Waste Warriors a non-profit organization is celebrating the anniversary of ”Swacch Bharat Abhiyan” by organizing various clean-up drives, across Dehradun. Students and youth are turning out in huge number to create awareness.
Waste Warriors a Non-Profit Organization did a clean-up on 20th September 2015 to mark the one-year success of ”Swacch Bharat Abhiyan”. About 75 volunteers took part in the clean-up mission held at Inder Road Dalanwala, as part of seven clean-up drives to commemorate the event. The youngsters actively participated in it about 30 students from Drona’s College of Management & Technical Education (DCMTE), 15 students from Dehradun Boys School and 20 students from Doon International School volunteered. The dedicated team of Waste Warriors provided gloves, bags and litter grabbers to the participants. They also gave briefings about the clean up drive before starting the mission.
Photo Source: facebook page of Waste Warriors – Dehradun
The main focus was on an open plot situated at Inder Road, opposite Dwarka Stores which was the area of cleaning. With the turn out of a larger number of groups, Inder Road was also cleaned up. Recycle and non-recyclable waste was collected in 20 large bags. The organization has decided to speak to the locals about maintaining a healthy environment and issue appeal letters to the residents of the apartment block for not throwing garbage directly from the windows.
Shraddha Zende, Project Assistant, Dehradun, said ”We are delighted with the turn out for today’s clean-up drive and hope that many more people join us in our upcoming events. Swachh Bharat is not something that just the government needs to do. We, as citizens, have to do our bit too. Very few local residents joined us for the drive but the response from students and schools has been great. Changing the mindsets of the older generation is extremely difficult but thankfully, the kids are smart enough to understand that having a clean environment is really important.”
After the success of the first mission, Waste Warriors did another clean-up on 29th September in the area near Doon Club, at Parade Ground and the slum area next to Gandhi Park. Prior to this, they also conducted an awareness campaign on 28th September in which they joined hands with Aasraa Trust and ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited) to host a “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” clean-up drive and Children’s Day. During this event, the key members of the host organizations spoke about the importance of maintaining cleanliness and giving waste workers the respect that they deserve.
Jodie Underhill, CEO-Founder, Waste Warriors. Photo Source: Seema Pant/Rediff.com
The NGO’s founder Jodie Underhill came to India in December 2008. While traveling around India as a tourist she was flabbergasted by the problem of waste disposal management in India. She then volunteered at the Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamshala to do something in this concern. In April 2009, Jodie decided to become the face of change and did her first mass clean up in McLeod Ganj, the home of Buddhist Monk Dalai Lama. Over 100 people participated in the clean up which proved she wasn’t the only one who wanted to see a cleaner India.
After forming the voluntary organization ”Mountain Cleaners” she started a weekly waste collection from Triund which is a remote, garbage stricken mountain camp, a four-hour hike from McLeod Ganj. All thanks to the team of Waste Warriors who have made Triund, one of the most Eco-friendly hiking destinations in India. Before moving to Dehradun in May 2012 for starting her first urban project funded by Max India Foundation, Jodie conducted several beach clean-ups in Goa. Apart from this, the team of Waste Warriors has also managed the waste at Sunburn music festival. They have also beautified Gandhi Park at Dehradun where they have placed dustbins for safe disposal of the waste.
Photo Source: facebook page of Waste Warriors
Even famous Bollywood actor, Amir Khan was inspired by the selfless work done by Waste Warriors. He couldn’t stop himself from meeting the lovely team of Waste Warriors. On 24th July 2015, Amir met Jodie Underhill the CEO of Waste Warriors and Project Assistant Shraddha Zende at his office in Bandra East, Mumbai. He watched a presentation given by Jodie about the work of Waste Warriors and had a discussion about India’s garbage crisis.
A very famous Grafitti by Waste Warriors in Dehradun. Source : facebook page of Waste Warriors
Official Website of Waste Warriors: http://wastewarriors.org/
Official Facebook Page of Waste Warriors: https://www.facebook.com/wastewarriors0
Official Facebook Page of Waste Warriors Dehradun: https://www.facebook.com/wastewarriors1
I can assure you that her work in Triund is actually quite effective.
You can even find dustbins up at the peak of triund.
Moreover, people there are very much effected by her work that they still take care of the waste themselves. It’s like if you cannot find a dustbin on your trek to triund, you can leave the waste on the side of the pathway and someone else will pick it up and dispose it.
Talking about goa, went there last week, it does have clean beaches.
Hope they target Delhi someday too. It is much required