From a Mumbai organisation training 1,000 changemakers to a 13-year-old who has designed glasses for the visually impaired - top social stories this week
This week, we featured inspiring stories of people and organisations who are bringing about a change and making a difference in the lives of others.
Changemakers are everyday heroes who are turning their ideas into impact. However, bringing about a change is no easy feat. It starts with an individual’s will and desire to make a change to their present living situation.
Tribes for Good, founded by 36-year-old Mandeep Kaur, aims to train future changemakers through its experiential learning programme. It is targeted towards individuals who want to understand the social sector better and bring about a meaningful change.
Similarly, to make the lives of disabled people easier, Priyabrata Sahoo, a Class 8 student from Odisha, has developed glasses that give out a signal and alert the user about an obstacle in their way.
SocialStory brings you more such inspiring stories of changemakers who have been trained to do so, or who have indirectly helped the society through their efforts.
Meet the 22-year-old law student and national athlete who is on a mission to turn youth into educated voters
While most people in college either think of getting a job, going abroad for higher studies, or think of building a startup, 21-year-old law student from Mumbai University, Chaitanya Prabhu, has embarked on a completely different journey.
His mission is to educate and enroll citizens in voter lists by getting them a voter ID to cast their votes. Despite having a decent academic record and being a national level athlete, Chaitanya’s sole interest lies in helping people by building a democracy with educated voters.
Speaking to SocialStory, the young changemaker says, “about 65 percent of India is young, and sadly, this population is not voting. So, I decided to take on the task to register young voters and convince them to vote.”
This led him to start Mark Your Presence, an organisation based out of Mumbai, in January 2019. Since then, the organisation has played a vital role to enroll first-time voters for the General and Maharashtra State elections, and to date, has registered over 10,000 young voters.
This 13-year-old has developed guiding spectacles that can help visually and hearing-impaired people
To make the lives of disabled people easier, Priyabrata Sahoo , a Class 8 student from Odisha, has developed glasses that give out a signal and alert the user about an obstacle in their way.
Studying at Prahallad Chandra Brahmachari High School at Adanga in Purushottampur in Jaipur district, Priyabrata made the glasses at Atal Tinkering Laboratory in his school.
His latest innovation comes in two models: one with an ultrasonic sensor and a buzzer for visually impaired people, and another with an ultrasonic sensor, buzzer, and vibrator motor for visually impaired and hearing-impaired people.
Speaking to Hindustan Times about his innovation, the student said,
“I got the idea when I saw a visually impaired elderly person of my village facing difficulty in moving around without support. So, I decided to do something and discussed the same with my science teacher, Tusharkanti Mishra.”
Priyabrata’s teacher says that the student had walked to him and asked about the possibilities of developing something for the visually impaired people in the school laboratory. The teacher says, his interest in providing solutions for visually and hearing-impaired people is such that he stays back in the school and comes even on Sundays to work on his project.
This Mumbai organisation is enabling changemakers and bridging the talent gap in social sector
Mandeep Kaur (36), a media professional working in the corporate sector, was passing by Mumbai’s slums in 2014 when she witnessed the socio-economic inequality. She thought how she could bring about a change in the lives of people living in the slums. Finding her true calling in the social sector, she decided to do something about it.
Mandeep quit her stable job in media marketing and started working with NGOs to understand the sector better. She realised there was a huge talent gap in the social sector, which led to the birth of Tribes For Good in 2014.
Mumbai-based Tribes For Good is an experiential learning programme for people who are looking to understand the social sector and bring about a change.
To this date, the organisation has successfully trained over 1,000 volunteers, and has created an impact across 50 social enterprises. It currently has its networks in the urban slums of Mumbai - Malwani, parts of Gurugram, and Dharavi.
This district in Chhattisgarh makes flowerpots from recycled plastic bottles
Chhatisgarh’s Ramanujganj district is protecting the environment by recycling plastics to make flower pots.
The initiative is led by Pranay Mishra, the District Forest Officer, who said,
“To date, we have managed to prepare about 3,000 flower pots using old plastic bottles. We plan to sell these plants to generate revenue for women employed in this work. This activity does not require any skilled labour, and the local women are enthusiastically taking part in it. The women are getting employment through it, and we estimate that these plastic containers that are being used for saplings, will last for about two years.”
According to NDTV, the plastic bottles are collected from various parts of the state, which is then made to flowerpots in the nursery. The bottles are first cut, and two holes are later made to pass a wire. Further, cow dung and manure are filled in the bottle and a sapling is planted.
This Indian Army Captain has developed an integrated safety system to curb road accidents
According to the Transport Research Wing of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, three people die every ten minutes from accidents on Indian roads. Most accidents happen due to over speeding, drunk driving, ignoring traffic signals, and lack of safety gear.
To combat the problem, Captain Onkar Kale of the Indian Army developed an integrated vehicle safety system for all army trucks, reports News 18.
The system ensures the driver is wearing a seatbelt and is not driving under the influence of alcohol above the permissible limit. If the system detects either one of these, it will not allow the vehicle to start.
According to ANI, the total cost of the system is Rs 10,320 and consists of a seat belt monitoring system, a tail bd monitoring system, an anti-dozing alarm system and also keeps a check on the possible accidents that might take place.
(Edited by Megha Reddy)