For mini-campaign we chose to educate the kids of Zari, a slum near Bits Pilani Goa Campus( BPGC), about the issues of cleanliness and garbage disposal. Where did we derive the inspiration from?? Here it is……

We had come across an article in Goan-Herald, about Mrs. Velma, who has been trying to improve the acute problem of waste disposal in Goa, through her company, “Goa Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd.”. Her company specializes in landfill remediation, and she is in the process of introducing PET recycling scheme in Goa. She has initially worked in Britain, where through community efforts, she had initiated a campaign to turn 10 hectares of disused garbage site into a nature park known as St. Nicholas’s Nature Reserve. The campaign also resulted in creation of the first sustainable community building in Britain, powered by wind turbines, solar panels and compost toilets that minimize water-waste. This immediately made us think of Zari.

We had witnessed the defunct garbage-collection in Zari, a slum near BPGC, through which every BITSIAN, passes when going out of campus. So we thought why not document the extent of problem, and create awareness about waste hazards, since the locals were largely unaware about it. Hence, deriving inspiration from her, we aimed at educating the locals of Zari, and documenting the extent of their disposal problem, so that a sustainable solution could be evolved. And the reason why we chose kids as our target community is because they are the most neglected and vulnerable section of the slum, not to forget it is easier to implant ideas in kids.

After conducting thorough informal surveys in the slum, we came up with some sustainable solutions, managed to get an appointment with the president of Zari who was more supportive than we expected. He promised that he would raise the issue in panchayat, discuss the solutions provided, with all the other members and act as soon as possible. Though I had tough and irritating times while managing an appointment with the president, ultimately it turned out to be more fruitful than any of us expected it to be. \m/

Fingers crossed and hoping that he would act soon…..

And anyways thanks to Mrs.Velma for being a great inspiration.\m/

Kudos to her great work \m/

Cheers!!