this new year with the warmest of feelings.

It is said that the greatest of ideas often have the smallest beginnings, and the foundation is a testament to this. With its impact having created ripples across the country, helping more than eight million people along the way, the story of its beginning couldn’t be more humble.

Founder Sajan recalls an afternoon in 2013 when he decided to undertake the mammoth task of cleaning out his wardrobe. “It all started in that moment,” he says, pausing to remember the cleaning spree that resulted in bags overflowing with old items.

“I did not want them to be thrown away. So, I came up with the idea of distributing these clothes to people in the neighbourhood who needed them more.”

This “hobby” went on for a few weekends. Soon, Sajan was joined by friends and family who loved the concept. Clothes Box Foundation may be sorting through tonnes of clothes today. But at one point, their collections only resulted in a few handfuls.

“We would mix and match the trousers, T-shirts, suits etc that we received, make pairs and then distribute these to labourers at construction sites,” explains Sajan. This too had a well-thought-out motive behind it, he notes. “Migrant labourers rarely get clothes. Your first preference would always be your house help.”

As benevolent as the deed was, it was operating on a small scale. Facebook and word of mouth were the only ways for the world to know about the Clothes Box Foundation. “We’d write on each other’s Facebook walls. I remember we’d tag our donors and then someone would see our work and also decide to donate. That’s how we operated,” Sajan laughs.

More seriously though, he adds, “Our main intention has always been for people to know where their clothes are going.”

A night that changed it all

From a local initiative to now a benchmark for upcycling, how did the Clothes Box Foundation manage this feat?

“It was a TV show that changed the game for us,” recalls Sajan. He is referring to the Star Plus series titled ‘Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi’ which told stories of people devoting their time to an altruistic cause. Sajan and his team were elated to be invited to one of the episodes in 2015. But they hadn’t fathomed that this would be the springboard for success.

In retrospect, the founder wishes they were better prepared for the outpouring of love they received.

“We did not even have a formal setup at the time. We’d given our phone numbers as contacts for people to reach out to should they wish to donate their old clothes. As soon as the show aired, we were bombarded with calls and messages.”

While the requests reached a crescendo, and the team grappled with responding to everyone, one thing was certain. The response revealed the scope that this kind of social venture had. And Sajan was not ready to let it go.

In 2015, he quit his job as an analyst and turned his entire focus to the Clothes Box Foundation. A decade since this decision, the 32-year-old is proud of having created a service that is transforming the retail landscape every day.

Share the warmth this winter. #DonateABlanket and begin this new year with the warmest of feelings.

Weaving hope for millions 

Praise him for the change he is creating, and Sajan deflects. In his opinion, it is the helping nature of Indians because of which they have managed to keep the Clothes Box Foundation going strong.

Having been around for a decade, the team has witnessed the country’s willingness to help in the face of crisis — the floods in Jammu and Kashmir, the recent floods in Chennai, the Nepal earthquake, etc.

“The one thing we noted was that people are very giving. That emotional quotient is always there. I remember during the floods in Kashmir, we had people donate money to us saying ‘Please use it to buy blankets for those affected.’”

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A post shared by Vrikshit Foundation (@vrikshitfoundation)

While adversity does spotlight people’s generosity, Sajan notes that it is vital to have a target audience at other times. Drives conducted to slum areas in Gurugram in the initial days would be rendered useless as their clothes did not find takers. After troubleshooting, the team realised the slums were popular spots for other distribution companies.

“Hence the choosiness,” he adds.

This compelled them to change gears and focus on lesser-known areas — construction sites, remote villages, etc which weren’t hotspots for donations. Today, not just Gurugram, the team has expanded their reach to Kashmir, Eastern India, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Hyderabad among other cities.

Each kg of fabric recycled saves up to 31 kg of CO2 equivalents, says Sajan, adding that until now the venture has saved “over 23,126 tonnes of CO2”. To date, the venture has repurposed 7,46,000 kg of clothes.

But there must be another reason for such tremendous success, I coax Sajan.

“Well, we listen to people. We take our beneficiaries’ feedback very seriously. We then fine-tune the donations according to the areas we are delivering them to. For instance, I would not send a suit to a rural village in India. I’d instead send a sari. I wouldn’t send oversized clothes to the Northeastern states. People there are on the lean side. Clothes need to fit the demographics of places.”

For anyone wishing to donate, the foundation arranges doorstep pickups across India. Once the clothes reach the site in Gurugram, they go through a meticulous process of segregation.

However, a key observation by Sajan was that 40 percent of the clothes were either too old or wouldn’t fit the people they were sending them to. Once again his ‘no-waste’ instinct kicked in and he decided to start a recycling centre on site.

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A post shared by Clothes Box Foundation (@clothesboxfoundation)

Presently, over 30 items including school bags and blankets are made at the centre from the scrap. These are made by young girls and women from Gurugram. “Some of them have fathers who are alcoholics, and some are single mothers,” explains Sajan, adding that they are paid a daily wage of Rs 400.

The journey to this point has been phenomenal for Sajan whose voice is tinged with pride as he speaks of the foundation’s work. “Experience is the best teacher,” he emphasises when asked what it entails to run such a venture without any prior knowledge of upcycling.

He shares an anecdote to highlight how clueless he was in the initial days. “I went out to purchase sewing machine needles on the first day of opening the factory in Gurugram. I had to buy 100 needles. When I told the shopkeeper my order, he started asking me technical questions about what specifications I was looking for. That’s when it hit me: I knew nothing. I went back and learned these things.”

At the helm of a venture that creates alchemy between those with surplus and those with lack, he shares, “I’ve always learnt from my seniors that where there are problems there are also opportunities. I have taken that seriously.”

Share the warmth this winter. #DonateABlanket and begin this new year with the warmest of feelings.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Such was his desire to study that he always kept the resources from affecting his academic performance. But as the five children grew up, their father’s income, derived from multiple jobs, was just not sufficient to feed the nine mouths (including his grandparents). While all the siblings attended school till Class 8, the financial constraints grew, causing his sisters to drop out of school.

As a boy, Deep managed to finish his education, earning a BSc in botany. Later, he had to stop studying but pursued teacher training and became a primary school teacher. Witnessing children facing similar struggles to his own childhood, he refused to stay silent. He was determined not to let other children, especially girls like his sisters, face the hardships he experienced.

Deep began by assisting two children in his school, providing them with new books, slates, and other essentials. This small act grew into a huge movement to educate underprivileged children and break the cycle of poverty. Starting in Jamuria district, it expanded to seven more districts in West Bengal, Jharkhand, and even Bangladesh, impacting over 10,000 students.

Called ‘Raster Master’ (teacher of the streets), Deep educates not just children, but also their parents and grandparents. His programmes are aimed at reducing dropouts, providing nutritious food, stopping child marriages, bridging the gender gap in education, empowering women, and changing mindsets.

Furthermore, he works on improving education and livelihoods through his Raster Master Research Centre and International Foundation.

Breaking the vicious cycle of poverty

Deep remembers his father working as a daily wage labourer in the morning, cleaning a medical shop after, and working as a watchman at night. In fact, the family stayed in the house where his father worked as the owners were out of the country.

“My father worked day and night for us. But after the house owner returned, we had to move out to a small clay house (kutia) away from the village where there was no electricity. So I would wake up at 3 am every day to study, and in the evenings, I studied on the street as it was well-lit,” says Deep.

He finished school without electricity at home.

After Class 10, his classmates moved to cities for higher education, but he couldn’t due to financial constraints. He considered quitting and working, like his sisters. So he began tutoring kids. But a gentleman saw his good scores and encouraged him to keep studying.

Despite a government school being available, few enrolled. Deep was among the three students there, and he was the only one who passed the Boards.

The well-wisher further lent him books with the condition to return the books within two years. “He was saving the book for his domestic help’s child, who was two years younger than me. He motivated me to study well and finish Class 12,” adds Deep.

Initially wanting to study chemistry, he changed his mind as he couldn’t afford the many books the course required. So he chose botany instead as it involved a lesser number of books. After starting college, he had no books for nearly three months. When the principal found out, he arranged for Deep to borrow them from the library for a year.

After finishing his degree, Deep became a primary teacher in 2010. On his first day at school, he felt a strange sense of deja vu, something he didn’t expect or desire.

“I saw children who came from backgrounds like mine — three to four siblings, no proper jobs for parents, and borrowing old books. These children were going through the same pain and struggle I did while growing up. I didn’t want to see another child face the same hassles as me to get a good education,” he adds.

He started buying new books and slates for two children at his school. The number slowly increased as other children also wanted these shiny books. Most of these children didn’t know what a new book or slate even looked like. While the ‘Raster Master’ tried to buy it for as many children as he could with his own money, he knew that it wasn’t something he could continue doing in the long run.

So he came up with a unique model that would be the first step to what would soon transform into a movement.

The 3G Model

Deep started turning the walls of children’s homes into blackboards, by painting them. This way, when children returned from school with homework, parents began learning too. He calls it the 3G model — teaching three generations in reverse. The child, often the first learner in the family, teaches parents and grandparents.

He started by converting the mud walls of the houses in the village into classroom walls, where he teaches. By painting small portions of the walls black, he created several blackboards open for learning right at the doorsteps of these children.

While parents were reluctant about sending their children to these classes, he started asking the children to teach their parents. Now, many mothers, fathers and grandparents have learnt enough to write a sentence or their own name. He says this method increases bonding, provides basic education to people regardless of age, and helps the older generation realise the importance of education.

His motto is, “Where there is a wall, there is a way,”

“When I began teaching kids, I noticed that their education often stopped around Class 10. Boys would start working, and girls would either get married or work as well. The 3G model helps to prevent this. It makes parents aware of what they missed and emphasises the importance of education,” says Deep.

Surojit, a student of Deep’s for over seven years, mentions that all the kids eagerly await Deep’s visits to their Bankura village. Surojit, now 20 and studying engineering, credits Deep for his significant support. His father does odd jobs, and Surojit will be the first engineer from their village. “We all wait for the Master’s arrival, especially the younger kids. He also gets food for us, which the children, who otherwise eat mid-day meals, enjoy very much,” he says.

Thanks to Deep’s efforts, numerous kids are now pursuing various degrees like engineering, nursing, arts, and more, outside their villages and even beyond the state. The teacher feels immensely proud, sharing stories from a student studying psychology at Delhi University to another securing a government job, among many others.

“Earlier, a child would go out of the village only as a labourer or after getting married (with respect to girls). Now, they have the liberty to dream and pursue an education of their choice,” he shares.

Shalini from Sukhbazar in Howrah is the first from her village to go to Delhi to study. She was sure that she wanted to pursue a degree in psychology and worked towards it. While most girls in her school got married during school or after Class 12, Shalini took Deep’s help to convince her parents to pursue her education.

“Everyone in our village wants to get girls married early. They feel that a girl should go out of the village only to her husband’s house. It’s because of Deep Sir that I was able to pursue my psychology honours at Delhi University,” says Shalini.

Starting in Jamuria, Deep’s initiative gradually expanded to other districts in West Bengal and Jharkhand. He now has a team that trains other teachers as they have students from age 5-50.

“One has to teach in a way that matches how each age group learns. We have a team of 150, which consists of 50 teachers and 100 associates. After training, the associates become teachers. We go to each village and choose teachers from there as they are best equipped to teach the children,” he adds.

The ‘Raster Master’ education model is almost a zero investment system with great returns. The teacher says that it costs Rs 100 to convert a street into a classroom. It helps bridge the digital divide for students who can’t afford phones, don’t have internet and have patchy electricity.

Each child is taught five languages — Bengali, English, Hindi, Urdu and Ol Chiki — through the 5L (language) model. They can read, speak and write in all the languages.

Deep himself is on the streets from 8 am to 8 pm to teach the children. He continues his Government teacher job and takes classes before and after school. 

He also provides nutritious food to children as he doesn’t want them to be a victim of malnutrition. He pays for all this from his pocket, exhausting all his savings and salary for the cause.

‘I feel guilty about my sisters dropping out’

When Deep was young, he didn’t notice he was the only one encouraged to study, owing to his male gender. As he grew up, he noticed girls still face barriers in education today. This inspired him to make it his mission to support girls and talk to their families about giving them better education opportunities.

“Even today, people are not happy when a girl is born. Even though sex determination tests are illegal in India, people still find a way to find out and abort the baby. I want to ensure that every child, especially girls, get a good education,” he says.

Deep began visiting hospitals and homes whenever a girl was born to encourage parents to celebrate her arrival. He gifts sweets and gives them 10 saplings, which grow into valuable trees over 20 years that can be sold for a good price. “I give trees like mahogany which sell for about Rs 1 lakh per tree once grown, which takes roughly 10 years. I tell them to water these trees carefully which would tomorrow become an asset for them,” adds the teacher.

He believes caring for the trees is like nurturing your dreams. Initially, people didn’t trust him, but as they saw trees growing in various homes, their trust grew in the Raster Master. To inspire parents to educate their girls, he brings back former students from the village who are now successful engineers and graduates.

“Earlier, I would bring big officers to give inspirational talks, but that didn’t work. When a girl whom they’ve seen since childhood comes with a degree, parents connect more, as they come from the same background,” he adds. He shows them real-life heroes who they can connect with and relate to, which makes them feel that these dreams are within reach.

His goal now, he says, is to spread his centres worldwide and make education accessible to all. “I don’t want anyone to go through what my sisters did. I will ensure that every girl and every boy gets an education,” he says.

He was selected among the Top 10 teachers for the 2023 Global Teacher Prize, presented by the Varkey Foundation in partnership with UNESCO. 

Deep now needs more funding to expand his model and provide more resources for students. If you wish to help, you can contribute to:

Raster Master International Foundation 
A/C No – 40715717111
IFSC – SBIN0006188
Branch – Jamuria Bazar

(Edited by Pranita Bhat and Padmashree Pande)

Be it looking for solutions to maternal deaths, or keeping the street dwellers warm during the harsh winters, or creating awareness about Type 1 diabetes and building bulbs that act as inverters, these teenagers, all below 18, are redefining the future. 

1. Archit Patil, 17

Archit has designed and developed a Postpartum Haemorrhage (PPH) cup called the  ‘Archit PPH Cup’ which helps doctors measure postpartum blood loss. PPH is the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide. 

Son of two doctors, Archit spent a lot of time in hospitals and saw the trauma caused due to a mother’s death. He learnt that there was no single method to measure post delivery blood loss, leading to a delay in diagnosis and death.

Looking for a solution, he designed the PPH cup using a menstrual cup. This cup gives doctors the exact volume of blood loss during childbirth, helping doctors manage PPH, during “the golden hour” (within one hour of diagnosis).

The cup is made of medical grade silicone and inserted into the birth canal before or after delivery of a child. Archit claims that today nearly 50 hospitals across India are using his PPH cup to save the lives of mothers.

He was felicitated with the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar in 2021 for his life-saving innovation. 

2. Nirvaan Somany, 17

Delhi resident Nirvaan is using old denim jeans to make sleeping bags for street dwellers to stay warm in the harsh winter through his endeavour called Project Jeans. 

He started this when he read a UN report which states that 10,000 litres of water are needed to make a single pair of jeans, which is essentially water that one person consumes over 6 months.

He came up with an idea of making sleeping bags out of old jeans, which would help the environment as well as a person in need.

“Since denim has very good insulating properties, I thought of making sleeping bags with it. Denim is very strong and never gets old. Instead of throwing it, we can get good use out of it, while providing comfort from the harsh Delhi winters,” he explains.

He uses seven pairs of jeans to make a sleeping bag. He has hired 10 women to make these bags. Project Jeans has collection centres in Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and other cities. Nirvaan donates the bags directly or sells them to people interested.

You can donate your old jeans to Project Jeans here.

3. Kashvi Jindal, 17

Kashvi is the founder of ‘Invest The Change’, a social enterprise based out of Gurugram, which helps people from rural and underprivileged backgrounds gain financial literacy and avail benefits of various government schemes. Kashvi has helped over 3,000 domestic workers, bus drivers, and wage workers gain financial literacy and avail benefits of eligible government schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Atal Pension Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

Having an interest in starting a business, while wanting to create a social impact, she realised that domestic workers are not aware of the government schemes available. She found that they are not aware of government insurance schemes that would help them during financial emergencies. 

With the idea in mind, she launched Invest The Change in 2022. They conduct seminars where they explain the government financial products, then help them avail these schemes, including opening bank accounts. They also follow-up to check if they are receiving the benefits. 

4. Aryahi Agarwal, 15

A wish to buy an affordable perfume led to Aryahi developing and launching her own line of organic and affordable scents for teenagers, called Bella Fragrances. She claims that it is “100 percent organic”, has 21 notes,and is safe to use on the skin.

Wanting to buy a good perfume, she found that most good quality perfumes start at Rs 2,000, which is a lot for a student.

“I wanted to make something that my friends could purchase without feeling a pinch,” she says.

Another issue she faced was that most of the perfumes were not to her liking. They were either ‘too old’ or ‘too floral’. She worked on tailor-making perfumes for teens. She experimented with essential oil mixtures and it took her over six months to get the blend right and start the company.

The perfumes are priced at Rs 599 for a 30-ml bottle. She also customises fragrances.

5. Sia Godika, 16

Sia Godika was pained when she saw construction workers’ children running barefoot around her home in Bengaluru. Then 13, she noticed that their feet and their parents were hard, bruised, swollen and cracked and that they were working barefoot in hazardous conditions.

When she came home and looked for spare footwear to give to these kids, she found that they had so much footwear that they didn’t use. She upcycled this footwear and donated it. Through her research, she was shocked to find the sheer number of footwear that was discarded daily. 

In 2019, she started ‘Sole Warriors’, which upcycles used footwear and donates them to the needy, with the motto “donate a sole, save a soul”. To date, her volunteer-run NGO has collected over 15,000 pairs of footwear.

Sia was awarded the Diana Award for her exceptional work and the Diana Legacy Award soon after. She says, “If one helps the other, no one will have to work or go to school barefoot ever again.”

6. Uday Bhatia, 18

During a financial literacy workshop in a village in Uttar Pradesh, Uday Bhatia found that there were frequent outages, for almost 8-10 hours daily, in many parts of the state, making it difficult for children to study. 

He wanted to develop an affordable solution for these children, who can’t afford inverters, leading to the birth of an inverter bulb that can provide a backup of almost 10 hours in case of a power cut.

After 24 prototypes, thousands of hours, and eight months, the 18-year-old built the solution – through his venture ‘Uday Electric’. The bulb is priced at Rs 250 and he started sales from May 2022. The bulbs come with a 1-year warranty. The tagline of the company is ‘Bijli gul phir bhi ujjala full’ (Even if the power is cut, there will still be light).

He has so far sold over 7,000 units in Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and to the outskirts of Delhi. Of these, 950 units were donated to households in the Kabadi Bazar, Dehradun, through Aasra Foundation.

7. Divaa Uthkarsha, 15

Life changed for Divaa at 12, when her younger brother Surya was diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes. Despite having doctor parents and access to the best healthcare, they faced several challenges including stigma.

“Other school children may not be well-informed and could treat a child with diabetes differently. Children with diabetes already have to cope with a lot of changes, such as exercise, diet, medication, glucose monitoring, etc,” she says.

This led her to think about how people face the challenge when they don’t have resources or awareness. When she joined the Future Leaders Program by 1M1B (One Million for One Billion), she started Project Surya to support underprivileged children in Karnataka, who are living with Type-1 diabetes.

The social initiative creates awareness and provides assistance to children with Type-1 diabetes through awareness, advocacy and funding. Project Surya has reached out to over 15,000 people in the state and has provided over 500 insulin syringes to poor diabetic children.

Divaa has been felicitated with the Diana Award 2023 for her efforts.

“Our vision is a world where juvenile diabetics are free of suffering and accessing insulin is easy,” she says.

Edited by Padmashree Pande

Over the years, every visit to Gudiyatham felt different. Srikanth saw the green cover reduce slowly; all but vanishing in front of his eyes. He felt disheartened that his hometown was also becoming like a big city, devoid of its natural beauty. 

In 2017, a tragic incident changed the trajectory of the computer science graduate’s life. His older brother, Sridhar, died in an accident, leaving Srikanth to move back home. He started working in the fields with his father, a farmer. At the same time, he worked on his dream, to increase the green cover of his hometown through forest regeneration activities.

Starting by planting 1,000 trees in 2018, today the 34-year-old has planted over 15,000 trees in Vellore, creating three man made forests in India. On the way, he has faced threats by the land mafia and politicians, had his trees cut, been beaten, but nothing has shaken him. He stands firmly on his resolve that he is giving back to Mother Nature, and will continue to do so, come what may.

Transforming a 25-acre barren land

In August 2018, Srikanth started planting 1,000 trees on the roadside of Ulli village in Gudiyatham. He also took responsibility for maintaining the trees, and in six short months, they grew well. 

“There used to be a social forest (artificial forest) on the banks of the Palar river, that I would cross on my way to school every day. It was slowly taken over by the land mafia and all the trees were cut. It became a barren wasteland which was just used for sand. I wanted to restore and recreate that forest, which was home to so many birds, insects and monkeys. I would keep giving petitions to the district collector every week, but to no avail,” Srikanth tells The Better India.

The concept of social forestry is to involve locals of the region in the afforestation of unused wastelands, and to also protect and preserve them from rapid deforestation. “In a social forest, people can come and go unlike a reserved forest, where no one is allowed,” explains Srikanth.

He also saw many monkeys getting hurt on the roads, which bothered him greatly. “Many birds and monkeys would be wounded. They had no place to go to,” he adds.

When the 1,000 trees that he planted grew well, his efforts were noticed by the local authorities and reached the attention of then collector, A Shanmuga Sundaram. Srikanth recalls that Sundaram offered him help. 

He asked Sundaram to help him build an artificial forest on the Palar riverbed, and restore it to its yesteryear glory. The collector gave him 2 acres of that land. Srikanth worked hard and planted 500 trees in that area, all at his own expense. However, the land mafia was not happy. They threatened Srikanth verbally and physically, and slapped a case on him.

“They would cut or uproot the trees the evening we planted them. Almost 800 trees were cut off by this mafia. They would threaten me over the phone, call me to their office to intimidate me, and offer me money to stay away from this land. When I was clearing the land, they threw sand on me, as the entire village watched. They even threatened my family,” adds Srikanth.

Through this entire ordeal, Srikanth remained calm and said he didn’t fight back, as he knew that what he was doing was for the greater good.

When the collector saw what was happening, he decided to help Srikanth recover the land and build a man made forest. Srikanth got back the encroached 25-acre land, cleaned it and planted 7,000 trees in the area. He spent more than Rs 1.5 lakh for this.

“The collector gave me 25 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers to help me with the work. In a year, the forest grew well and became home to many birds and animals,” says Srikanth.

He planted native trees and fruits in the forest, like jamun, peepal, fig, and more. 

This artificial forest, built on the riverbed, can help prevent soil erosion, according to environmental scientist Praveen Kumar. 

“When there is, say 100 acres of land under paddy cultivation, people would build a small forest in between, to help cross pollination. The birds and snakes in the forest would keep rats and insects away from the crops. The forest that Srikanth has created will prevent soil erosion. It has also become a hub for birds, with over 55 species habiting the land,” says Praveen.

He also says that had Srikanth not taken the efforts to create this forest, it would have become a sand quarry.

After the success of this forest, Srikanth has created a Miyawaki forest in a 1-acre land and another forest in Pernambut. He has also planted fruit trees in villages across Vellore, which would help villagers get an income too.

His goal is to create social forests in wastelands across Tamil Nadu.

“We are all busy earning assets for our next generation. I believe that increasing the green cover and building such forests is the biggest asset we can leave for them,” says Srikanth. 

Edited by Padmashree Pande

The story of these two extraordinary individuals begins in a way in 1997 in a Badlapur hospital. Pregnant with twins, Sujata went into labour in just 6.5 months. They unfortunately lost one baby at birth, while the other, Akshay, was fighting for his life. Since they needed a hospital with an NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and good paediatric services, they moved him to KEM hospital in Parel, where he was kept in an incubator for a month.

Akshay was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that affects movement and muscle coordination. He had to be taken for physiotherapy daily since then. As Ravindra was working in a bank, Sujata took on this responsibility. She would carry her month-old baby — who hardly weighed a kilo — from Badlapur to Parel everyday for therapy, in hopes of providing him with a chance to have a better life. 

This journey of the mother and son continued for the first seven years of his life. But these daily train rides while lifting a young boy were taxing for Sujata, who is 61 today. She knew that there was a better way; there had to be a better way to help her son. 

‘We found our calling’

Speaking to The Better India, Sujata recalls the initial few years. While she had to take Akshay to KEM for the first 2.5 years for therapy, she later enrolled him at Spastics Society, Bandra, as local schools refused to admit him.

“So I would leave home at 7 am, reach Spastics at 9 am for his schooling. After that, I would take him to Haji Ali to a place that offered physiotherapy and speech and occupational therapy under one roof which got over by 4:30 pm. I would reach home by 6 pm. This was my routine six days a week,” explains Sujata.

Since Akshay can’t walk, she had to lift him. Travelling in Mumbai’s fast and unforgiving local trains at peak times with a child is no mean feat. Over the years, this led to back pain and other health problems for Sujata. She saw at the therapy centre that she was not alone. 

“There were many parents from underprivileged backgrounds who brought their children to therapy. Many had to discontinue as they couldn’t afford it and the travel was too much,” she adds.

Sujata realised that if they had a centre which provided therapy, education and healthcare under one roof, it would solve all their problems. But there was nothing like that in Badlapur, in fact, nothing by a long shot within Thane district itself, she realised.

The couple then decided to take matters into their own hands. After all, who would understand what a child like theirs would need better than them? They did a survey in Badlapur in the early 2000s and found that there were 189 children with disabilities. They gathered their parents and asked their problems too.

“Most parents found it difficult to handle their children at home, as most homes are small. Our children need an open space to walk around and explore. So I took my savings, got some funds from other employees at my bank and bought a one-acre land near Badlapur,” says Ravindra.

They built Sangopita, a shelter home for disabled children on this land in 2003. Derived from the Sanskrit word Sangopan which means upbringing, the home offers a holistic upbringing for their beneficiaries.

The home was started with two children in 2003. As parents saw the facilities and care offered at the facility, it grew and has 62 children and 34 staff members today. They have special educators, occupational therapists, speech therapists, along with vocational training, physiotherapy, round the clock care, a mini-hospital, a doctor, a psychiatrist, a nurse and an ambulance.  

With access to vast open areas, their residents participate in games, yoga and other activities with gusto.

“See, many parents don’t have the resources to handle such children, often abandoning them. We are providing an avenue for such children to really flourish and do their best. Parents, too, can be satisfied that their children are doing well,” adds Ravindra.

The 62-year-old says that the initial few years of raising Akshay was challenging. He felt depressed, he admits, thinking about what would happen to him in the future. 

“Who will take care of him after us? This question plagues the mind of every parent of a disabled child. We have built this as a solution to that. I felt positive after building Sangopita. Akshay is also doing much better and has developed well in these surroundings,” he adds.

Giving them wings to fly

While the children seem to have found their happy place, their parents describe Sangopita as a nurturing and thriving playground as well. 

Raj (16)  has autism and is hyperactive, according to his mother, Swapna. A single mother who stays with her aged parents, she found it difficult to look after him. Her parents weren’t equipped to deal with him when she went to work either. Raj was susceptible to getting fits as well. She found out about Sangopita 6 years back and decided to enrol her son there. 

She says that he’s doing much better and is happier there ever since. 

But what about her, a mother who is staying away from her child? “That’s my fate,” she says sadly.

After the death of their parents, Sangeeta found it tough to manage her brother Rajiv Rao, 34, who has a mental disability, when she went to work.  He was brought to Sangopita in 2009 and his progress has been very good since then, shares Sangeeta.

“He is very clever. When my father was alive, we had to keep a watch on Rajiv all the time as he would often drink alcohol or find some tobacco. With Sangopita, he has multiple avenues to spend his energy the right way. He makes agarbattis (incense sticks), paints and diyas (earthen lamps) there and is doing very well,” she says.

It is this progress in children that the Sugwekars strive so hard for. Ravindra quit his job a few years ago and the couple is engaged full-time in this endeavour.

“We want them to have an enjoyable life and fulfil their needs. We keep them active with sports, music, arts and craft. Many of the admittees have stopped their sleeping pills,” adds Ravindra.

They encourage the people in their shelters to make products like diyas, cards on occasions like Diwali and sell it to patrons to provide some income for the children. 

With the shelter offering home to people from 15-50 years of age who are either autistic, have learning disabilities or cerebral palsy, it costs the couple Rs 19,000 per person per month to run the facility and pay their staff. 

However, they charge only what the parents or guardians of these patients can afford. Many pay only Rs 2,000 per month, say the couple. They run 30 percent on fees and 70 percent on donations and have children from Mumbai, Pune, Jalgaon, and even Jharkhand. The shelter home also houses several orphans.  

But the couple isn’t bogged down by finances. They want to give people a chance to live their best life. “We want these children to become independent by the time they are 18. At the same time, we are letting their parents live their lives. We hope that we can help more people,” says Sujata.  

“We know the apprehensions, hopes, dreams and aspirations of parents of a child with disabilities. We will help your children fly,” adds Ravindra.

They are in urgent need of funds. If you wish to donate, here are their account details –

Account Transfer:

Bank: Punjab National Bank 

Account no: 1955000100007181 

IFSC: PUNB0609800 (Ambernath Branch)

Donate via UPI:

Number: +91-9867845469

UPI ID: 9867845469@okbizaxis

Edited by Padmashree Pande

Following this, Dinabandhu Nayak, an auto driver in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, was inspired by this partnership and decided to launch a ‘Smart City Online Auto Association’ to alter the perception of drivers like him in the city, drawing inspiration from the Union Government’s Smart City initiative.

“Auto drivers were known for being rash, fighting, and drunken driving. I wanted to change the attitude of both drivers and commuters. For that, first I needed to counsel the drivers, for which an association was necessary,” Dinabandhu (38) tells The Better India.

Starting with 20 people in 2015, today, the association has over 10,000 members in Bhubaneswar and 50,000 all over Odisha, he informs. They registered their association in 2016, and have now divided themselves into various zones.

As the world is getting smarter, Dinabandhu wants to make sure auto drivers join the bandwagon.

Revolutionising the perception of auto drivers

Dinabandhu returned to his home in Bhubaneswar in 2015 after a stint in Hyderabad. After a few failed businesses, he decided to start driving an auto, considering it a “foolproof investment”. Meanwhile, the arrival of ride-hailing apps like Ola, Uber and Rapido in Odisha’s capital resulted in significant financial losses for drivers who didn’t transition to these platforms.

Observing a rise in conflicts, incidents of drunken driving, and overall dissatisfaction among drivers, he wanted to rectify the situation and change the public perception of drivers.

“The only way to change this situation that occurred to me was by forming an association. Even the Police had a bad impression about us as they were regularly called in during fights at the auto stands, as well as those with customers,” shares Dinabandhu who is the chairman of Smart City Online Auto Association.

The 360-degree image shift of drivers began with a noble deed — blood donation. He donated blood and shared it on their WhatsApp group. Inspired by him, others too started donating blood. He says that each of their actions inspired 10 others, and since the inception, at least 100 drivers donate blood per month in the city, amounting to almost 10,000 blood donations so far. Even during COVID, 1,000 drivers donated blood, according to Dinabandhu.

After blood donation, the drivers started ferrying accident victims through their autos. Today, the autos serve as ambulances.

“When an accident happens, we don’t wait for an ambulance or the Police to arrive. We rush the injured to the nearest hospital. This way, we have reduced the need for ambulances. We are available for any medical emergency, free of cost,” he says adding that they ferry people with disability free of cost.

He further informs that any lost items in the auto are returned to the police station or the customer directly. Arijit Chatterjee, who left his belongings in an auto, managed to retrieve them the following morning, even though he did not have the driver’s or the auto’s license plate number as he hailed the auto in person.

“I had seen the ‘Smart City Auto Association’ mentioned on the auto when I got off. So when I realised I had left my cards in the auto, I came across another auto with the same logo and told its driver what happened. He immediately informed the leader of their group who broadcasted the message in their circle. The auto driver who had ferried me called me within a few hours and handed over the valuables at my office the next morning,” says Arijit.

Auto drivers turned social workers

Dinabandhu remembers the initial days when no one was willing to join hands with him. Eventually, 20 drivers agreed.

“The frame of mind of the drivers then was very different. They couldn’t think of any benefit in joining me. They thought that they were doing just fine. More than 70 percent of the people I approached said no to me,” he says. Slowly, as drivers started seeing the changes implemented by the small group, they turned around.

Dinabandhu emphasises that he focused on enhancing driver safety, curbing the exploitative practices of the ‘mafia’ that demanded exorbitant fees from drivers for parking at stands, and consequently, he gained respect for the drivers within the city.

“Our association’s system is different. We don’t extort money to park in stands. We ensure that there is no fighting and that no one lifts a finger among us,” he says adding that more and more drivers came around when they saw that he was indeed changing the status quo.

Venkat Senapathy, one of the founding members of the association, says that the majority of their problems were solved thanks to Dinabandhu’s initiative. “One of the major problems was parking at the auto stand. We faced many difficulties with the Police too. Dinabandhu’s initiative took care of these issues. And now we have access to many facilities and feel good to be part of this,” he says.

Besides social initiatives, Dinabandhu focused on bringing about behavioural change among auto drivers. To achieve this, the drivers were counselled and educated against bad conduct.

“I spoke to the drivers and told them not to drink and drive. If we find anyone driving drunk, we remove them from our association. The act of returning lost items to customers has also improved our image among the Police, who earlier, used to be frustrated with the drivers. Now, they listen to us and even call us for any emergency,” says Dinabandhu with pride.

He is glad that the public opinion has changed from negative to positive. The drivers provide their numbers at hospitals and blood banks, and also collect surplus food from weddings and other big events to distribute among the needy.

Even when the pandemic struck the state, the auto drivers stepped up to serve people. “We ferried people for free, took patients to hospitals, and also carried oxygen cylinders. We pooled in for the medical treatment of drivers who fell sick. Unfortunately, we weren’t considered COVID warriors and the Government didn’t help us,” shares Dinabandhu.

He informs that the driver group assisted their peers, covering medical expenses and immediate necessities for the families of drivers who lost their lives because of COVID.

Another driver Deepak Sethi says that they feel satisfied at the end of the day because they get a chance to help others. He adds that people see them in a different light today, and that makes him happy.

“Today we are not seen as only drivers but as social workers as well,” remarks Dinabandhu.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

When Munmun Sarkar, a female toto (e-rickshaw) driver from Siliguri, took to the streets in 2012, she was addressed by many names — ‘Don didi’ and ‘Jhansi ki Rani’ to name a few. But what started out as a personal attempt to be fearless in a profession usually dominated by males turned into a blessing for many when Munmun began ferrying COVID-19 patients to hospitals when the pandemic struck the nation.

As she explains, “I saw that ambulances were charging extremely high fees. So, I put out my number and asked people who had either contracted COVID-19 or needed the vaccine or get tested or admitted to a hospital, to contact me. I promised to reach their doorsteps immediately and provide my services for free.”

Munmun’s courage and zeal helped over 8,500 COVID-19 patients. She not only took them to the hospital but brought them safely back home following recovery. The toto that had once brought her contempt, was now bringing her honour.

On hearing Munmun’s story, filmmaker Mahak Agrawal was captivated by the Siliguri resident’s sheer willingness to help, even amidst the backlash she faced from her own community. Agrawal was keen on taking this story of indomitable courage to the world.

She saw the opportunity to pursue this by participating in the documentary-making contest ‘LIC HFL Womentaries — Her Story, Your Lens’ A CSR initiative of LIC Housing Finance Ltd in partnership with The Better India.

LIC HFL Womentaries — Her Story, Your Lens

The crux of the initiative was to highlight and commemorate the triumphs of Indian women changemakers who have made a significant impact on grassroots empowerment. The initiative was conceived by LIC HFL and executed in partnership with The Better India, renowned for showcasing stories of resilience demonstrated by countless Indians. Together, they joined forces with young and aspiring documentary filmmakers to shine the spotlight on women who have created a significant social impact in their communities.

The aim of the contest was to inspire India’s budding filmmakers and nudge them to discover stories within their neighbourhoods, focusing on women who were breaking barriers and emerging as changemakers. And the response was phenomenal.

The first round of shortlisting saw 305 registrations pouring in from all corners of India, with participants submitting compelling storylines and documentary film concepts. Following a rigorous screening process, the top 50 entries, deemed the most powerful, were chosen to create five-minute films.

These contestants underwent an enriching online masterclass conducted by a professional documentary filmmaker. They were then given a 20-day period to shoot and edit their films.

The films were reviewed by a panel consisting of The Better India, LIC Housing Finance Limited (LIC HFL), and a jury member. The top 10 most compelling stories were selected based on their impact, coverage of the initiative, storytelling, and technical aspects like film quality, editing style, sound design etc.

Provoking change through storytelling

What resonated the most among the audience who watched the top 10 film trailers was the perseverance of these women changemakers. 

Right from filmmaker Akash Fuke’s documentary highlighting Dr Sucheta Dhamane’s work which provides mental health support to marginalised women; or Damayanti Saha’s documentary on how Himachal’s rural women are being empowered by Surabhi Yadav; to Datta Lawande’s film that talks about the atrocities of prenatal sex determination and one woman Varsha Deshpande’s attempt to expose this; and Payal Khurana’s story exploring the journey of Deepika Dhiman and how she used karate to bring glory to India — each film left a unique impact behind.

While these films chronicled the women’s work, there were others that underlined the massive impact they had on their communities. For instance, Hemant Bhati’s documentary spoke about Vimla Devi Kumawat who dedicated 25 years to nurturing 500 underprivileged children, while Mamta Singh’s documentary celebrated the journey of Geetanjali Babbar whose work has enabled former sex workers in Delhi’s red light district to better their lives.

While these stories of resilience are important, it is also fascinating to explore how these women inking the right partnerships is equally crucial. For instance, Nari Shakti Puraskar recipient Ruma Devi managed to empower 3,00,000 women through traditional handicrafts and continues to do so.

But, the three films that bagged awards stood out for the simplicity of their storylines while driving home the message of change.

The first prize was bagged by filmmaker Mahak Agrawal whose short film about Munmun Sarkar won all hearts. The duo was presented with a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh.

The first runner-up were filmmaker duo Aashna Dhiman and Tejal Dua who chronicled the journey of Dharavi resident and football prodigy Gulafsha Ansari.

The storyline showcased Ansari’s journey from a timid girl to an inspirational footballer, coach, and advocate for gender equality. They were presented with a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh.

The second runner-up spot went to filmmaker Dileep Rangan T whose story of Selvi Kumar — an entrepreneur from Chennai’s outskirts who worked towards community betterment — was acclaimed.

To ensure fair recognition and appreciation, the prize money will be split equally between the documentary filmmaker and the protagonist of the film.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

1. Nimal Raghavan 

When Nimal Raghavan heard of the devastating effects of 2018’s cyclonic storm Gaja on his village Nadiyam, in Tamil Nadu, he couldn’t help but quit his lucrative job in Dubai and return home. 

The cyclone destroyed farming lands, displacing the farmers who were being forced to migrate. The village was in an utter state of chaos. Nimal decided to start with the Peravurani lake which had the capacity to irrigate more than 6,000 acres of farmland. Following this, he planted 25,000 saplings across the Kaveri delta region, organised a campaign to help those affected by the cyclone, and undertook mangrove forest plantation and rainwater harvesting. 

Together, the team restored a total of 118 water bodies across Tamil Nadu.

2. Asha S 

The Karnataka resident’s record of heroism is celebrated across the state, especially in the Kolar district. Through her NGO Arohana, she has helped 1,350 households divert wastewater to agricultural fields, rejuvenated two lakes, and enabled rainwater harvesting in three government schools. 

“It is everyone’s duty to protect water and act responsibly. We need to educate people on the importance and scarcity of water. We need to act now to save our future generation,” she notes.

3. Datta Patil 

The village of Halgara in Latur, Maharashtra, was known for two things. The iconic temples that devotees from all across India flock to and a severe water scarcity problem. For Datta Patil, a US-based engineer who called the town ‘home’, the latter held a personal significance. As he delved deeper into the problem, he figured the low groundwater levels were to blame. 

Datta invested Rs 22 lakh to get a 20 km canal desilted and build 20 recharge wells and 26 check dams. Today, the village has an incredible water storage of 200 crore litres. 

4. Ghulam Nabi Deva  

The month of May sees villagers from six villages in Kulgam district come to Panzath Nag — the largest spring in South Kashmir — to begin cleaning activities. The cavernous water body is freed of trash, weeds, and silt to ensure the free flow of water throughout the year. This is a vital activity as the spring provides drinking water to about 25 villages.

“I am 82 years old, and never in my life have I missed this festival. Although I can’t go into the water and clean now because of my deteriorating health, I visit and try to keep the spirit of villagers alive,” Ghulam Nabi Deva was quoted as saying in an interview to the New Frame. 

5. Manikandan R 

The environmental activist, social worker and founder of the NGO, Kovai Kulangal Padhukappu Amaippu (KKPA), meaning Coimbatore Ponds Protection Organisation, has been on a mission to revive the water bodies across Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu for over 20 years. 

Starting from their first project — the reclamation of the 264-acre Perur Lake in 2017 — the group has removed around 150 tonnes of plastics from different water bodies.

Among the many lakes he has revamped, there are Vellalore Rajavaiykal, Kuniyamuthur Canal and Kattampatty. These were desilted, levelled and cleaned and, as Manikandan points out, filled with water after almost 15 years. 

Edited by Padmashree Pande

“When I found this girl, she was in a very bad condition. There were ants all over her umbilical cord and her back. I immediately took her to a hospital, where she was treated for almost 21 days. The doctor had also lost hope but I knew that this girl was God’s gift to me and would survive,” says Pandey. 

He named the girl Taapsee, and today the 19-year-old is one among Pandey’s 35 daughters.  

Taking care of Taapsee gave this 66-year-old a new sense of purpose in life and led to him becoming a saviour for girls in Jharkhand. 

Along with his wife, Bhavani Kumari, Pandey runs Narayan Sewa Ashram in Deoghar, Jharkhand, where they are raising these young girls who were abandoned by their parents in trains, forests or bushes. 

Pandey appeared on an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) on Monday, 16 October 2023, for the stellar work he has been doing. 

For the love of a daughter

On Taapsee’s first birthday, Pandey got a call regarding another abandoned newborn girl. He rescued her and took her to the hospital. When this girl, named Khushi, survived as well, the social worker resolved to make an ashram for such abandoned girls. He registered his Narayan Sewa Ashram as a trust. 

“When I first saw Taapsee, my soul bonded with this tiny human. How could anyone abandon these girls? They deserve to live and I resolved to help as many girls as I could,” he adds.

Over the years, the local and railway police, along with the local administration in Deoghar, would call Pandey whenever they found an abandoned girl. Called Baba (dad) by these young girls, Pandey and his wife would lovingly welcome another such ‘daughter’ into their home.

“We are in an adivasi (tribal) area. There is no trust like ours in a 150-200-km radius. So all the calls across this area are directed to me,” he says.

They raise, nurture and educate these girls like their own with the help of the locals. Taapsee and Khushi are in junior college now and aspire to be doctors. 

While Pandey is working towards a noble cause, the going has been tough for the sexagenarian. Feeding and educating a family of 40, including the couple, their son and his wife, is a daily challenge, he says. 

“I used to work as a compounder for a few years. I didn’t like the corruption involved and quit that job several decades ago. I farmed on our family land but age has caught up with me and that income is not sufficient for us. I find it tough to put food on the table daily, I’m helpless,” he adds.

A humanitarian struggling to survive

Pandey says that their monthly basic expenditure is at least Rs 1.5-2 lakhs. He also spends Rs 20,000 per month on his cows. 

“Locals have helped us a lot. They are the reason for our survival. I was able to secure admission for my daughters at the DAV school here where they’ve waived off the fees. But we fall short almost every month. Food is a major problem and a daily struggle which keeps me up at night,” he adds.

He has also constructed a house for these girls, but has been unable to construct a roof or a bathroom due to the lack of funds. They don’t even have a washing machine at home. 

“I want to buy computers and projectors for my daughters, an inverter, washing machine and have to finish this house. I need help,” he adds.

But no hardship will stop this hero from fulfilling every need of his daughters. “I will do this till the day I die. I have faith and believe that we will find good people who will help us,” he says.

India needs more Hare Ram Pandeys. It’s a travesty that the person doing so much for a good cause is unable to even eat a full meal. He needs about Rs 15 lakhs to complete the construction of his house. 

Let’s unite and help him:

Account details: Narayan Sewa Ashram Deoghar
SBI A/c number: 31521477049
IFSC Code: SBIN0006453
Gpay/ Phonepe no: 8252121126
UPI ID: 8252121126@ybl

You can contact him at +91-8252121126. 

Edited by Padmashree Pande

Rajesh’s venture ‘Tribalveda’ started in October 2021 and was born out of his intention to help the farmers in his village who faced the pressure of having to sell their produce in the few hours after harvest to prevent spoilage. Getting farmers to agree to join hands with him wasn’t the easiest of tasks. But Rajesh says the results spoke for themselves. 

“On their behalf, I took their produce, negotiated good prices in the markets and gave them the profits. The community began to believe I could do what I said,” he says. Rajesh’s brand works with the farmers of Bera, helping them to identify, harvest, collect, store, grade, sort, wash, process and package the products that are then sold at market prices. 

The brand has a revenue of Rs 2 crores and Rajesh sees it only expanding in the coming years. But before he tasted success, here’s what his journey was like: 

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Edited by Padmashree Pande

There is already a lack of awareness and stigma attached to seeking help for mental health problems. If one gets past that and wants to seek therapy, it’s very expensive. The average cost of counselling is around Rs 1,600 per hour, and one would need at least 20 sessions before they see an improvement in their mental health, according to a column in Moneycontrol.

There are a few people who are working on reversing the trend and making therapy accessible and affordable to Indians. They want people to know that mental health is not a taboo and it’s okay to seek help for it, just like you would do for your physical health.

Here are 7 people revolutionising the mental health space:

1. Humanising Lives: Pro Bono Therapy

During the pandemic, seeing people tackle loss, despair and anxiety, Ekta Prakash Sharma knew she had to work on making therapy affordable. She set up a non-profit called ‘Humanising Lives’ in May 2020, to “enable individuals to lead humane lives by dedicatedly supporting them to heal themselves from different hues of trauma”. 

They started with the Pro Bono Therapy Project which offers therapy for free for the first five sessions, post which, sessions are charged at Rs 500 each.

They are a queer-friendly organisation and run support groups for the LGBTQI+ community which is headed by two queer volunteers. They also conduct offline support groups called ‘Baatcheet’ (conversation) with therapists to help people open up and connect on a deeper level. 

They also run a programme for the reintegration and rehabilitation of prisoners. 

You can get in touch here. 

2. Praan Wellness: Free distress helpline

Surya Pulagam was deeply moved by farmer suicides and wanted to prevent it and address the issues faced by farmers. To do so, he founded Praan Wellness in 2018 with Swetha Dutt in Hyderabad. 

The mental health foundation was originally focused on suicide prevention among farmers and rural children and has extended to urban communites today.

“There is a need for building a community around mental health and wellbeing that provides a comprehensive support system and safe space along with a means to address and manage mental health issues. We should contribute to a society where seeking assistance is not just accepted but encouraged,” says Surya.

They offer guidance and counselling, both online and offline starting at Rs 450. They also run a Volunteer Initiative Program (VIP) which helps in spreading awareness and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for work-related stress.

The Foundation also provides a distress call helpline 8142800800 which helps individuals and runs 24*7. 

You can contact them here. 

3. SoulUp: Peer Conversations 

Sometimes, we want to speak to someone who has had a similar experience and get ideas about how they dealt with the problem. Benglauru-based SoulUp is doing just that  by connecting people who have been through similar experiences.

Started by Mahak Maheshwari and Punita Mittal, the mental health tech start-up provides a platform for people to deal with mental health issues through ‘peer’ conversations and group therapies.

They have two offerings, one-on-one conversations – in which a person dealing with an emotional challenge can talk to a verified peer over a video call – and the other one is group therapy, with 7-8 people facilitated by a certified therapist.

The platform covers a lot of topics — such as grief, loss, parenting, career anxiety, relationship advice, medical anxiety etc. They have had over 1,200 calls and 40 group conversations so far. 

Learn more here.

4. Mental Health Action Trust: Free Mental Healthcare to Rural Kerala

Dr Manoj Kumar, a psychiatrist based in Kerala, left his job in the UK and returned to Kozhikode in 2008 to provide mental healthcare in rural areas. He founded the Mental Health Action Trust (MHAT) in 2008.

It provides community-based mental health care in the remotest parts of the state.

MHAT works on a pyramid model, starting with volunteers, who are the first point of contact between the people and the organisation. The volunteers analyse the problem, and depending upon how serious it is, it is either solved at the volunteer stage or passed over to the trained professionals. Psychologists and medical professionals like Dr Kumar use various technologies to speak to the patients.

They also offer teleconsultations and video counselling for anyone interested. 

5. The Love Hope Company: Healing Through Art

Postpartum depression hit Pooja Srinivasa Raja like a big wave. Having battled bullying, eating disorders and body-shaming since she was a teenager, Pooja started therapy after the birth of her daughter, and it was a transformative experience for her.

Therapy helped her so much that today she has dedicated her life to the cause of mental health and has started a ‘The Love Hope Company’ (TLHC) , a mental wellness centre, in Chennai.

“Love and hope drive everything we do. We want to bring you a lot of love (self-love) and hope,” says Pooja.

TLHC offers multiple services including counselling sessions, wellness workshops (using art, dance and drama to provide help) and group therapy sessions at their T Nagar centre in Chennai. They also have a programme for children called Emotional Intelligence Through Arts (EITA). They offer online services too. 

You can book a session at The Love Hope Company here. 

6. Mind Peers: Gaming Your Way to Mental health

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Kanika Agarwal suffered a panic attack on a Sunday in 2018 due to overworking. While she sought therapy for the same, she was confronted by the lack of a specialised and affordable mental health platform in India.

In 2020, she founded MindPeers, a digital platform that is built and backed by the concepts of neuroscience. It uses a proprietary algorithm to check how important aspects of your life—like career, finance, relationships—are impacting your brain. It then lets you work on the aspects you need help with, through neuroscience games and self-help tools. Users can also pay ₹350 per month to access certain paid services such as real-time replies from psychologists. Therapy starts from Rs 300. 

“Mental health is not a once-a-year trend or buzzword. It is here to stay forever,” says Kanika.

You can also book therapy sessions online. 

7. The Able Mind: Therapy at Rs 500

The Able Mind is a Bengaluru-based mental healthcare venture that wants to make therapy affordable and accessible through its online and offline platform. The startup was founded by Rohini Rajeev, a social worker, psychotherapist and a licensed marital therapist, and her husband Rajeev Vijayan in April 2022. 

They offer services at Rs 500 a month, with text-based therapy, peer group sessions led by a counsellor, support groups, self help tools and support in nine regional languages apart from English. The Able Mind app allows clients to seek counselling through live 15 minute chat sessions. Users have direct access to a psychotherapist via the app without having to book an appointment.

“We offer preventive mental health services to help people avoid everyday stressors from building up. This reduces the risk of developing severe mental health issues in the long run. We also provide continued support that mitigates worsening of mental health symptoms; thus taking care of one’s mental health remains in one’s own hands,” says Rohini.

You can contact them here. 

Edited by Padmashree Pande.

Sources

‘Mental Health Series Part 2: At up to Rs 19,000 for therapy, how many in India can afford treatment?’ by M Saraswathy and Viswanath Pilla for Moneycontrol, Published on 19 June 2020.  

The group must make the most of these moments. They will soon leave the peak for the equally pristine Chattarkund, where the sweet lake water is the main lure. The excitement at taking the first sip is all too familiar to their guide Nikhil Pratap Singh who left behind the corporate world himself in search of such moments of undiluted happiness. 

Early on in life, Nikhil made a choice to champion change through whatever he did. His initiative Planet Trotter is an ode to this. The travel-for-impact social venture is catalysing change in the villages of Uttarakhand through its many projects while boosting a form of slow travel that many have forgotten.  

Ask Nikhil what shapes these dreams, and he credits a childhood spent in cities across the country — thanks to a father who worked with the CISF — and a personal love for the outdoors.  

“I was born in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, which has its own history. It became the first independent district of India in 1942. But, while my roots were here, I grew up witnessing the culture across Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Chennai where my schooling happened,” recalls Nikhil. 

In 2011, Nikhil signed up for an engineering degree in Dehradun, but travel still had a space in his heart. Today, as the engineer-turned-adventurer looks back on the journey, he says that travel was always his calling.  

A setback leads to a passion project 

Following the completion of his engineering degree in electronics and communication in Dehradun, Nikhil decided to veer away from corporate life and try out motorsports.  

“I remember organising rallies and self-driving expeditions at off-beat locations across India. These gave me a chance to explore too. I was enjoying this face of life until I suffered a leg injury during a rafting expedition,” he recalls. 

As numbness spread through his leg, so did an accompanying fear which suggested that this would be the end of his outdoor life. The MRI revealed Nikhil’s lumbar vertebrae had been badly hurt. He recalls spending the next few months engaging in multiple sessions of acupuncture and traditional medicine. For all this, his love to get back outdoors fuelled him.

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Within a few months, Nikhil was registering for a mountaineering course at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling. Months of scaling heights taught Nikhil that nature was the best healer and in 2019, he decided to resume rafting expeditions in Uttarakhand. He had heard about the Ladhiya River and couldn’t wait to take his group there.  

“I assumed the place would be devoid of people considering how remote the location was,” Nikhil shares. But soon he discovered that he was wrong. 

“The people in this remote area were not only surviving but doing so in drastic conditions. There were no proper roads, a shortage of electricity, and negligible facilities. They were struggling to pay their bills, and sustain their farms,” he says. It reminded Nikhil of his own days in Ballia and the pride he had always carried around for his village. 

In 2019, Nikhil returned to Dehradun and started Planet Trotter as his attempt to uplift the villages of Uttarakhand. 

‘I started looking at the bigger picture.’

The platform’s unique model combines adventure tourism with remote rural development initiatives. “The idea was to mix outdoor adventure sports and sustainable tourism together to boost these remote places,” explains Nikhil. He estimated that this strategy would counter another problem — mass migrations.  

“We wanted to improve their standard of living in the village so that they wouldn’t have to migrate to other areas,” he adds. 

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The range of travel experiences helmed by Nikhil and his team are meant to foster a bond between the city folk and the rural communities. For instance, one of the most popular activities is the ‘Valley of River’ expedition in Champawat, Uttarakhand. The six-day expedition involves a 17 km trek across the valley, where trekkers are provided with all safety gear. They are encouraged to live with the locals along the way, and treated to a host of Kumaoni delicacies. 

Jeet Singh, from Lodiyalsera village, who hosted two friends during the expedition, says projects like these are of great help. 

“Living and surviving in these remote locations is tough. And so, getting city people to live with us is like a dream. I hosted Shivanshu from Mumbai and Dhruv from Hyderabad. It was a privilege hosting them on New Year’s Eve. We even introduced them to village farming,” says Jeet.

In addition to these treks and trails that enable the locals to earn, Planet Trotter is also engaged in a slew of other initiatives. 

Empowering communities in the Himalayas

Nikhil’s work is concentrated in seven villages across the country, five of which are in Uttarakhand. In 2019, Nikhil adopted three villages in the state — Furkiyajhala, Khirdwari and Lodiyalsera, where he recognised an urgent need for awareness on topics such as menstruation. 

“In 2019, we distributed more than 100 pads in Lodiyalsera and Khirdwari villages. The village women were not familiar with the concept until then, but post our drive, they are actively buying pads and using them,” he explains.

Nikhil recalls an incident prior to the drive, where Laxmi Devi from Khirdwari village, a woman in her forties, shared how periods are perceived in the village. “Women on their period must sit outside the home. We give them food but they mustn’t touch any of the utensils. On the fourth day, they can drink cow urine and then enter the house,” she explains. 

This appalled Nikhil, who now shares that Laxmi Devi’s views have changed since then. As she notes, “Nikhil and his team of Planet Trotter helped us get necessary medicines and pads and education about menstruation. Now we buy pads from the village shop.” 

Nikhil and his team frequently distribute books and educational materials to students of the government-run schools in all three villages. To date, they have helped “more than 500 students”. 

On one such trip in 2019, Nikhil came across the non-functional computers at the school, and he enquired about it. He was told that these had not been working for nine years as the electricity requirements could not be met. “I got six 1.5 kW solar panels installed in the school which ensure the smooth functioning of the computers,” he adds. 

Sarita, a student of Class 6 who loves spending time surfing the web at school, says she spends her time learning ‘Microsoft Paint’ or ‘Word’ among other applications on these refurbished computers now.

“I can now learn typing and do so much more. Otherwise, we had to go 70 km away from the village to use the computer,” she adds. 

In addition to this, Nikhil has also helped the villagers learn bee farming, which further boosts their income. “We have given them boxes which they use to collect honey. The villagers were able to sell the honey at Rs 450 per kg and we are now looking to help them sell their product directly to the markets,” he says. 

But even as Nikhil attempts to expand his platform in the face of stiff competition from other similar businesses, he says his idea is rooted in a desire to see the people of India’s villages uplifted. “I hope I’m able to do more,” he says, before signing off. 

Edited by Padmashree Pande.

In the years that followed, however, his attention was drawn to an interesting correlation between the decline in mangroves and the increase in cyclones.

The plant species were multipurpose. They not only act as great antibacterials and antihelminths but their roots also help fish breathe. Amidst the many benefits of mangroves, however, is their role in combating climate change. Touted as the first line of defence against flooding and erosion, the plants reduce the chance of hurricanes. They act as a fence of nature.

In Murukesan’s eyes, this is a boon for society.

“If we want to build a wall along the stretch of Kerala sea shore which is 500 plus kilometres, it will cost a huge amount. Instead, we can plant mangroves, which will act as a green belt. It will be more cost-effective,” he says.

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When the ‘Mangrove Man’ started the massive feat one day in 2013, the task ahead seemed humungous. But today 10 years later, the green belt smiles back at him.

In his endeavour, Murukesan was supported by groups such as the Swaminathan Foundation and Grassroot. His work can be seen across Cherai, North Mulavakkad, Vallarpadam and Chellanam.

Today, more than one lakh mangroves line the shores of Kochi thanks to Murukesan and his efforts. And he does not intend to stop anytime soon. He wishes to continue planting mangroves for the rest of his life and encourages others to do the same.

He takes no credit for his work. “I’ve only studied till Class 8. But if the people of Kerala and the world know me, it is because of my work. What else do I need?” Instead, he encourages people to plant at least 10 mangrove saplings each year.

Edited by Pranita Bhat

But even as we wonder, champions of change are steadily rising across India in unified action. Their sole aim is to turn the beaches of the country into the pieces of paradise they were meant to be. 

Call them activists, changemakers or simply individuals with a purpose, they are giving children their childhoods back.

If you’d like to channel your zeal for clean sands into something purposeful, here are some beach cleanups around Mumbai to check out. 

1. United Way Mumbai 

Through their Project Clean Shores Mumbai, the venture works with local authorities and community groups to breathe life back into the sands of the city. Their activities are concentrated in the seven beaches adopted in and around Mumbai — Chimbai beach, Versova beach, Daana Pani, Mahim beach, Chaityabhoomi, Suryavanshi and Mahim’s Reti Bunder. Their website claims they have managed to clear “137.76918 metric tonnes” of waste from Mumbai’s shores. 

Register here to make a difference. 

2. Mahim Beach Cleanup 

The platform has its roots in a beautiful story that started in 2017 when Mumbai couple Rabia Tewari and Indranil Sengupta first moved to a luxurious sea facing home in Mahim. They were in for a rude shock when they realised that all they were looking at were mounds of garbage along the beach. 

“We did not have any prior knowledge about cleaning up beaches. But we trusted our instincts and dived in,” Indranil had recounted in a previous interview with The Better India. 

A passion project that started with 15 volunteers and the couple at the helm is now a booming beach clean-up group that was felicitated by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2018. 

Register here to do your bit. 

3. Dadar Beach Cleanup 

In May 2018, a Mumbai Mirror headline read, “Dadar beach clean-up warrior Chinu Kwatra gets a pat from UN”. Kwatra had made headlines across newspapers in the city a year into his efforts and was applauded by Erik Solheim, then under-secretary and head of the United Nations Environment Programme. 

The venture’s most spoken-about cleanup was in 2018 when Kwatra put together a team of over 200 volunteers that cleared 200 tonnes of garbage off the beach. 

In an interview with The Better India, he reiterated, “Nobody is telling you to travel all the way to help us. Do it in your area. When you make a simple choice of not dumping your garbage in the gutters or on the beaches, you are helping us indirectly.” 

The group will be conducting a ‘Post Visarjan’ drive at the Dadar and Juhu beaches of Mumbai this weekend.

You can sign up here.

4. Versova Beach Cleanup 

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In contrast to those who crinkle their noses when they spot filth at a beach, lawyer Afroz Shah from Mumbai rolls up his sleeves. In the thrash, he sees an opportunity for transformation. In 2016, Shah was awarded the  UN’s top environmental accolade – Champions of the Earth award, the first of many accolades for his work.  

A scroll through his profile is a window into the various sides of his work. Pictures of filthy beaches are interspersed with shots of Shah addressing students on national and international platforms, advocating for a better planet. 

The movement that started out with Afroz and his neighbour is now an army of thousands. 

You can be one of them by signing up here.

5. Beach Please 

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In 2017, when Mumbai’s Malhar Kalambe overheard his friend complaining about the littered beaches post Ganesh Chaturthi, his friend’s mother’s retort caused him to think, “If you have a problem with it, why don’t you do something about it?”

That was the inception of Kalambe’s ‘Beach Please’ — a cleanup movement that is giving the sands of Mumbai back their golden hue. 

According to an article in Forbes India, Malhar’s initiative has seen the support of “over 2,50,000 volunteers”. Just earlier this month, Kalambe’s team organised cleanups at Mumbai’s Mithi River and Airoli. 

You can register to be a part of the initiative here.

6. Change Is Us

“Beaches are fun only when they are clean,” reads the website of Change Is Us — a youth-led initiative with a vision to ensure cleaner beaches and a healthier marine ecosystem for future generations. To date, through the venture’s endeavours, 375+ tonnes of waste have been diverted from the beach front through the hard work of over 14,000 volunteers.

The team’s activities are concentrated in Mumbai’s Chowpatty beach where they also conduct webinars, ‘happiness drives’, art sessions, among others. 

Ensure your weekends are always purposeful by registering here.

7. For Future India

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Every week since January 2020, the venture has attempted to revamp beaches into the wonderful microcosms of biodiversity they were meant to be. The efforts of their work is seen across Uttan Beach, Velankanni Beach, Gorai Beach, Manori Beach, Arnala Beach, Danapani Beach, Juhu Beach and Khardanda Beach. 

With 15,000+ volunteers, the team has removed “approximately 6,00,000 kg of waste and plastic materials”. Alongside this, they are also involved in mangrove conservation since July 2021. 

“If there were no mangrove forests, then the sea would have no meaning. It is like having a tree without roots, because mangroves are the roots of the sea,” is the motto that drives them.

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Edited by Padmashree Pande

So in 2012, he decided to open a school in Nanakmatta village, while he was still pursuing his PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi. “My goal was to create an environment where students and teachers collaborate to both learn and un-learn, striving for a better future,” he says.

From 2012 to 2014, Kamlesh would visit Nanakmatta on holidays or by taking leave to work for the school. But when he completed his PhD in 2015, he came to the village for good to nurture his dream of being a teacher and re-design the school in a new way.

“Today, I’m not just a teacher, but also a fellow learner alongside these students,” he says.

Students leading education and community initiatives in rural Uttarakhand

The students of the Nanakmatta Public School in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand have set up more than 20 community centres in different areas of Nanakmatta, with a focus on providing a learning space to students who cannot afford education.

At these centres, students organise book and science fairs, and learn by teaching and managing engagements through games, music, films and books. There are more than 1,000 students in the school. Kamlesh informs that mostly senior students — Classes 9 to 12 — are involved in these projects.

“We aim to provide holistic education to rural and semi-rural children in the context of rural Uttarakhand. This is a ‘student-led’ school where the students learn from each other through a plethora of activities — from making documentaries to running their own magazines and community centres. The school’s flexible curriculum and freedom attract students from various villages and semi-rural areas who enjoy spending time here,” says Kamlesh who is the co-founder and academic coordinator at NPS.

Ayesha, a Class 10 student, is currently running a community library in Dhyanpur village, where she works with around 30 to 40 children every evening.

“We engage in various activities, such as playing games like hide-and-seek and pakdam-pakdai. Additionally, from 4 to 6 pm each day, we read and learn together. During this time, we focus on enhancing our storytelling skills through written words and enjoy book-related games,” she says.

“Furthermore, we engage in role-play games to better grasp the stories within the books. Apart from these activities, we also celebrate festivals like Holi and Raksha Bandhan, where we exchange sweets and enjoy the festivities,” she adds.

Kamlesh notes, “Ayesha is an active worker at the community centre. This has helped transform her own confidence and zeal to learn in her classroom. She is now able to share what is in her mind with confidence. This is the impact of working with the community through this project.”

Ayesha is among the 50 students who have been able to build positive leadership through such responsibilities. These are learnings, notes 37-year-old Kamlesh, that traditional classrooms may not teach you. His students actively participate in daily meetings, formulate plans to run their centres, discuss the challenges and learnings of these responsibilities, and reflect upon their experiences.

Learning beyond the classroom

Kamlesh shares that the idea of the community centre was proposed by education activist and teaching mentor Mahesh Chandra Punetha from Pithoragarh district. Initially, the focus was just to provide books, but this later developed into a space where children of the community could learn from each other.

NPS also provides students with a space to make films by carrying out field research. So far, the school has helped students release two documentaries on their YouTube channel. The first is about Uttarakhand’s Gujjar community, who migrate from one place to another for livelihood. The other is about the lives of fishermen in Nanakmatta. To make such films, the students spend a month with these communities to learn more about their everyday lives.

“The classroom is all about rote learning with many abstract ideas. It doesn’t provide a space where we can implement our ideas into action,” says Mahesh, adding that through documentary filmmaking, students are better connected with their community.

The students also banded to make a film club in the school to screen films using a projector in one of the school’s common rooms for students from different classes every week. This was done with the aim of offering different alternatives to audio-visual platforms and learning academics more effectively through watching films.

The students also work on ‘The Explorer’ — a magazine that they curate through their editorial team. They collect written pieces from students across the school and edit, proofread, and release the work on their own. The magazine consists of student ideas, written work, cartoons, and more.

The students also work on different versions of the magazine. For instance, with the ‘Wall Magazine’, they create a base of cardboard and paste their writings, drawings, and poems on it. They then display this magazine on the assembly wall so that more and more students can read it. They also release digital magazines to share with parents, teachers, and their mentors.

“The initiative of magazines in schools and classrooms is building a writing culture among students. Writing is one of the most necessary practices every student should be familiar with. After getting inspiration from senior students, junior classes also released their wall magazines with the help of their teachers. In this initiative, students are not only building their writing skills but learning from each other’s writing,” says Kamlesh.

NPS’s initiatives work to encourage students to contextualise learning in their local surroundings. Kamlesh notes that the school identified that children are often oblivious to the things happening around them and that studying only within classroom settings without context or reference makes learning more abstract.

This is one of the key reasons why they work on documenting stories of the people around them, focussing on their traditional art and craft, challenges, social issues, and customs. 

NPS collaborates with the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI) to teach students reporting, data analysing, and ground research.

“This project is helping students to know more about the stories around them and learn from the ordinary people of day-to-day life. It helps senior students to get examples from their surroundings about what they are learning in the classroom. Ultimately, it is strengthening academic learning and helping to connect bookish concepts with the stories to get a better perspective of the particular topic,” says Gurpreet Kaur (16), a Class 12 student.

Shaping confident learners for a better future

“All these activities are part of the school curriculum, and students are marked as per the progress of their work. These projects’ impact is more visible than traditional school learning among the students. Through these projects in the school system, students are more confident to share their views and opinions,” shares Chandra Sekhar Atwal, the principal of the school who is also Kamlesh’s younger brother.

The students are encouraged to share their learnings on platforms such as Teach for India, Kids Education Revolution, and more.

For Kamlesh, providing students with opportunities to connect with others working in the field of education is important. He says, “It is important to collaborate with diverse organisations and like-minded peoples to get a new perspective and a vision to look at the model of education in various ways. It helps to shape our understanding of the world around us. They also provide some reflection about how we can make our institution more effective and student-centric.”

For instance, Mahesh mentors the students, particularly in language, grammar, and writing; cinema activist Sanjay Joshi provides new insights and ideas on film and cinema; and Ashutosh Upadhyay, an education activist working at Bal Vigyan Khojshala, Haldwani, organises workshops on science. Meanwhile, documentary filmmaker Fathima Nizaruddin advises students on their own ideas pertaining to filmmaking.

Kamlesh says, “Schools are often part of a social structure and order, and it is effortless to run a system with a monopoly of teachers. But alternative learning needs a lot of trained teachers, who really want to work with students. Today’s traditional education curriculum doesn’t allow students to be involved in activities not related to course books.”

He also says that it’s not just that he’s teaching students — he’s also learning from them. He says, “I’m learning to be a student who is open to new opportunities, values questioning to find answers through teaching, and gains valuable insights from working with students, enabling me to better understand their learning needs.”

Several students from NPS have gone on to get admission to the likes of Ashoka University, FLAME, Delhi University, Azim Premji University, and more.

Kamlesh says, “I don’t know what will be the position of students from NPS in the future, but I know they will never dominate marginalised communities and always help those in need.”

Authored by: Prakash Chand, a Class 12 Humanities student from Nanakmatta Public School, Uttarakhand.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat;  All pictures courtesy: Nanakmatta Public School Administration)

“I became a government school teacher when I was 19. I didn’t even do my graduation then as I wanted to start teaching as soon as I could. All I did was complete the teachers’ training programme and appear for its qualifying exam,” Archana tells The Better India.

On 5 September 2023, she received the National Teachers Award from President Droupadi Murmu at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. These awards are conferred by the Ministry of Education to the finest school teachers in the country who have improved the quality of education and brought about change in the lives of their students. This award was the culmination of her hard work and dedication towards the teaching profession.

The 42-year-old headmistress first started as a primary school class teacher here in Telangana. From a non-descript centre of learning with just a few students, this educator has transformed the school into a mecca of learning, offering holistic growth through a variety of extra-curricular activities. 

The seeds of change were sown in Archana’s mind at home. She saw her grandfather, a teacher, serve students. “My grandfather would teach a lot of tribal students. He used to teach them at our house and helped them in their higher studies. I aspired to be like him and help students,” adds the teacher.

Where it all began

Rebbenapally, where the school is located, faces a lot of challenges in terms of infrastructure, access to education, and healthcare to name a few. When Archana joined the school in November 2000, it had just 34 students. 

Hailing from Mancherial district, she was acquainted with the troubles faced by the locals and why they weren’t sending their children to the school. She wanted to use the transformative power of education to help these students attend school daily.

“There are a few tribal hamlets in this village. The occupation of the residents is to collect raw materials from the forest. There are no transport facilities to these hamlets as they don’t even have a pucca road. When I joined, my first mission was to ensure that these children come to school,” says Archana to The Better India.

Archana embarked on a mission to get those children to school. She started visiting those tribal hamlets and spoke to the parents. 

“They don’t have proper houses or even clothes to wear. They were not aware of the school as no one from there was enrolled. I visited them daily for 15 days to convince them. I told them how essential education is and how it can help their children lead a better life,” adds Archana.

She exalted the benefits of education and the change it enables.

“I would show them videos of people who came from similar backgrounds and are in a good position today. Through education, they were able to transform their lives. I urged these parents to give their children the same opportunity to progress,” she adds. 

Many Problems Laced The Journey to Success

Archana was able to convince the parents and the children soon started coming to school. However, she soon started seeing students drop out. On enquiry, she realised that transportation was a major challenge. How would these children come to the school which was over 5 km away with just a kaccha road leading to it?

To solve this problem, Archana arranged an auto to pick up and drop off the students daily, at her own expense. Through her tireless efforts to ensure that the tribal students in the village are educated, she has increased the strength to 275 students today, with 103 being girls.

Apart from this, she also worked on developing the school infrastructure. For this, she enlisted the help of a former student of her school, Rajendra Prasad, who now lives abroad. NGOs like Bring a Smile Foundation, Padmavati Charitable Trust and local politicians also joined hands to support her. 

She was able to procure a borewell, purified water plant, furniture, and most importantly, built a beautiful library with 1000 books, through their help.

“Rajendra has helped tremendously in the growth of the school. He is the person through whom we got most of the donations. The Washington Telangana Association (WATA) helped us get 40 benches for the school because of his efforts. A local MLA installed the borewell and an RO plant in the school,” she adds. 

To make learning more fun, through digital technology and the central government’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiative, she procured five computers, two LED projectors and two additional classrooms. 

The ICT Information and Communication Technology School Scheme was launched in December 2004 to provide opportunities to secondary stage students to mainly build their capacity on ICT skills and make them learn through the computer-aided learning process. She proudly states that her students are now able to use computers proficiently.

“We are living in an era of globalisation. To be a global citizen, digital education is a must. I want my students to know how to operate computers well and therefore, am exposing them to the technology at the grassroots level,” adds the headmistress.

Giving holistic education a must for this school

Smt. Archana Nooguri, a National Awardee Teacher 2023 from Telangana, works on improving enrolment rates & reducing dropouts. She develops low-cost teaching-learning material. She involved the community in setting up water purification plant, library etc.#OurTeachersOurPrerna… pic.twitter.com/eU7InH6xFN

— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) September 5, 2023

With more than 100 girl students, Archana wanted them to learn self-defence. She arranged for karate classes twice a week through a private instructor.

“Just having bookish knowledge is not enough. I want the students to excel in all aspects of life. Sports should play an important role in student’s lives. I arranged for a karate and dance class for students. The students have excelled in karate competitions at both state and national levels and one student even secured admission at a sports school in Hyderabad,” she adds. 

At the parents’ request, Archana also introduced English as the medium of education at the school in 2016. She says that this is the first English medium government primary school in their district. 

“Many parents were starting to enrol their children in private English schools. They wanted their wards to get educated in that language. So, we reached out to the government and got approval to start teaching in the medium then. This helped improve our enrollment numbers tremendously,” adds the educator.

Girija, a parent whose daughter is a first-generation student in the same district, feels that English is a must to succeed in life.

“After school, everyone has to study further in English. They have to attempt entrance exams in English. They also need to know the language to work anywhere and be equal to students who come from more privileged backgrounds. We don’t want our children to lose out on any opportunity just because they don’t know English. It opens doors to a better future,” adds Girija.

While the government provides two teachers, Archana has enlisted the services of four private teachers. She says that she pays salaries for two of them with the help of the NGOs and two from her own pocket. She spends more than Rs 20,000 from her own pocket for this, the transportation of students and extra classes.

“I know the importance of education, it is the only tool supporting me in life. The only way ahead for these students is education. I want every student to earn a good livelihood,” she adds.

Marking a Proud Legacy 

Many of her students are today engineers, working in the private sector, and one is even in the army, she states with pride. 

She also mentors teachers and helps them to embrace innovative pedagogical approaches and stay abreast of the latest advancements. She has published two papers in international journals, based on her learnings as a teacher in Mancherial 2017 and 2018. She has also authored a book called ‘Transforming India by means of National Education Policy 2020’.

The teacher is continuing her education today by pursuing a PhD in the ‘Role of education played for the socio-cultural, political and economic development of women’ from Shridhar University, Pilani, Rajasthan.

“As I was not able to finish my graduation as I started teaching at 19, I wanted to complete it. I have always been a curious person, wanting to learn new things. If I don’t keep updating and educating myself, how can I teach my children? To update my knowledge, I finished my graduation and am pursuing this PhD now,” she adds.

Meanwhile, she wants to open a school for orphans post her retirement. 

“My father was so happy when I received this award. I want the parents of my students to feel the same happiness and pride in their children. That’s what I’m working tirelessly towards. Education is the only means to a better tomorrow,” says Archana. 

Edited by Padmashree Pande

The patients eagerly watch the hospital’s main door, knowing that Kiran Kamdar will arrive soon, with her trolley loaded with boxes of khichdi (rice and lentil porridge).

Kiran, a 62-year-old from Palghar, spends the next several hours going from room to room, serving the hot meal to over 100 people at the hospital every day — including patients and their families, who relish it. Despite her Parkinson’s disease, which makes her full body muscles stiff and affects her balance, she begins preparing these meals at 5 am every morning.

Five years ago, Parkinson’s diagnosis shook her world. It made her question whether she would be able to continue her active routine life — from bustling about the home kitchen and teaching neighbourhood children to looking after a son diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

“My mother takes great care of my brother and my sister-in-law who has polio,” shares Palak, her daughter. “When my brother was born, the doctors said he would require a lot of care. My mother devoted her time to caring for him. And in her free time, she would teach poor vernacular medium kids in Classes 1 to 10 for free.” So, following the fated diagnosis in 2018, she says the family hoped it would not put a stopper to Kiran’s active life.

But Kiran showed no signs of slowing down, her husband Girish shares. “She is one of the most positive women I have seen.”

While Kiran began spending a lot of time at home two years into the diagnosis, she was constantly on the lookout for something to keep herself occupied. And in February 2021, an idea came to her.

A dream to serve

“A friend of mine was hospitalised and I was visiting her with my mom,” recalls Palak. The duo was shocked to see the hospital flooded with patients, all of whom seemed worried and fearful at what the COVID pandemic had in store. This did not sit well with Kiran, who marched to the Deputy Commissioner of Palghar district on 18 February, 2023, with a newfound determination and a unique idea.

As she pitched her plan of serving khichdi to the patients, the deputy commissioner was intrigued and agreed. Kiran also got consent from the hospital dean Rani Badlani, who recalls that day saying, “Kiran came to me wanting to do some kind of social service and serve khichdi to the patients and their families. I thought it was a very noble cause and gave her permission.”

Girish adds that as a family, they thought this would be a good way for Kiran to divert her attention. “After Kiran was diagnosed, we took her to many neurologists who all agreed that being active was the best medicine in such cases. Kiran herself knew how important good food was to feeling better and recovering quickly. She wanted to give patients the same luxury.”

The next morning, the family woke up to the chopping of vegetables. Kiran told them she was preparing 22 kg of khichdi and asked everyone to pitch in and help, which they gladly agreed to do.

That afternoon, Kiran returned at 2.30 pm, all smiles.

A wholesome bowl of love

The decision to serve khichdi, shares Kiran, was because it’s one of the healthiest options. “It is comfort food,” she is quick to point out. She adds that it is one of the few dishes that is great for everyone — healthy as well as ill people.

Senior nutritionist Alpa Momaya seconds this in an interview with the Mint. She says the rice and lentil blend is touted as being “balanced” due to its nutrient content. “The combination provides the body with 10 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. You can add vegetables for fibre and antioxidants; while a dollop of cow’s ghee gives a much-needed dose of healthy fats.”

Kiran’s preparation comprises moong dal mixed with capsicum, carrots, beans and peas. She stays away from adding potatoes and onions due to the dietary preferences of some patients.

When asked about whether khichdi is the best alternative she can offer, she has her retort ready. “If not for khichdi, a lot of them eat vada pav or anything available in the canteen. I’m sure khichdi is healthier.”

Palak, who accompanies her mother every morning says it is heartening to watch everyone relish the meal and bond over it. “Especially accident victims who do not have families,” she adds.

Not the 4 km walk to the hospital, or the tremors due to her Parkinson’s can stop Kiran from her good deed. Palak adds that while the family was worried initially, they now feel Kiran should continue this for as long as she wants to. “It keeps the patients happy and well-fed, and also keeps my mother happy.”

One of the patients (who prefers to remain anonymous), who has been a huge admirer of Kiran’s khichdi, says it is a lovely effort on her part. “It is amazing to see how by 2 pm, all the khichdi gets over! The patients love it as do their families. I am sure she gets a lot of blessings from the patients for her service.”

Dean Badlani lauds Kiran’s commitment, sharing that she has not missed a single day in these three years. “We see a turnaround of 75 patients at the hospital every day. Kiran serves them all, and in some cases, even the patients’ families who travel far to come here. She is a very big help to us.”

Meanwhile, Kiran — who has been busy preparing the khichdi throughout our conversation — says the happiness she gets from doing something for others is unparalleled. As she excuses herself to make her way to the hospital, she says, “I will keep doing this for as long as I can.”

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Deteriorating road connectivity in the area meant no ambulance could make it in time to Munni’s home. Her husband Surendra Kishku along with a few family members knew help wasn’t coming. A picture in the paper the next day showed a bunch of people supporting the 22-year-old woman as they undertook the 7 km walk to Fufundih village where the ambulance was waiting.

Another report filed in April 2023 by AP News highlighted the loopholes in the medical infrastructure in the country through the story of 19-year-old Poonam Gond. The Chhatisgarh native battles sickle cell disease — a genetic blood disorder that necessitates frequent blood transfusions. But as the report cited, “one doctor for every 16,000 people in the state” meant Gond was not on the priority list. In fact, the list was endless.

These instances underline the domino effect that understaffed and under-resourced rural hospitals can have on patient care. But a “citizen-led initiative” spearheaded by three friends is attempting to change this grim reality.

When the pandemic hit the nation, Mission ICU was conceived by Dr Ashwin Naik, Maanoj Shah, and Dr Edmond Fernandes. As they share their journey and plans with The Better India, one can agree India’s rural landscape is changing as we speak.

The disparity brought about by COVID

As Maanoj points out, the idea for Mission ICU was in no way a happy accident, but rather, very intentional. Maanoj has a number of social impact projects to his name, the most recent of which is ‘Corona Champions’.

Elaborating on its purpose, he says, “When COVID started reaching rural areas, the people who contracted the virus in these places were treated like untouchables. Through this initiative, we wanted to tell stories of real-life champions who fought the pandemic head-on.”

Maanoj was joined by Dr Ashwin, the founder of the Vaatsalya chain of hospitals — a network attempting to provide Karnataka’s semi-urban and rural areas with affordable healthcare facilities. The duo spent a major part of the first wave of the lockdown chronicling these stories and compiled them into a short film that won people’s hearts.

“So, when the second COVID wave hit, we were wondering what to do,” Maanoj shares.

It was around this time that another public health expert Dr Edmond Fernandes crossed paths with Maanoj. Dr Edmond leads a number of projects in Mangaluru with a focus on improving healthcare in rural India. The two spoke and an idea was born. Today it is known as Mission ICU, and has provided 20 hospitals across India with over 200 ICU bed kits.

A compact solution reaches India’s villages

Rural India has remained stoic in the face of a crumbling healthcare system for years. But the pandemic tested this resilience, the trio notes. They share their observations — “If the critical care infrastructure was beefed up in these rural hospitals, it would prepare them to deal with healthcare emergencies; not just during COVID-19 but even once the pandemic subsided.”

Since inception, Dr Edmond says the plan has been to increase the ICU capacity of hospitals by 10–40 beds through a “kit-based approach”, a plan they first implemented in Karnataka.

Following an “overwhelming response” where they were booked for 100 beds, they moved to replicating the model in Maharashtra. Here the focus was four locations — Buldhana, Sangli Nanded and Jalgaon.

As Dr Nilkant Bhosikar, a surgeon at Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji Memorial District Hospital in Nanded, Maharashtra, expresses his relief at this new solution, he says he sees an impact on the ground. “We have a daily input of many critical patients in casualty which we refer to GMC (Government Medical College) for ICU care. But with this facility here in our district hospital, patients’ precious time is saved.”

“Many deaths in rural India are because of lack of medical facilities in remote places. But this can be helped through timely intervention. Our hospital is in the centre of the city, and so is most easily accessible and convenient for the patients and their families,” he adds.

Maanoj seconds Dr Nilkant’s claim, adding that a set of specific criteria are looked at while selecting which hospitals make the cut for Mission ICU to be integrated. In the case of Maharashtra, he informs, “We scanned around 100 hospitals to finalise 10 that really needed this facility.”

A study titled ‘Bharat Health Index (BHI) 2023’ surveyed over 10,000 retailers across rural India for over a month. The conclusion was that only 25 percent of the semi-rural and rural population in India have access to modern healthcare within their localities. The survey also reported that 90 percent of the respondents had to travel to a different location to access specialised treatment, while five percent reported losing a loved one as they couldn’t avail a doctor in time. 

These statistics are a grim interpretation of the impact inaccessibility to healthcare can have on a person. The trio add that this is what they are trying to change.

Once they shortlist the hospital, the next step is to gauge if the interest is mutual. If the hospital is willing, the team sends them a due diligence form featuring questions around topics like infrastructure capacity, number of doctors, how they plan to use the kits, etc.

“We then reach out to investors, and once we have their approval, we get an official letter from the district official or the DM office for the requisition of the Mission ICU project,” Maanoj adds.

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Once these legalities are in place, the team orders the equipment, trains the doctors at the hospital in using it, and remains on the ground until the launch is complete. The kit comprises 10 beds, three ventilators, five tabletop monitors, suction pumps, a tabletop oximeter, BiPAP and CPAP machines.

To date, Mission ICU is present in around 20 hospitals across India in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, Kashmir, Manipur, Tripura, and Arunachal. As they are positive about creating more impact in the coming months, they share that their overarching aim is to “create a healthcare infrastructure where no patient should travel for more than 30 minutes to get access to an ICU.”

Edited by Pranita Bhat

Sources:

Only 25% of semi-rural, rural population has health facilities within reach by Business Standard, Published on 11 August 2023. 

India’s stretched health care fails millions in rural areas by AP News, Published on 14 April 2023. 

Pregnant woman walks 7km to catch ambulance in Jharkhand by Times of India, Published on 11 June 2023. 

A stray dog lay whimpering on the streets of Kancheepuram. It was stuck on the pavement, unable to get up or move out. After a long time, some kind people got the dog some help by calling a shelter nearby.

More than 2,000 km away in Ghaziabad, the death of a beloved stray dog inspired a young girl to feed more than 100 dogs in the city. 

In Kochi, a puppy was thrown over a compound of an NGO working for animal welfare. He was badly hurt and was unable to see for a few days. Nursing him back to life inspired yet another young girl to dedicate her life to serving animals.

Such stories of selfless work for animals are spread across the length and breadth of the country. And these heroes, who have sworn their lives in service of our four-legged friends, deserve all the help and appreciation they can get. 

We bring to you inspiring tales of humans and organisations working for the cause of animals from 10 cities of India:

1. Mypalclub, Thane, Maharashtra
   

Founded by Aditi Nair in 2010 and registered in 2014, this NGO provides on-field treatment for injured stray animals. They started with rescue and adoption and added mobile medical units in 2017. Their three ambulances are equipped with emergency oxygen and medical facilities with a  para veterinary worker, driver and handler in each unit to provide on-the-spot treatment.

Mypalclub focuses on low-income areas in Thane and helps 45-50 animals every day, amounting to 1,000 animals a month. They have helped over 40,000 animals like cats, dogs, birds, donkeys, and cows so far.

“Next time, please spare two minutes if you see any human/animal in front of your car/bike. Every life is important,” says Aditi.

To help Mypalclub, you can donate here or on this UPI ID: mab.037322047100027@axisbank. You can also call them on 9324699829. 

2. Rüvuotuo Belho, Kohima, Nagaland
   

Rüvuotuo would go on hunts with his family since he was a young boy. It was after shooting a rare bird that he resolved to never hunt birds or animals anymore. He then decided to protect and preserve the animals.

Since 2003, he has been rescuing birds and animals, gives them medical care, and takes them to the vet if needed. After they recover, he leaves them in the wild again. The others are given a safe haven in his house, which houses over 60 species of birds and animals.

His house, spread over an acre, is referred to as a ‘mini zoo’ and houses different species like hornbills, owls, monkeys, parrots, deers, leopard cats and Indian black turtles. It is open for visitors.

“I feel personally responsible in many ways to protect and preserve these animals and birds. If we don’t, then they will start getting extinct, as many already have,” says Rüvuotuo. 

He manages all the expenses, including medical care himself and is planning to buy another piece of land to house more animals. 

If you wish to volunteer, donate or visit, you can reach him at bbelho27@gmail.com.

3. Dog Home Foundation, Jodhpur, Rajasthan

When a pup was injured by his car, Kuldeep Khatri found it very difficult to get assistance for him, due to lack of knowledge on how to help a stray. This led to the 31-year-old building and running an institution for strays called Dog Home Foundation.

Started in 2020, the foundation was built on land Kuldeep purchased for a farmhouse. The shelter home and hospital has over 40 employees and has managed to help 

more than 48,300 stray animals. It runs 24/7 for free for any animal. 

The foundation tends to injured animals through their free ambulance service. After emergency aid, the animals are brought to the hospital for further care, and are provided food and water. After recovery, they are taken back to the streets. Disabled animals continue at the hospital. 

If you wish to help, donate or report any injured strays (in Jodhpur), you can contact the team through their Instagram or Facebook pages or call their helpline: 9352727457.

4. Paws In Puddle, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
   

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During the first lockdown, Sana Saxena was deeply affected by the death of a stray dog called Bholu, who she would feed occasionally. She felt that had she known how to recognise a sick dog, she would have been able to help him.

In March 2020, Sana and her family, including her 90-year-old dadi (grandmother) Kanak began feeding 10-20 dogs on a street in Vaishali, Ghaziabad. Today, the number has grown to 120 dogs every day, alongside taking care of their vaccinations, medications, and shelter. 

Sana’s dadi wakes up at 4.30 am despite her osteoporosis and cooks fresh food for the dogs. They use almost 10 kg of rice daily, along with chicken. Like any indulgent grandmother, Kanak treats the dogs to different delicacies. This costs them almost Rs 350 per dog per month, which involves a total cost of Rs 42,000 for 120 dogs.

Sana ensures that all dogs in her area are vaccinated and builds temporary shelters for them, works on rescue and adoptions. She also runs a page called Paws in Puddle on Instagram, which she uses to educate people about dogs and encourage adoptions.

To help Sana, you can reach out through Instagram.

5. Peepal Farm, Dhanotu Village, Himachal Pradesh

This rescue and awareness non-profit started in December 2014 as a space for injured stray animals, and has grown to a small-scale social enterprise run by women. It also works on protecting and feeding the stray dogs of Spiti.

After visiting Spiti, Robin Singh, co-founder of Peepal Farms, decided to run a stray dog feeding programme from December 2021-April 2022. They fed 300-400 dogs everyday across six villages. 

“The stray dogs had started killing and eating other dogs due to starvation, in the gruelling winters when temperatures drop down to -20 to -30 degrees Celsius,” Robin recalls.

After the successful completion of their feeding and sterilisation programmes, they continue to rescue, rehabilitate and give shelter to animals who have nowhere else to go.

You can help Peepal Farm by donating here.

6. Daaman Animal Shelter, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu

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Sarah And Gerry found an abandoned, injured pup outside their house, who they named PK and then nursed back to health — an activity that made them realise the value of rescue and rehabilitation.

They started a WhatsApp group to get information about dogs that needed help, and rehabilitated them at their Chennai home. As they grew, and their house could no longer accommodate more animals, they set up an animal welfare trust called ‘Madras Animal Rescue Society and built a shelter in Krishnan Karanai village, Kancheepuram.

Daaman is a safe haven for over 250 dogs, 75 of whom are paralysed. Their website says that they want to rewrite the misconception that paralysed dogs cannot lead a purposeful and meaningful life.

You can donate here. 

7. Sarvoham Trust, Bengaluru, Karnataka

Haris Ali resolved at the age of 9 that he would not let street animals die after seeing a puppy being beaten to death. This, and several other experiences, led Haris to dedicate his life to helping animals.

It was in 2017 that his dream became a reality through Sarvoham Animal Foundation. Located in JP Nagar, Bengaluru, the trust was started in a small room with 20 dogs. Today, the 12,500 square feet property is home to 200 dogs, and the trust has rescued a total of 2,500 street animals. 

They have an ambulance, an X-ray machine, and other surgical and diagnostic equipment to treat dogs. 

You can donate here.

8. Animal Rescue Kochi, Kochi, Kerala

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Inspired by his father, Sajith Shajan started rescuing animals at the age of 12. Growing up with poultry, dogs and cats, Sajith is a trained para-vet. After working with various animal welfare organisations, he returned to Kochi in 2019. 

During the lockdown, he started feeding stray dogs and saw many animals in need of rescue due to speeding cars. This led him to open an animal shelter in Kochi in October 2020 which has an ambulance service and kennels. 

They feed over 200 stray animals daily and rehabilitate, rehome injured animals. 

You can donate here:

Bank: Axis Bank
Account name : Animal rescue
Account number: 920020066027930
Branch: Palarivattom
IFSC Code: UTIB0000691

9. YODA, Mumbai, Maharashtra

YODA is a Mumbai-based NGO founded by Priya Agarwal Hebbar when she was 16 to provide care to distressed strays with the help of passionate caregivers. Today, it’s a large animal welfare organisation with a focus on animal rescue, rehabilitation, healthcare, animal birth control (ABC) vaccination and more.  

YODA rehabilitates over 3,000 animals per month, and does over 500 ABCs for dogs & cats each month. It has also helped 4,000 animals find permanent homes. They have a shelter and 24/7 ambulance service across Mumbai.

“We found Chaaya, a female dog who was raped, with severe spinal and organ damage and her veterinary opinions were grim. Through intensive medical care and dedication from our team of veterinarians and physiotherapists, she defied the odds and regained her ability to walk on all fours. Chayaa’s indomitable spirit to survive and be loved again keeps us going.”

You can donate here.

10. ResQ Charitable Trust, Pune, Maharashtra

Finding a gap in emergency care for animals, Neha Panchamiya started ResQ Charitable Trust in 2007. Wanting to learn the ropes herself, Neha first trained in animal treatment and first aid under a veterinarian. 

Starting small, RESQ today impacts over 10,000 animals annually by providing emergency animal rescue, medical aid, and rehabilitation care. Their vision is “conservation and coexistence between wildlife, communities and their animals through our response and prevention activities”. 

They work on human-animal conflict with their education and outreach programmes.

“The idea is that animals and humans should be able to coexist in harmony,” says Neha.

RESQ is authorised by the Maharashtra Government to conduct state-wide wildlife rescue and run a Wildlife Transit Treatment Centre in Pune in association with the Maharashtra Forest Department.

You can donate here.

Edited by Divya Sethu

“Life gives everyone their share of sorrows, I just got mine a little early.”

In her 31 years, Devanshi Sharma from Bareilly encountered unimaginable difficulties — including losing her father at a young age, surviving an acid attack when she was just 14, and experiencing sexual abuse by a family friend.

Because of such traumatic experiences, her sole aspiration has been to prevent other victims from experiencing the suffering she endured. Her life’s work, carried out through her NGO ‘Shaheed Ramashray Welfare Society’, aims to create a safer world for young girls.

So far, she has helped over 1,000 victims of sexual abuse, domestic violence and assault by providing them with free legal help and counselling.

Breaking the cycle of pain and abuse

Having lost her father when she was just nine months old, Devanshi was raised by her mother. “I think it is my mother’s bravery that inspires me to keep moving. Raising a child at the age of 25 alone is a lot of responsibility, but my mother always showed courage,” she says.

“That’s why, no matter what challenges came to me, I was able to overcome them. She never gave up, so why should I?” she adds.

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Devanshi was challenged by a horrific incident when she was just a teenager. “I was 14 when a boy asked me out; I rejected him. He decided to take revenge by throwing acid on me. I tried dodging, but it burnt the left side of my body,” she recalls.

While she healed from the trauma, she faced continual blame for her condition. “The society, especially in small towns in India, only blames the victim. While the pain was unbearable, it was the comments from people that left me shaken.”

She continues, “People would shame me and say, ‘It’s the way you dress; you asked for it!’ After a year, the scars started to fade, but the incident wrecked my self-confidence and left me very scared.”

With support from loved ones, Devanshi regained her health, but her fear of public shame stayed with her. “I was so scared of being shamed that I did not raise my voice when a family friend tried to molest me. I escaped his first attempt, but I knew he would come back, and he did. I was so afraid that I could not even talk to my mother about it,” she recalls.

“I broke my silence once I realised that this was never going to stop. I told my mom and my family dealt with it,” she says. “This incident helped me realise that silence never helps. I began to think that as I couldn’t speak up, there must be many others like me.”

A beacon of hope for others

While fighting her trauma and pain, Devanshi knew she wanted to do social work.

She shares how she was just a baby when her father died. So she only remembers him from the stories told to her. “All the stories I remember are of him being a great human being and a servant of the society. Even from a young age, I knew I wanted to be like him,” she says.

So after graduating, she started an NGO in memory of her father — Shaheed Ramashray Welfare Society — with the aim to help victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence get justice.

“The NGO was my way of paying tribute to my father and mother. These two strong individuals have been a massive inspiration for me in their unique ways,” she says.

The welfare society works with victims of sexual and physical abuse and gives them free legal help. Besides, Devanshi also gives free counselling to them. “Getting proper counselling and knowing the next steps is an essential part of healing after abuse. The people who come to me are usually very scared and unsure of what to do,” she shares.

“My volunteers and I help them gain their lost confidence and also help them legally every step of the way. The justice system is not as efficient as we would like it to be, but the important thing is that we take the first step,” she explains.

Devanshi accompanies the victims to the police station, court, and wherever else is required.

“The NGO in Bareilly has got a lot of attention and many people reach out to us if they are going through something or if they know someone who is. I have also openly talked about my trauma on social media so that more women speak up. This has helped and I get a lot of requests for help through Instagram,” she says.

Devanshi says the initial step when a victim approaches them is to ensure their comfort. “I talk to them and listen to their concerns. Then, we tell them how they can take legal action against their perpetrators. Many need therapy and counselling too, so we refer them to our volunteers,” she says.

Devanshi says that they get 60 to 70 cases of domestic violence cases in a year. “The youngest girl that I rescued was 14 and married off. She was a victim of domestic violence and sexual assault,” she says.

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Priya (name changed), an 18-year-old from Delhi, shares, “I was sexually harassed by a family member when I was only 13. I kept it hidden for so many years, but as years passed, it became harder for me to hide it. To be honest, I just wanted someone to listen to me without judgement. I related to Devanshi’s story on Instagram so much and reached out to her.”

“I was scared, frustrated, and angry, but she patiently listened to me. The organisation provided me with free one-to-one and group therapy sessions. It helped me see beyond this incident and move forward with life,” she shares.

Devanshi notes, “We also have a centre in Bareilly where we give free education to girls. It started off with 15 girls, but now we have around 500 girls studying with us. Besides basic education, we also give them computer courses, etc.” 

‘This fight is personal to me’ 

During her work, Devanshi met a child with hearing and speech impairment. “I arranged funds to provide her with a cochlear implant. As I watched her get better, I experienced the joy of motherhood for the first time,” she says.

This was when she realised that she wanted to become a mother and adopt a child in need. “My family, especially my grandparents, were quite against this idea. They were concerned that no one would then marry me. Society has made up all sorts of norms against women wishing to become a mother [in unconventional ways]. However, it was my mother who supported me throughout this,” she says.

“I registered with an adoption agency. And after months of waiting, I finally had her! During the whole process, I would sit in the already-ready nursery. I’d sit there and pray that ‘Wherever my baby is, let her be safe and I’ll bring her home’,” she says.

At 27, Devanshi became a single mother. Her daughter Vanmayi came into her life when the child was only six months old. “When she first looked towards me, my whole world stopped. I instantly fell in love. She was my dream come true — she made me stop questioning why bad things happen in the world. She eases my pain with every breath she takes,” she shares.

Because of this experience, she points out that her fight to make the world a safer place for girls has become even more important now.

“All the injustices and horrible things I suffered should not be the fate of anyone else. Life really knocked me down and I really wanted to help people who were suffering. To me, this fight is personal and I will take it as far as I can,” she says.

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How can you help?

Devanshi’s organisation runs on funds from Devanshi’s family business and from donations from people across the country.

“The NGO mostly runs because of our volunteers. My mother also helps out sometimes. Then there are some sponsors we get from social media. We also have four lawyers who volunteer with us regularly,” she says.

Devanshi is actively looking for volunteers and donations to take the work forward. If you wish to help her, check the official website.

(Edited by Pranita Bhat)

Over the past 18 years, the retired Army man has identified and helped over 200 rural innovators, including Padma Shri awardee Chintakindi Mallesham. Mallesham created the Laxmi ASU machine to reduce the time and labour required to weave Pochampalli silk sarees.

It was during his service in the Indian Army that the armoured fighting vehicle specialist first encountered the acumen of grassroot innovators in soldiers. 

Out of the 200 innovations that he has identified so far, 26 are ready for sale, 24 have patents, 13 have bagged President awards, and 2 received Padma Shri awards. The prototypes of all these innovations are displayed in the Brigadier’s home in Vayupuri, Secunderabad.

“We helped the innovators shine in national exhibitions and competitions, and even get loans for manufacturing or scaling up. Till date, we have been able to generate almost four crore financial assistance for them,” he adds.

Here’s how Brigadier Ganesham has helped bring hundreds of remarkable innovations to light:

Edited by Padmashree Pande

“I still remember Pranay helping me cram a year’s worth of syllabus into those last few minutes. And the best part is that it was always my favourite way to learn,” shares a nostalgic Atharva over a call with The Better India. 

Growing up as close friends in Madhya Pradesh, he and Pranay shared many fascinating nostalgic memories, almost all pertaining to the classroom. So when it was time to head their own ways to pursue their engineering degrees in 2019 — Pranay to Mumbai and Atharva to Chennai — it was with a heavy heart that the friends bid goodbye. 

What Atharva would miss the most was his friend’s tips and tricks right before an exam. It’s perhaps why the boys’ venture Padhle is reminiscent of exactly this way of learning. The YouTube channel, which they launched in March 2022, enables students across India to access notes, lectures, study tips, and more, all in an attempt to help them recall things during an exam. 

A new way of learning 

The friends were pursuing their first-year B.Tech degrees when Atharva decided this wasn’t his cup of tea. “A thought that I’ve always had through my school life is that even though India has so many educational institutions, there are very few teachers who understand the ‘vibe’ of the student. Today, there is an evolution in so many fields, but this one problem continues to persist. I always felt teaching should happen in a manner that makes the student eager to learn. Kind of like if an elder sibling were to teach you. But I did not feel this enthusiasm and so I dropped out of BTech.” 

This was around the same time that Atharva reconnected with Pranay, and coincidentally, also when the COVID pandemic arrived in 2020, doling a major hit to several sectors, including education. 

Pranay says, “The idea of helping students in some way was always there. It was a shared passion between Atharva and I, but the COVID pandemic accelerated this need to go beyond our abilities. We both pitched in Rs 2,000 and bought a domain on the internet as the first step towards our plan.” 

He laughs recalling how, when it came to naming the platform, they decided to go with a remark that most desi homes are heard using on kids. 

‘Padhle’ — but understand what you’re studying

“We wanted to ensure that students were learning concepts in a language they are comfortable with, for better understanding,” says Pranay. He credits their success to starting off at the right time. “During the height of the pandemic, students were confused about the way forward. As teachers grappled with the new software to shift to remote teaching, students too were adjusting to new formats of learning.” 

The boys began discussing how the quality of content that students were being provided wasn’t great. Parents, too, were now being burdened with the added responsibility of teaching kids what they couldn’t grasp in online class. 

“That’s when we thought of starting this website that would be a storehouse of educational material freely available for students to access. The internet has plenty of content available on every subject imaginable. But when you were a student, what did you prefer best? Handwritten notes.” 

This, says Pranay, was the formal start of Padhle. 

The two boys would manage the entire platform by themselves in the initial days — writing down notes from concepts available on the web, scanning and uploading them on the YouTube channel, and even recording fun videos that would break down tough concepts into simple-to-understand ones. 

“The lectures we recorded would be conversational, where Pranay and I would play the role of two friends speaking about a chemistry concept or a teacher and student understanding a physics equation. These tutorials began to go viral,” shares Atharva. 

A creative utilisation of their knowledge 

Having started with Classes 8, 9 and 10, the boys soon moved on to Classes 11 and 12. 

“It was a completely free module system when we started off,” says Pranay, adding that the idea was to put everything on YouTube and the website. Whatever they earned through ads and donations, they spent on curating educational material such as curated booklets with NCERT topics simply explained. 

“The books aren’t just plain information, but we also have memes that help the student grasp the main concept. Right from the start, we never set out to be teachers, but those last-minute revision friends who helped us through our school life,” shares Pranay. 

Recently, they have started charging a fee of Rs 3499 for a package that caters to classes 9 and 10. They also offer a crash course for Rs 800 that covers all important concepts within a couple of weeks. The YouTube channels they have launched under Padhle — Just Padhle, Padhle Tenthies, Padhle 11th 12th —have a cumulative subscriber base of 1.5 million, while over 10,000 students have enrolled in their sessions to date. 

On weekly Zoom sessions, the boys interact with the students who access the YouTube material for free and those who have subscribed to the paid modules. 

They do this to understand their testimonials, they say. 

Kumar, whose son Aditya is in Class 10 and finds Padhle a great source of learning, says, “I was concerned about Aditya’s studies because I couldn’t help him due to my job responsibilities. But he has been watching Padhle videos for quite some time now, and I’ve noticed that Pranay and Atharva’s teaching approach, as well as their subject management, is pretty unique.”

He adds that Aditya, who is interested in giving his JEE exams, also refers to Padhle notes for this. 

Student Saniya Chauhan, who heard about Padhle through a friend, says Class 10 is easier because of their notes.  She commends the boys’ “concise and clear approach to subject teaching” as the reason for her success. 

The good work by the boys does not stop with the Padhle endeavour. With the earnings of the YouTube channel and the fees paid by students, the brothers make donations to the ‘Children With Special Needs’ in Indore. 

Explaining why, Atharva shares, “We noticed there were not many facilities here and so decided to donate whatever requirements they had. To date, our donations have been used to install a water cooler, a CCTV camera, fans, lights, etc. We also provide the students of this centre with our paid material for free.” 

Today, as students across the country tune into Padhle’s videos, rapt with attention at this new way of learning technical subjects, Atharva and Pranay feel a sense of satisfaction. Their efforts have paid off. 

Edited by Divya Sethu

No doubt a major change from what it was two and half decades ago, when Illicit liquor brewers were a common sight, as were drug peddlers operating under the guise of paanwalas and cobblers. Residents were also burdened by the stench emanating from garbage bins on the streets, bad roads, rash drivers, and frequent burglaries.

That is when a group of women banded together in 1998 to lead Pali Hill’s transformation. 

Resident Sumi Mehta, who initiated the movement, says she was inspired by the happenings around the world. “I used to read about cities all over the world, about garbage segregation and how they keep their areas clean and beautiful. I felt I, too, should do something for the place I live in.”

Eventually, this collective of eight women snowballed into a people’s movement under the banner of Pali Hill Residents’ Association (PHRA), as more women and men joined hands. A managing committee was elected with Sumi Mehta as the chairperson and Dr Amitav Shukla as the secretary. Since then, committees have changed, but the good work has carried on. 

 It has been no cake walk, say PHRA members, who had to work round the clock, meeting residents, civic officials, police officers and others repeatedly. “To me it was a mission,” says Sumi. “I had an enthusiastic and supportive team of women.  We used to spend two hours every day going around meeting residents, civic, police officials, etc.” 

‘They were not convinced that women like us would achieve anything.’ 

Current PHRA secretary Madhu Poplai, who has been carrying forward the mission since Sumi left in 2004, concurs. “In those days, we used to visit our ward office and police station regularly, like how people visit temples. We would drop our children at school and then proceed together.” Madhu has been a PHRA member since its inception, and has been holding the post of either Chairman or Secretary for the last 16 years

Going in groups is effective, says Sumi. “When working for a public cause, always work and move around in groups, more so when meeting officials. Keep on knocking their doors till they hear you. Involve housewives and retired men.”

As for funding, PHRA originally requested residents to contribute Rs 360 per flat per annum, and Rs 1,200 per bungalow per annum. Today, they have raised the amount to Rs 900 and Rs 2,500 respectively. “Initially, people thought we were collecting money to have kitty parties or for our household expenses. They were not convinced that a few women like us would achieve anything,” recalls Sanchali Sarkar, present managing committee member, who was among the team that went house to house to gather funds.  

Apart from the managing committee with 21 members (18 women and 3 men), there are many volunteers, largely women.  Pali Hill has 79 buildings and 23 bungalows. “While the housing societies collect the monies from their members and pay it to PHRA, bungalow owners pay it to us individually.  The compliance level is 95 to 98 percent now. People are trusting us and donations from individuals and corporates are also coming in” reveals Madhu. 

And men, too, have been playing a significant role in Pali Hill’s transformation. “We all can, and should, find time to work for the betterment of our people and our area,” avers Sonu Chagti, present managing committee member who looks after roads, security, and the environment. 

PHRA achieved a significant milestone when their garbage management led to producing energy from wet garbage.   

The work was a decade-long endeavour, starting with door-to-door garbage collection, where members worked towards creating awareness about segregation, overcoming initial resistance, and finally implementing it with BMC’s help. “By 2019, we were segragating almost 90% of our waste. As a result, garbage going to the dumping ground reduced from 2.2 tons to 800 kg per day” informs Madhu

It was with this segregated wet waste that PHRA set up a biogas plant in collaboration with BMC on the Pali Hill Water Reservoir ground in 2018. “The plant converts one ton of wet waste daily into about 160 units of energy, which powers our street lights, as well runs the plant. It generated electricity worth Rs 8-10 lakh at no cost to BMC, and saved an additional Rs 3 lakh spent on garbage transportation. The residual compost is distributed for free among housing societies for community gardening,” states Madhu. 

PHRA raised Rs 30 lakh as funds for the installation and maintenance of the converter for three years through CSR activities. 

Madhu elaborates, “We had to do considerable paperwork and convince BMC to provide the land. While we provided the wet waste and raised funds, BMC provided the land and technical support. Since the plant requires one ton waste, we asked nearby restaurants to give their wet waste, as residents could produce only 680-690 kg per day”.

 After running the plant successfully for three years, PHRA handed over the plant to BMC in 2021, as per mutual agreement

A stellar transformation 

PHRA has scaled up their security too, in association with Khar police, say members. “Apart from security guards, we also have 19 high-definition night vision security cameras on our roads, which can even read a vehicle’s number. They are monitored by Khar police station,” reveals Sonu.

A housekeeping team keeps the roads clean through regular sweeping, maintains the flower beds and saplings planted. Tree cutting is totally banned here, as is digging up roads by utilities without PHRA’s permission. To ensure proper resurfacing of roads, PHRA collects a refundable deposit from all utilities before they dig up the roads. Likewise, they have set some conditions for builders undertaking redevelopment at Pali Hill.   

Born and brought up in Pali Hill, Rajeev Kaushik an airline pilot who has witnessed the transformation, is all praise for PHRA’s efforts. “Pali Hill looks very clean and green today. The biogas plant is an innovative project that is lighting up our streets, saving on electricity with zero carbon emission.” 

Over the years, PHRA has won accolades individually and jointly with BMC,  for their biogas plant, effective garbage management and in general for their contribution to the environment. The awards are from the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Skoch Group and Bhamla Foundation .

‘Our work will never stop’

Collaboration rather than confrontation has been PHRA’s policy all along, and has helped them succeed in their endeavours. “When the officials see our enthusiasm and realise, we will not take no for an answer, they start helping. And when they see the good work we are doing, they respond positively,” says Dr Shukla. 

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Vinayak Vispute, H west ward, notes, “PHRA is doing good work and the biogas plant is an innovative project, which continues to work under our care. They also support us in many of our initiatives.” 

While the pandemic has posed a challenge for PHRA in terms of slackening of waste segregation, the association is trying to bring things back on track by the end of this year. “During COVID our segregation slowed down and now it is between 55 and 60%. We are trying to raise it and achieve zero garbage by the end of this year. Our future plans include setting up a seven-ton biogas plant to convert wet waste to CNG and enable all civic/ police vehicles in our ward to run on CNG, free of cost. Our work will never stop. There will always be something to do,” avers Madhu.  

Written by Janaki Krishnamoorthi

The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: Partnerships and Cooperation for Water revealed grim statistics suggesting that 80 percent of the people living under water stress belonged to Asia — specifically Northeast China, India and Pakistan.

Even as rains are abundant in India, the overarching primary concern continues to be the hygiene standards of usable water. But a ray of hope comes in the form of some changemakers who fought (and in some cases are still fighting) tooth and nail to ensure water bodies continue to be a source of life.

Here, we chronicle some of the best who have devoted years to addressing problems concerning unclean water and its associated issues.

On this World Nature Conservation Day, IDBI Bank is honouring these heroes who live with an inspiring motto — the ‘Environment Banks Upon You’. They exemplify how each one of us can do our best to befriend sustainable practices that would help the environment. 

1. Nimal Raghavan

In 2018, cyclonic storm Gaja caused massive devastation in Tamil Nadu, resulting in over 45 fatalities and damaging more than one lakh homes. Nimal Raghavan, a Dubai-based software developer who grew up in the region, was deeply saddened by the extent of the damage.

His village Nadiyam was one of the 90 villages impacted by the cyclone, resulting in complete destruction of the agricultural lands. This forced farmers to migrate to cities for livelihood. Interestingly, while many of Nimal’s friends decided to settle abroad due to the cyclone’s havoc, he chose a different path and stayed in his homeland.

At 35 years old, Nimal left his job in Dubai to restore his hometown’s former prosperity. His first priority was reviving Peravurani lake, which could irrigate more than 6,000 acres of farmland. The project required Rs 32 lakh, and with the help of like-minded volunteers, he planted 25,000 saplings across the Kaveri delta region.

His social media campaign #BounceBackDelta was an attempt to help all those affected by the cyclone with clothes, groceries, household necessities, and money. The other projects taken up by his team include the Miyawaki plantation, a mangrove forest plantation, as well as rainwater harvesting and water treatment.

“So far, more than 40 lakh people have benefited from restored water bodies, which have helped them access fresh drinking water, irrigate agricultural land, and earn a livelihood. Together, we have restored a total of 118 water bodies across Tamil Nadu,” he says.

2. Babita Rajput 

Thanks to 19-year-old Babita Rajput’s efforts, the worries of water scarcity during scanty rains in Agrotha village, Madhya Pradesh, are now a thing of the past. Despite the 70-acre lake drying up over the years due to its water merging with the neighbouring river, Babita persisted in her mission. She successfully petitioned to dig a 107-metre-long trench near the hillside, diverting water and enabling it to be collected in the lake once again.

However, farmers who had encroached on the barren lake for farming opposed the project, fearing that it would impact their farms.

In 2018, a ray of hope emerged through the Jal Saheli group, consisting of 12 village women, who took charge of the project with Babita leading the way. As the digging progressed, the group expanded to 200 women who dug a 12-foot wide, 107-metre long trench to alter the rainwater’s course by cutting through the hill. The outcome was truly remarkable.

As Babita recounts, “It rained less than normal in 2019, but regardless, the quantity of water in the lake had increased. About 40 acres of the lake can accommodate water. It will need more rain to fill the entire water body. However, our water needs were met as even the groundwater recharged in the process.”

3. Sangay Lama

As passersby traversed through the area of Sikkim’s Tsomgo lake, they would cover their noses at the sight of the lake choked with used milk cartons, instant snack packets, biscuits wrappers, plastic bottles, tetra packs and sewage. What is more horrifying is that 270 households sourced water for daily needs from this very lake. Things were steadily deteriorating until a local Sangay Lama stepped up in 2006, herding tourists to imbibe waste management practices.

The 37-year-old undertook the massive feat of transforming the lake along with members of the forest department, World Wide Fund (WWF), environment and wildlife management officials, shop owners association and the gram panchayat. In 2008, together they formed the Tsomgo Pokhri Sanrakshan Samiti (TPSS), a lake conservation committee.

Waste collected from the houses and shops would be disposed of in dedicated bins and then at the Martam Dumping and Recovery Centre. Locals were encouraged to raise awareness and embrace eco-friendly practices like using steel glasses for water, carrying garbage bags in tourist vehicles, and placing bins at strategic locations.

This contributed to the transformation of the lake whose water, as Sanjay tells The Better India, “can even be utilised for drinking without the fear of contamination.”

4. Lisbon Ferrao

Lisbon Ferrao heads the group ‘Vasai Beach Cleaners’ which is intent on giving Mumbaikars their spotless sands back. He was shocked when he saw his kids playing with plastic instead of sand due to the abundance of plastic waste on the beach. Motivated to make a difference, he formed a group of young environmentalists who now spend their weekends cleaning up trash from the Mumbai beaches.

Lisbon shares that they have cleared over 650 tonnes of plastic to date. The collected garbage includes backpacks, cement bags, milk packets, fishing nets, ropes, single-use cups, bags, toys, toothbrushes, medicines bottles, etc.

“To extend the process of sustainability, the equipment for collecting the trash is reusable too. This includes cement bags, tarps, sheets, and safety gloves that are washed after each cleanup,” he adds.

To address the issue of the collected plastic being burnt in landfills, Lisbon and his team started recycling it into paver blocks and plastic granules, used to patch up potholes on roads. Despite facing challenges like people continuing to pollute the beaches, Lisbon remains determined in his mission.

“I assure you that even if you pick up a single piece of plastic from the ground or recycle it, it will have an impact on the planet,” he says.

As we applaud these agents of change, we must remember that a simple thought, an idea, and an action can change the world. If they can, we can!

Edited by Pranita Bhat

At first glance, the cafe would look like any other small tea shop with tables facing the picturesque hill views, serving tea and coffee to hungry travellers. However, if you get a chance to speak to its humble baker, Lori will tell you that although she enjoys sharing her love for baking with visitors, it’s not her only passion.

The primary purpose behind running the cafe is to raise money to run the school she started for underprivileged children from nearby villages. Called Garhwal English Medium School, it currently provides education to around 125 children from 25 different villages in the Jounpur Block of Tehri Garhwal.

All the proceeds from the cafe go towards running the school.

Stayed back in India for love

Born and raised in a small town near Ontario, Canada with four sisters and a brother, it was from her mother that Lori learnt baking at the age of eight.

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“I always loved baking and taking care of children. When I was in college, I wanted to become an educator. So, Garhwal English Medium School is the amalgamation of the two,” the 65-year-old tells The Better India.

Lori first visited India in 1998 for a school field trip. During her time in the country, she was concerned about children living on the streets. She wanted to do something about it. So, a year later, she returned to India and volunteered at several NGOs. She travelled back to India every summer for four years to do the same before starting her master’s in Canada.

In 2006, Lori returned to India to pursue PhD in Landour Language School. “For my thesis on language learning, I wanted to visit villages and talk to people. I was a very hands-on researcher and wanted to have real experiences,” she says.

She stayed in Sainji during the research, where she met her husband Kunwar Chauhan for the first time. “He was the pradhan of the village and introduced himself. He was educated in Delhi but chose to return to his village as he wanted to work towards uplifting the area. We had a lot of things in common besides our care for the village children,” she says.

Sparks flew and the two got married in 2007, and the couple settled in Sainji.

“About a year into our marriage, many villagers would come and ask me if I could teach English to their children. Soon, they started requesting if we could start an English medium school for the children,” she says.

“The reason for such requests was mostly because at that time there were no English medium schools nearby, and the ones in Mussoorie were not affordable for the villagers,” she explains.

This laid the foundation for the Garhwal English Medium School, which has over 125 students today, in classes starting from nursery to Class 8. Volunteers from England, Canada and other countries visit the school often as volunteers.

Eight students, a cow shed and teacher Aunty

“We started off really small with just eight students in a makeshift classroom, which was originally a cow shed. But this arrangement did not last long as we started to get more and more students every day,” says Lori.

She continues, “The reason why I think we had such a big turnout was because the people here want to break the cycle of poverty. Their children who go to government schools are not able to face competition from children from private schools. They do not get admission to good colleges and many end up coming back to the villages to work on farms. The parents here really want their kids to come out of this cycle and earn a decent income.”

By the end of the year, the school had shifted to a bigger building with more teachers and amenities.

“Initially, we hired teachers from nearby areas. While they were educated enough, their method of teaching was the ‘jot-this-down-and-memorise-it’ kind — just as they were taught in government schools. We did not want that for our school. So we started an outreach program and asked people from around the world to come and share their methods of teaching with our teachers,” shares Lori.

“This was quite a success, and we still have volunteers coming in from different countries,” she adds. The school currently has 13 teachers, and the school is registered with the state education board.

“Another important aspect that we are very particular about is that all the learning takes place in the classrooms itself. Since the children here come from rural backgrounds, they do not have anyone back home to assist them. So we ensure that the children absorb all that needs to be learnt right here with us at school,” she says.

Talking about the management of the school, she says, “Prior to the pandemic, we hosted travellers in the village, planned activities around the place, etc, and used those proceeds to run the school. However, when the pandemic hit, we could not proceed with this setup,” she says.

Kunwar, who always loved her baking skills, suggested they open a bakery and cafe to raise funds. “This is how the cafe came into existence,” says Lori. “I love baking and this seemed like the perfect idea. It serves as a great source of income for the school today.”

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