5th June, World Environment Day turned out to be a memorable one with so many volunteers engaging in different activities woven around rag-picking women, environment safety and waste management. We also took this opportunity to express our gratitude to our Paryavaran Mitras who serve our society and mother earth every single day.
The day started at 5am with our flagship program of Waste Pilgrimage where participants rag-picked shoulder to shoulder with our sisters experiencing the physical and mental hardships involved in it. It ended with a deeper circle of sharing wherein everyone acknowledged the tremendous contribution of these women and shared a common resolution of becoming more mindful thereby contributing towards Environment.
Following this, we had a series of events focused on Environment. At one end, we planted trees keeping long term vision in perspective while on the other we made Otla (sitting place) around the tree. We also made a beautiful shade out of bottles beneath which our sisters will sit and relax.
Participants were also gifted with cloth bag (encouraging minimum use of single use polybags), a recyclable plastic bag (encouraging use of recyclable/upcycled bags only) made of waste material and a Tulasi plant (medicinal plant). Both bags are made in-house by our sisters as a livelihood activity.
Safety kits (shoes, masks & gloves) along with bags were distributed to all rag-picking women to ensure safer and more hygienic collection process for the women. At Suraksha centre, as we are collecting segregated waste from door-to-door, we also thanked the community members who are supporting our efforts and segregating the waste properly.
We sincerely convey our gratitude to institutions TCS, Novotel, O2h & Yes foundation, IRMA and many other individuals for participating enthusiastically and making it a big success.
Thank you all for continuous love and support.
