'Wall of Kindness' initiative from Iran is now a success story across North India

The Wall of Kindness was first started in Iran and spread across the country in no time. A charity and welfare work initiative, it is carried out by attaching cloth hangers outside public places, houses and community centres. These cloth hangers are filled with clothes and other useful things and are supposed to be donated to the needy and underprivileged.

These walls of kindness are now being opened up across the towns and cities of North India. Called 'Neki ki Deewar', the walls are beautifully painted and regularly cleaned. People who do not need a set of clothes, or other useful items, can deposit them on these hangers at the wall of kindness, and the needy can take whatever they want. Apart from clothes, citizens are also depositing books, toys and footwear. The official motto has become "Take what you need. Leave what you don't."

These walls are being brought up rapidly across North India, with one in Bhilwara, three in Jaipur and several others in Allahabad. Dehradun and Korba also have them. Times Of India chatted with a rickshaw-puller, and he said, "I am a rickshaw-puller and do not earn enough to afford quality clothes for my children and wife. A friend told me about this place, and I am glad to have found clothes that would fit them."

Mahesh Agarwal, a member of the founding group from Bhopal, told Hindustan Times, "Initially, we were not expecting much response, but we are extremely happy that people are responding spontaneously. Needy people are encouraged to collect and keep donated items left behind, and with the success of the concept, we are planning to install more ‘walls of kindness’ in other neighbourhoods of the city."

There is not a single organisation or administration that is keeping track of or maintaining records on this voluntary venture. This just turned out to be a give and take between the needy and the ones that wanted to contribute. With the regular sight of dirty walls that are filled with movie posters and spit stains, this is beautiful work by the citizens of North India, and it is absolutely worth spreading across the entire country.

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