There are a few occasions in your life when you are touched by something, something that makes you think and wonder, something that brings untold enthusiasm in you yet make you feel guilty, something that scares you yet leave a string of hope, something that turns you against this world yet feel sorry for it. I was struck by all those chords, listening to a talk by Anshu Gupta, the founder of Goonj which is an NGO, (that collects clothes and distributes them to needy), in an event organized by NSS . That Wednesday, I left the venue still thinking about an issue which I(like everybody else) never thought about.
As we all know, our country has around 60% of its population below the poverty line, without food or clothes. What comes to your mind when you think of such a poor person? Torn, dirty, worn, muddy clothes (or no clothes at all), desperate eyes. The clothes symbolize his poverty, the same piece of cloth all around the year, through summer and winter, in the rains and the chills, unwashed. Okay, think of winters … imagine yourself walking bare footed, bare chested on the cold floor. That is the situation of many poor people in the rural India. Anshu's story about one such man, from old Delhi, who collects and disposes the unclaimed dead bodies touched me. Specially, the statement given by the man's 8 yr old daughter that she slept hugging the dead bodies for the heat in the winter as she had no blankets. This is the case of a family which has an earning member. There are a lot without even that.
We are not oblivious of the fact that women go through a menstrual cycle every month. Every woman needs a piece of cloth during that time. We all are shy to talk about it. Think of the plight of women in places where finding clothes to wear is difficult. How do you think she gets that piece of cloth? A survey by goonj indicated that many poor women use rags(because this is considered to be a symbol of dirt), jute, coconut fibres or even mud. Even hearing this gives the creeps. But all this is true. There are reported cases of women dying due to tetanus infection because she used a blouse piece with a rusted hook, another death due to a centipede entering the uterus. Goonj's survey in a region of rajasthan stated that more that 50% of the women had their uterus removed due to such infections. All this is about things which we think its wrong to talk about. Every year so much of money is released for reproductive health care but how much is spent for as basic a need as this, a sanitary napkin. Anshu's NGO goonj is the first NGO talking about such a thing.
Goonj collects clothes from the urban well to do sectors and distributes them to the poor. All the cloth that is collected is processed and repaired in centres designed for such a job (two of them in Delhi and Chennai).It makes sanitary napkins out of soft cotton cloth, quilts, mats from leftover cloth, school bags and purses from old tapes. It sell a percentage of these products in urban india and routes these profits to the rural side. Also goonj has a initiated a program in rural ndia, wherin people take up some community work like and are rewarded proper clothes in return. The results were profound and made me proud. A well dug, a school built, a road made, all these glimpses of hope in this dark world. The smile on a boy's face after getting new clothes, the pride in a man experiencing woolen for the first time in 45 years, are pictures that are etched in your mind for ever.
Let us all do our part of helping by giving clothes during the collection drive in the campus. Don't hesitate to give the clothes that are in your cupboard unworn for years, because your cloth might make someone happy, might save some one's life.
You can reach goonj at www.goonj.info
- Uma Parthavi
We are not oblivious of the fact that women go through a menstrual cycle every month. Every woman needs a piece of cloth during that time. We all are shy to talk about it. Think of the plight of women in places where finding clothes to wear is difficult. How do you think she gets that piece of cloth? A survey by goonj indicated that many poor women use rags(because this is considered to be a symbol of dirt), jute, coconut fibres or even mud. Even hearing this gives the creeps. But all this is true. There are reported cases of women dying due to tetanus infection because she used a blouse piece with a rusted hook, another death due to a centipede entering the uterus. Goonj's survey in a region of rajasthan stated that more that 50% of the women had their uterus removed due to such infections. All this is about things which we think its wrong to talk about. Every year so much of money is released for reproductive health care but how much is spent for as basic a need as this, a sanitary napkin. Anshu's NGO goonj is the first NGO talking about such a thing.
Goonj collects clothes from the urban well to do sectors and distributes them to the poor. All the cloth that is collected is processed and repaired in centres designed for such a job (two of them in Delhi and Chennai).It makes sanitary napkins out of soft cotton cloth, quilts, mats from leftover cloth, school bags and purses from old tapes. It sell a percentage of these products in urban india and routes these profits to the rural side. Also goonj has a initiated a program in rural ndia, wherin people take up some community work like and are rewarded proper clothes in return. The results were profound and made me proud. A well dug, a school built, a road made, all these glimpses of hope in this dark world. The smile on a boy's face after getting new clothes, the pride in a man experiencing woolen for the first time in 45 years, are pictures that are etched in your mind for ever.
Let us all do our part of helping by giving clothes during the collection drive in the campus. Don't hesitate to give the clothes that are in your cupboard unworn for years, because your cloth might make someone happy, might save some one's life.
You can reach goonj at www.goonj.info
- Uma Parthavi
Goonj is really doing a great job till now you have only listen about there work but when you will go on the ground then you will more realized how much important work they are doing, Anyone can visit Goonj office in delhi J-93, Sarita vihar and you can see live how much they are organized and how they have managed all thing, it will be really enriching experience for you.
ReplyDeleteSanjeev
its our job to lift up the poor....and NSS is giving us a platform....Keep Working!
ReplyDelete