From reviving Bengaluru lakes to supporting acid attack survivors: top Social Stories this week
This week, SocialStory also focused on Kanoria Foundation, which is helping acid attack victims rehabilitate, and Mumbai-based St Jude India ChildCare Centres, trying to fill the dearth of cancer care facilities available for children in India.
Today, more non-profit organisations and Samaritans are entering the less explored sectors to reach and support a wide sector of people.
While is helping acid attack victims rehabilitate, Mumbai-based St Jude India ChildCare Centres is trying to fill the dearth of cancer care facilities available for children in India by providing them all the assistance they need for free.
This Mumbai-based NGO supports underprivileged children with cancer and their families
In India, close to 50,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year — that’s about one child every 11 minutes. But, studies show children have a high chance — as high as 80-90 percent — especially in high-income countries of cure and survival.
However, a lack of awareness and understanding about cancer among the larger populace, especially in rural areas, creates a delay in treatment, plunging the survival rates for children with cancer dropping to as low as 15 percent. Adding to woes is the dearth of cancer care facilities available for children.
— claiming to be a home away from home for children undergoing cancer treatment — helps them survive and thrive despite the disease. St Jude provides free, safe, hygienic accommodation, basic education, and holistic nutrition to the affected children, travelling with their parents from rural/semi-urban areas to big cities to seek the best cancer treatment.
Meet the man who left a lucrative job to rejuvenate lakes in Bengaluru
Hailing from a small village in the Koppal district of North Karnataka, Anand Malligavad spent most of his time amidst nature and learning from it as his school was located on the banks of a lake.
He moved to Bengaluru in 1996 before the city was impacted by urbanisation. Due to rapid urbanisation in the past few decades, Bengaluru lost most of these water bodies to infrastructure projects and encroachment. The lakes in the city were encroached for urban development, and with concrete jungles mushrooming, the remaining lakes were also in trouble.
In 2015, Anand read an article that Bengaluru was on the way to becoming a zero-water city like Cape Town and would have to deal with huge water scarcity.
Anand decided he wanted to do something to change the prevailing conditions. This set him on a path to rejuvenating Bengaluru's lakes, one lake at a time.
Maximising social value in the real estate sector
Real estate is a globally recognised sector that comprises housing, retail, hospitality, and commercial as its sub-sectors. The sector is not only the highest employment generator after agriculture but also one of the key contributors to the country’s GDP.
Given its massive growth, it also adds and maximises social value, bringing sustainability and a people-centric mindset to its core.
Social value implies bringing a change and adding value to people’s lives – as long as such ideas serve both purpose and profit. They also enhance the prestige and socio-economic status of people.
Additionally, sustainability provides businesses with a fresh perspective on how to discover, rethink, and reimagine ways to eliminate wasteful and inefficient methods of production and consumption.
The real estate sector is emphasising circularity by reducing the use of raw materials, renewable energy for construction purposes, and prolonging the life of an asset. Besides, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is also providing an interface between the corporates and society to ensure sustainable development.
This Kolkata-based NGO is rehabilitating acid attack survivors in India
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in India, roughly 1,500 acid attack victims were reported between 2014 and 2019. The country sees about 250 cases of acid attacks every year. And, almost one acid attack is perpetrated every day.
Acid violence’s impact extends beyond physical trauma; they also undergo psychological trauma that hurts their self-esteem.
Supporting these acid attack survivors and assisting them in reintegrating into society is Kanoria Foundation.
The Acid Survivors and Women Welfare Foundation (ASWWF) — an NGO managed by Kanoria Foundation — has decided to build India’s dedicated psycho-social rehabilitation hub for acid attack survivors in India in its war against acid violence in the country.
Edited by Suman Singh
