New Delhi: “I used to think that taking out the trash was just a chore, but now I see it as an act to make a difference,” says Prince, a 12-year-old environment enthusiast from Dehradun. Prince knows nothing about environmental issues. Even a simple thing as waste disposal was an alien concept to him. He thought the method of disposing off garbage was to simply toss it into the nearby pit. But little did he know about the colossal impact of this little daily practice.
However, this was only until yesterday. Today, he is well-versed with the impact of human activist on the environment.
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He knows how to properly dispose off waste. He also knows about recycling . Prince has created several products out of e-waste and other discarded materials, such as windmills and table lamps.
And he has not kept this information confined to himself. Not only does he ensure the garbage from his home is dumped in the dedicated area, he also makes sure his neighbours follow the a garbage routine.
Talking about his newly discovered social passion, Prince said,
Now I understand my involvement in this larger cause. I strongly feel that this should be taught in schools right from Class 1.
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Vansh, 15, who is a resident of Dehradun, was completely oblivious to the reason behind recurrent diarrhoea cases and other infections in his family. Little did he know that it was because of the open garbage dumping.
Prince and Vansh are only two of the many teenage environment warriors attached to Project Yuwa.
Their families now dump garbage in the dedicated area. They need to see the doctor less. There has not been a Diarrhoea case in Vansh’s family for the past two months.
The teenagers educate families, friends and neighbours about solid waste management. They do it through Nukkad Natak, cleanliness drives, and ‘Swachhata Chaupals’. These young environmentalists have diverted 5,870 Kg of waste from the landfills with their small acts, in the last one year.
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
