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Showing posts with label Social. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social. Show all posts

Friday, December 18, 2020

NGOs create awareness to flush the virus

December 18, 2020 0

 



Unicef Maharashtra along with partner NGOs conduct WASH and Toilet Management awareness program through #flushthevirus campaign.

The distressing situation in the slum settlements of Mumbai due to the increasing graph in number of COVID-19 patients with community toilets becoming the core place of the transmission left a key concern.

Triratna Prerana Manda (TPM), a community based NGO along with Citizens Association for Child Rights (CACR) partnered with UNICEF Maharashtra and crafted a unique campaign “Flush the Virus”. They conducted a baseline survey, the campaign extensively focused on 134 Community toilets and 16 BMC schools used as quarantine centres across the three Covid19 active hotspots of Mumbai, G/North (Dharavi), M/East, and H/East Wards and later moved to other MCGM wards as per the need.

The campaign 'flushthevirus' is in direct association with the slum communities and CBOs, the last component of civil service organisations at the grass-roots level who are working in their own communities with welfare activities for the community people. Thus, the campaign was to empower the CBOs with their toilet caretaker, MCGM schools on WASH and Toilet management in amid and post Covid19 pandemic.

The campaign helped to create a key behavioural change in the toilet users on respiratory hygiene, use of a mask and importantly the precautions taken while using the community toilets. The adequate support on disinfectants, cleaning materials and HWS helped sustaining the toilet in comparison to the pre-campaign position as per the baseline survey.

Through this campaign with different interventions like HWS installation at 134 CBO we were able to reach minimum 1,84,183 individuals. Through 187 CBOs we managed to reach minimum 2,15,183 individuals and under megaphone activity done at 100 CBOs we were able to reach 8,38,400 individuals.

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Monday, April 20, 2020

#StayAtHome: What to expect once the coronavirus lockdown gets over?

April 20, 2020 2


The coronavirus pandemic has us all clamouring for that breath of fresh air while we find out new ways to kill time at home. Most of the world has been on lockdown for more than a month as all of us continue waging this war against the virus. With no major improvement in sight, no one knows until when we will have to wage this war. All we can fight for is the hope that situations will improve and life will be back to normalcy.

So, what should we expect once the lockdown gets over? Do we jump straight in or do we bide our time and wait? How will this major blip impact our lifestyle? Let’s have a gander.

 1. Life will NOT go back to what it was before the lockdown. There will be several protocols introduced to ensure that a second wave of the virus does not hit us. Full freedom may not be given to maintain a balance in society. As time passes and so does the threat of a second wave, only then will the rules be relaxed.

 2. Yes, the stories about rivers getting cleaner and videos of dolphins emerging in places where they haven’t emerged for a long time are all true. This shows who the ‘real’ virus on this planet is. We can hope to see nature at its splendid best for a few days after the lockdown gets over. What we should strive afterwards for is to maintain the human-nature balance.

 3. Workplaces and schools will have several new rules and regulations in place even after the threat of the virus passes away. Plus, the work-from-home formula will be encouraged for quite sometime after the lockdown gets over. Social distancing could be made mandatory in such places along with sanitization stations placed at regular intervals.

 4. Usage of public transport will be a bare minimum in cities where it is possible to travel with a personal vehicle. However, in a city like Mumbai, it is next to impossible to not use public transport in your daily life. This will be the biggest challenge to overcome. Also, with increased usage of private vehicles, the burgeoning impact of pollution on nature will grow exponentially. Thereby undoing all the improvement made by Mother Nature during the lockdown.

 5. The last but not at all the least is the booze market. One thing that lockdown has shown us is the people’s thirst for hard drinks has risen to a whole another level. An end to lockdown means that the wine shops will open up and long queues forming in front of them will be a common sight everywhere. Don’t be surprised if you see a growth spurt in the number of drunken calls and texts!

Waking up to a new normal is not an easy task by any means. But it can be made easier if there is a mutual co-operation between all of us as we work towards a corona-free world.

 (Header: Royalty-Free Photo by Edwin Hooper on Unsplash)
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Thursday, May 9, 2019

A fish can't climb a tree

May 09, 2019 2

"Here's to you, Aamer. And others like you - fishes asked to climb trees. Chart your own course in the big, wide ocean, my love." posts Vandana Katoch, mother of a CBSE student who scored 60%.
Vandana took it to the internet to support and appreciate her kid, Aamer in front of many while taking a stand and breaking the notion of comparison of peers after results. She compares her son with himself and appreciates him for working hard and not giving up. She encourages her child to be a good human being and sets an example for other parents to be more supportive of their child.

 Dr. Virinchi Sharma, a psychiatrist tells TOI that over the past three years more than 26,000 students have committed suicide across India. A majority of student suicides are caused by underlying psychiatric factors such as stress, depression, and anxiety. It could result in difficulty coping with academics due to unrealistic expectations and pressure from parents and lack of support from peers.

 According to a TOI report, the latest National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences study conducted among 1,500 students found that 11% of college students and 7-8% of high school students have attempted suicide.

 Our education system evaluates the student on how much they can remember and write in a written paper. Students have no choice but to study all subjects until SSC whether or not it is in their area of interest. 

 In remote areas, not all teachers are well qualified to provide quality education and neither are they trained to deal with the non-educational issues that a student goes through. Many schools do not have a full-time counselor either. Apart from all of this, at home, the bar set for students by their parents are very high and students are constantly compared with their peers. This causes a lot of mental distress in a child which leads them to feel like they are a constant disappointment and not good enough. The child is either scared or ashamed of when they score lower than expected. Disappointment and fear lead them to commit suicide.

 A child needs support and love to excel without feeling pressurised. They need guidance to figure out what they want to become. It is the duty of the parents and teachers to nurture the kids with the support and provide a stress-free environment. They shouldn't be scared that scoring low means that they will be nowhere in life. The kids need to be told that failing or scoring low grades isn't the end of their world.



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Tuesday, May 7, 2019

22-year old man molested in a crowded train in Mumbai

May 07, 2019 0

22 years old Sooraj (name changed) was molested on May 6 between Mahim to Andheri in Mumbai locals during peak hours. Sooraj said that, "So it's not the first time, happens like once a week though. I have noticed that these are mostly middle-aged men. This creep was sniffing my arm and trying to reach my crotch." He then said that he gave that man a dead stare initially but when the man did not budge he told him it's best that he moves his hand.

 He also moved on to say, "What I am trying to say is that Indians are so fucked up that even guys aren't safe. Sort of more evidence for you to say that there is no such thing as inappropriate clothing."

No official police complaint has been filed against the perpetrator.

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Monday, May 6, 2019

The Cyclonic Storm 'Fani'

May 06, 2019 0
Image Source - Associated Press (AP)
Cyclone Fani originated from the western Sumatra region in the Indian Ocean on 26th April and made its way to India. It made landfall in the state of Odisha on 3rd May and wreaked havoc amongst all of the 46 million inhabitants of the state. The cyclone has claimed more than 30 deaths until now with unofficial figures going up to 45. Considering the velocity and the fierce nature of the cyclone, the death toll is minimal, owing to the preparedness displayed by the Indian Government and the people. The cyclone could have caused unimaginable destruction. Even the UN has praised India's response in the face of the storm.



Fani had reached its peak intensity on 2nd May and was classified as a Category-4 major hurricane. Luckily, it had weakened before making landfall and hit Odisha with speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour with heavy rainfall. The storm later went on to wreak havoc in West Bengal. In its last stage, it entered Bangladesh, where it claimed about 14 lives. Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, said that Cyclone Fani was one of the rarest storms to hit the Indian Subcontinent and he also claimed that the state had carried out 'the biggest human evacuation in history'.


Puri was the worst affected city in Odisha. Image Source - AFP

Last week, the Centre had released Rs 1000 crore for aiding the evacuation process and now it has released an additional amount of Rs 1000 crore for the state. Denis McClean, a spokesperson for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) said, "The almost pinpoint accuracy of the early warnings from the Indian Meteorological Department had enabled the authorities to conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan, which had involved moving more than one million people into storm shelters," The transport systems too were coordinating with each other to ensure that the people stuck in the afflicted areas don't have to go through much trouble. The following states have offered a contribution to Odisha; Tamil Nadu - Rs 10 crore, Maharashtra - Rs 10 crore, Uttar Pradesh - Rs 10 crore, Gujarat - Rs 5 crore and Chhattisgarh - Rs 11 crore.
Children are fed at an emergency shelter in Puri. Image Source - World Vision
It is at times like these that we should come together in union and work for the greater good.
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Sunday, May 5, 2019

Raise voice, bring the change

May 05, 2019 0
Water was flowing for more than an hour on May 4.

The tank of Ranchoddas Road Municipality school was overflowing for hours on May 4 post 10 PM. It was noticed that no watchman was present to close the tap and stop the flow. Where on one side villagers have to go deeper in the wells for a bucket of water, here the same water was being wasted in large quantity.  

After making many calls to BMC office — as they were pointing fingers to each other and running from their responsibility — it seemed useless. Later when the images and tweets were shared on social media, there was a change. 

A local social worker, Vinod Ware made sure that the flow was stopped. He got the BMC officers and police to do so. The watchman was found drunk, as a complaint against him is registered. Today, on May 5, there was not a single drop of water on the street. 

Image of the same road on May 5.

Although criticism is one of the pillar in democracy, raising your own voice can bring a change.
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