From a community that makes biodegradable sanitary napkins to Ratan Tata’s new initiative for manual scavengers - top social stories

Waste management is a burning issue faced by urban India. Despite having provisions in place to dispose of waste like public dustbins or home collection, cities are overflowing with garbage, which poses a threat to the environment, as well as the health of its citizens. 

Government initiatives like Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan have helped raise awareness among citizens, as well as corporate organisations.  

But a lot needs to be done and awareness to be created on its consequences, as it’s not only a country-specific issue but a worldwide epidemic. 

For the same, Craig Leeson, a renowned journalist and filmmaker, made a cinematic feature-length film A Plastic Ocean, which is trending both on Netflix and Amazon Prime. The documentary focuses on the issue of plastic being dumped in oceans. 

SocialStory brings you the top picks of this week.

Meet the husband-wife duo who have helped over 1,475 children to fight blood cancer 

Founded by Monica and Arvind Vohra in 2013, Leukemia Crusaders works and contributes towards supporting children affected with blood cancer, especially leukaemia. 

It is estimated that around 70,000 to 80,000 new cases of childhood cancer prop-up in the country every year, of which 40-50 percent report leukaemia cases. While the survival rate in most developed countries is between 80 and 90 percent, India is still in the range of 36 to 53 percent. 

To improve this scenario, Leukemia Crusaders collaborates with hospitals and healthcare centres to provide financial assistance and extend emotional support to underprivileged families. In the last seven years, the initiative has backed more than 1,475 children in 40 hospitals across India.

Industrialist Ratan Tata’s new initiative aims to improve the lives of sanitation workers in Mumbai 

Industrialist Ratan Tata, through the Tata Trust, has launched an initiative to improve the lives of sanitation workers in Mumbai, called Mission Garima. 

According to the 82-year-old industrialist, Mission Garima aims to provide safe, hygienic, and humane working conditions for sanitation workers who persevere to keep the city of Mumbai clean. 

On the same note, the Tata Trust has started a campaign under the initiative called, #TwoBinsLifeWins. This is to urge citizens to segregate biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste to help reduce the burden on these hardworking men and women. 

In his latest Instagram post, he said, “The links below will help you dispose of your waste responsibly and support our initiative. After all, this country is run by each one of us.”

Jharkhand women show the way with eco-friendly sanitary pads 

A campaign launched by the Simdega district administration in May 2019, in collaboration with the United Nations Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, will be training 3,000 women on using eco-friendly, plastic-free, and bio-degradable sanitary pads.    

Missi Garima Pads consist of four layers of cotton cloth that are stitched together and can be washed and reused. Each pad takes 10-15 minutes to stitch and is completely chemical-free. A packet of eight pads costs Rs 30-Rs 50.

Women have now formed more than 100 Self-Help Groups (SHGs), which are now manufacturing 100-150 bio-degradable sanitary pads per day. 

Craig Leeson’s ‘A Plastic Ocean’ shows the devastating effects of plastic on marine life 

Craig Leeson, a renowned journalist and filmmaker, grew up amid this oceanic landscape. But, until a few years ago, making a documentary surrounding the harmful impact of plastic was not even on his radar. 

His association with a freediver and environmental activist Tanya Streeter led him to set out on a journey across the world to investigate and record the alarming truths about the “not-so-fantastic material.”

Today, Craig’s cinematic feature-length film A Plastic Ocean is trending both on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Subtitled in 25 languages, the documentary has won more than 15 awards and has been screened in over 70 countries. The shorter version of the film was premiered at the UN General Assembly, New York, in conjunction with the Permanent Mission of Colombia, to 500 odd people. 

This NGO uses football, Lego, and music to teach leadership skills to students from low-resource communities 

Launched in 2011 in India with the motto ‘Everyone Plays’, Just For Kicks works in schools to help children garner multiple benefits of leadership development, using football as a medium.

Apart from Just for Kicks, it has two other flagship programmes – ‘Music Basti’ and ‘Build Maya’. These programmes use creative methods to inculcate strong belief systems, develop excellent problem-solving skills, and build a keen sense of awareness in the children it works with.

Music Basti’s group-based music learning programme enables children from under-resourced schools to tell the stories of their dreams and communities through original songs and public performances, instilling important leadership skills in them.

On the other hand, Build Maya enables children to create a world of their imagination. Using the principle of positive play, students design solutions using building blocks for real-world challenges in their home, school, village, or the larger community.

(Edited by Suman Singh)