Swachh Bharat Abhiyan that was launched little over two years ago by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, put the spotlight on the need to clean up India and make it open defecation free. But away from the spotlight, there are some people who are working relentlessly on the ground and making a difference where it matters, in India’s villages. For a country that is home to half of the world’s population that has no access to toilets and defecates in the open, a staggering figure of 450 million people – India needs all its citizens to turn Swachh warriors, as the government alone cannot achieve the goals of the Swachh movement. To wrap up the year on a good note and as we approach the halfway mark of the 2019 Swachh Abhiyan target of making India 100% open defecation free, here are few inspiring stories of ‘Swachh Warriors’ who are working against all odds to help realise the dream of a clean India.
Also Read: Women With No Access To Toilets Prone To Rape – Study
1. From UK To An Indian Village, This NRI Couple Transformed Thousands of Lives
The electrical engineer couple – Ashish and Ruta Kalawar left their well-paying jobs in the United Kingdom and returned to India, only to help empower the rural citizens of the country. Along with a help of an NGO they adopted a village named Lonawadi and decided to turn it into an ‘Adarsh Village.’ First up, they tackled the most basic problem there – water, for this they set up a solar-operated water pump and then they built some toilets, so that women of the village didn’t have to wait all day long, before they could actually relieve themselves after dark. The couple also aims to make this village open defecation free soon. Read The Full Story Here | Watch
2. No Toilet For A Century. But Still This 105-Year-Old Swachh Abhiyan Mascot Ended Open Defecation In Her Village
Kunwar Bai is one of the oldest women in India today who has spent over 100 years of her life unknown to the concept of toilets. But today because of her efforts er village along with the entire district has become Open Defecation free. First, Mrs Yadav sold her only assets – a few goats – to build a toilet at her home and then she started guiding people of her village about the benefits of using and having a toilet. Kunwar bai’s efforts are a testament to how one determined person can change the course of an entire village. Read The Full Story Here | Watch
3. Everyone Deserves A Toilet: This American Woman Is Changing Lives In Rural India, One Toilet t A Time
Next time you criticize India for lack of the infrastructure and facilities, think again and ask yourself this question – what you have done to change the scenario! Meet Marta Vanduzer-Snow from Boston, who has taken it upon herself to create a healthy and safe India by building one toilet at a time. She has been in India for the past 3 years now and is helping people in rural areas, by building not just toilets but also roads and solar power plants. Until now, she has built more than 100 low-cost evapotranspiration toilets in the villages of Usuri, Ayodhya Ka Purwa, Jimidar ka Purwa and Dhakolia [[which states are these locate din?]] . The interesting fact is that the evapotranspiration toilet built by Marta just costs Rs. 9,978 whereas government toilet, built under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan costs about Rs. 17,000. For the people impacted by Marta’s work, these toilets finally mean an end to open defecation. Read The Full Story Here | Watch
4. An Adventure With A Cause: This Man Cycled Thousands Of Miles From Kargil To Kanyakumari Just To Spread The Message Of Clean India
Meet 36-year-old – Pankaj Mall, a passout of IIT Delhi, a food entrepreneur who out of his passion for ‘Swachh Cause’ decided to cycle solo from Kargil to Kanyakumari and educate the villagers along his way. Also why having a toilet at home is important, why keeping their surroundings clean is necessary, what are the benefits of cleaning public toilets and why it is important for women to use toilets and not defecate in the open. Pankaj travelled some 4,600 kilometres to cover 12 states, 350 villages, 90 small towns and cities just to spread his Swachh Agenda. Read The Full Story Here
5. This Woman Decided To Paddle-board Across The Ganges In Order To Spread The ‘Save Ganga’ Message
Shilpika Gautam left her successful job in the United Kingdom and moved back to India just to highlight the dismal state of the mighty river – Ganga. This former banker and current environmental warrior is paddle-boarding her way across the Ganges in order to raise awareness about just how plastics and filth are chocking Ganga. Her goal is to spread the message of ‘Save Ganga’ and make villagers along Ganga realize their roles. Shilpika’s adventure began 3 months ago at Gomukh, where the Ganges originates, and will end 2500 kilometers later at Bay of Bengal. Read The Full Story Here | Watch
Bhavesh Swami
February 13, 2017 at 12:03 pm
This is such a nice initiative to bring positive stories of change at a platform. Like the case of #PenDrive there is a huge pile up of tetra packs after lunch hours as the said juices etc. are served as part of the school meals. I understand there are efforts done by Tetra Pack as well as others to avoid it going to landfills, can we think of having fresh juice the campus in the first go as it would not only provide employment to a number of people and fresh ingredients would provide more nutrients as compared to packed one which has preservatives. Beyond this, somewhere it would solve the problem of garbage also in a big way. Can #NDTV take this in a big way towards making a mass movement for one and all?