Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama
Only 8% of households with young people have access to a computer with an internet connection in India. A smartphone would do, but only 24% of Indians own a smartphone.
Reading about the challenges our country faced with online education, I stumbled upon statistics that clearly put girls in rural areas at the highest disadvantage in terms of their ability to continue their education through the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown.
I recalled my visits to Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama in an isolated, remote location in Orisha. It is a charitable institute for marginalized students from tribal communities in the area. I had visited them several times over the years for a distribution drive spearheaded by my family. I remember we had created uniforms from textile surplus and scrap at my father’s production outlet. I handed them out to the children at the institute.
The Blue Voice had gone into action. My multipronged campaign aimed at using unused/second hand devices for students to take classes online, and reduce the amount of e-waste that otherwise would make its way to a landfill, eventually breaking down and seeping toxic waste into the water table. Mismanaged e-waste is also carelessly dumped into the ocean, where it breaks down releasing toxins and can make its way to the food chain when mistakenly consumed by fish.
The Diana Award
Promoting Education
I collected old, unused devices, that were still in working condition. I then reached out to Uber Eats, that had stopped operating before the COVID-19 lockdown. They donated a number of devices, some brand new. I raised ₹3,96,500/- (£ 3920.55 ) towards buying dongles and refurbishing equipment.
I started by campaigning within my network to collect old, unused devices, that were still in working condition. I then reached out to Uber Eats, the food delivery service offered by Uber, that had stopped operating a few months before the COVID-19 lockdown. When I shared my campaign idea with them, they donated a number of devices, some brand new and others in mint condition, that the business would not be using. Simultaneously, I reached out to people in my community to raise ₹ 3,96,500/- that I used towards purchasing the internet dongles and for refurbishing some of the devices. I connected with Reboot Services to refurbish devices that needed minor repairs.
“ Since the last 10 months school was closed, no tuition, no one in family to teach. Completely study was stopped. By arrangement of this tablets & online classes once again study is started. Now we are completing our course books & teachers are available for doubts clearance. ”
- Rosalin Dehuri
- Age: 14
- Class: 8
The Blue Voice collected a total of 92 tablets for the students, 4 laptops for the teachers, and paired each device with an Internet dongle. Using these devices, students across two examination classes, i.e., Grade 9 and Grade 10, resumed their curriculum on zoom video.
With some of the raised funds still in hand, I found creative art, STEM, and other subject specific activity kits on amazon.in and donated them to the girls at the school for them to explore their interests and potential through these kits.
The Blue Voice also gained popularity after a local newsletter published an article I wrote detailing my campaign and putting out an appeal for support.
It is an ongoing evolution to make ‘The Blue Voice’ a symbol of hope for the health of the planet, while educating rural India.
Plastic Mats
The blue voice campaign has undertaken an initiative inspired by the Matting Change Project, where we are looking to crochet sleeping mats for the homeless using single use plastic bags. They are hard to recycle as it’s low grade plastic and the recycling companies cannot profit out of them.
Mats that matter
Even though plastic bags are banned the local fruit/ vegetable vendors and rashan shops are still using them so they end up in our homes.
Single-use plastic bags are banned in India. But for economic reasons, the local fruit/ vegetable vendors and ration shops still use them, and these bags end up in our homes. The tide is changing, but like all big changes, it is taking time. This campaign in my way to enabling people to change their daily habits, and become sustainability ambassadors in their individual capacities.
An average single use plastic bag is used for 15 minutes before it is discarded.
The crochet mats are light weight, easy to fold and keep away, hygiene-friendly as they do not attract lice and tics, and are also waterproof.
Two-fold requirement to implement this project:
1. Human need
2. Circle of poison
This project thus serves three purposes:
This project helps reduce plastic waste
Ocean Awareness
To increase the scope of awareness about environmental justice issues, I have designed an ‘Ocean Awareness Booklet’ for primary and middle school students as I believe that awareness should be taught from a young age.
Seeing the many ecological disasters the world has witnessed (flooding, landslides and ocean fires to name a few) has strengthened my resolve to work towards environmental causes.
One of the most promising ways to preserve our planet’s marine ecology was by creating awareness. Connecting with other young students was the obvious way for me to start and hence they were my immediate audience. I chose primary and middle school students as I believe that conservation and awareness should be taught from a young age. Awareness enables people to alter their decision making, and if this can be done from a younger age the earth will have a brighter future. I designed my booklet with this in mind, so that it is easy to understand, has multiple fact filled graphics and fun quizzes to keep the reader engaged with this subject.
Awareness enables people to alter their decision making, and if this can be done from a younger age the earth will have a brighter future. I designed my booklet with this in mind, so that it is easy to understand, has multiple fact filled graphics and fun quizzes to keep the reader engaged with this subject.
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Ocean Awareness Booklets are
being shared at the following schools:
- Raman Munjal Vidya Mandir
- Kamala Rani Sanghi School
- Green Fields School
- Paradise School, Goa
- European School, Goa
- St Thomas Boys school
- St Thomas Girls School
- Dona Leonor Memorial High School
- Dona Leonor Memorial Konkani Primary School
- Porvarim English Primary School
