Using discarded urban products to develop rural India (Developmental Feature)


Posted on 9th Mar 2015 01:12 pm by mohit kumar

New Delhi, March 8 (IANS) For 45-year-old Kashmiri filmmaker Ajaz Rashid, who was among hundreds displaced in the September 2014 torrential rains and floods in the Valley, the disaster was literally a life-changing experience that prompted him to leave his profession and become a full time social worker - all thanks to Delhi-based NGO Goonj.

"I was moved by the devastation around me and wanted to help others but didn't know how to go about it. That's when I came in contact with Goonj ( which literally means echo) and the experience changed my life forever," Rashid told IANS on the sidelines of an event to celebrate the NGO's 16th anniversary here.

The former filmmaker joined Goonj fulltime and is at present working towards improving the health and education facilities in Kashmir.

"My focus will be on these two issues for the next couple of years," said Rashid.

Across the country, there are examples galore of individuals who have ditched their careers and jobs just to help the underprivileged in society and the one factor that's common to all is their association with Goonj - the NGO that came into existence in 1999 with the idea of converting discarded urban waste into a resource of rural development.

The NGO, which began with just 67 pieces of clothes collected by founder members - Anshu Gupta and his wife Meenakshi - today has 11 offices in 21 states and 300 employees across India. It annually transfers over 1,000 tonnes of used clothes, household goods and other essential items from cities to villages.

Goonj has launched a number of initiatives over the years and one of the most popular is the 'Cloth for Work' wherein people living in rural areas are encouraged to undertake community service like digging wells and making roads and bridges, among others, in return for not money but clothes.

"It's sad that clothing is not a subject in the development sector like food and shelter. With this initiative, we want people to work in return for clothes," Meenakshi Gupta told IANS.

Only washed and clean clothes, woolens, blankets, footwear and the like are given to people without compromising their dignity.

The model that has helped set up schools, water-tanks, roads, bridges et al in several villages all over India came as a blessing for 48-year-old Utara Pardar, a resident of Mandla village in Madhya Pradesh, who wanted to teach poor children in her village.

A teacher by profession, Pardar had managed to get a piece of land from the authorities in the village but had no money or resources to build a school. That's when Goonj came to her rescue.

"They sent a truck full of clothes and many locals came forward to construct the building," Pardar told IANS, adding that the school has so far taught hundreds of local children since it was set up in 2008.

A mother of two daughters and a son, Pardar is supported by her children and husband in the social work she does back home and claims to be an "inspiration for women" in her state.

While Goonj encourages people to donate clothes that are clean and in one piece, Gupta admits that a lot of dresses or fabrics are soiled and torn.

However, the NGO has found an innovative way to also deal with this.

The torn clothes or shreds are used to make clutch bags, handbags, mobile pouches, pen stands and even sanitary napkins at their Sarita Vihar workshop in south Delhi that employs around 40 people.

The products are sold either online or through the NGO's offices.

In fact, making affordable sanitary napkins under the 'Not Just a Piece of Cloth' campaign is one of the pet projects of Anshu Gupta, who observed that in villages and slums, women and girls have poor menstrual hygiene.

"In these areas, women use dirty pieces of rags because of lack of clothes and awareness. Our mission is to reach out to maximum number of women and distribute hygienic pads made from clean cotton clothes," said Gupta, who has featured among Asia's top 10 social entrepreneurs, adding that over three million of such 'My Pads' have been made and distributed in the last few years.

While Meenakshi Gupta acknowledged that the donations and contributions from people and corporates are rising "exponentially", her husband has sought even greater support from the people for the growing NGO.

"From funds to land, we need anything and everything to cater to the maximum people," he said.

(Rahul Vaishanvi can be contacted at rahul.v@ians.in)

0 Like 0 Dislike
Previous news Next news
Other news

Central government said- get all employees aged 45 and above to get corona vaccine

New Delhi: The central government has asked all its employees 45 years and above to get the Coron

India's 5 troubles over before the World Cup: Hardik fulfills all-rounder's lack, Surya fit at number-4; Kohli's backup was also found

Indian cricket team has not won any World Cup since 2011. In such a situation, it is expected tha

Nitin Gadkari's big announcement, electric vehicles will be available at the price of petrol cars in six months

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday made a big announcement say

Ira Nupur Wedding: Aamir Khan's daughter Ayra chose no gift policy, and said - to donate to her NGO instead of a gift

Aamir Khan's beloved daughter Ayra Khan is going to tie the knot with her boyfriend Nupur Shikre.

Bangladesh 'made to lose' in World Cup: Hasina

Dhaka, March 21 (IANS) Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said her country was "made t

If Rohit-Virat has to play 2027 Cricket World Cup, then this condition of BCCI will have to be accepted

Despite being elected to the Indian team for the upcoming ODI series against Australia, Virat Koh

Samsung Galaxy A Series 3 smartphones will be launched next year, will make up your mind to buy the price

Samsung Galaxy A Series: Most of the quad camera setup is available in Samsung Galaxy A series sm

FSSAI Special Drive: Taking strict action against increasing complaints of adulteration in milk and cheese, a special inspection campaign will be conducted in all states.

The purity of milk, paneer (Indian cottage cheese), and khoya (reduced milk solids) reaching cons

The big change in Indian cricket: Ravi Shastri, head coach of the cricket team, may leave the post, 'Shastri's team India could not win a single ICC title in 4 years

The big news is coming out about the Indian cricket team. Team India's head coach Ravi Shastri ca

IND vs SA: Aiden Markram gave a warning to Virat Kohli before the match against India, saying- our bowlers ...

ICC T20 World Cup 2022: In the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, the teams of India and South Africa will f

Sign up to write
Sign up now if you have flare of writing..
Login   |   Register
Follow Us
Indyaspeak @ Facebook Indyaspeak @ Twitter Indyaspeak @ Pinterest RSS



Play Free Quiz and Win Cash