7000 Children in Pune Schools Lend a Helping Hand to Drought-Stricken Maharashtra

  The blazing anger of heat has scorched the western areas of the country. With 10 major states, like Gujrat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, being declared as drought-stricken, the whole nation is under the blanket of fear. 

Water availability in India is rapidly reaching to the point of scarcity, with low rainfalls being recorded each year. It would not be just to blame the severe climate change for it. The failure of government taking lucrative steps towards the inevitable calamities has played enough part too. 

The country with the population more than 1.25 billion cannot be expected to left on seasons. 

The 60% of India’s population is engaged in agriculture, which means the life of 60% farmers are dependent upon the availability of water, which is a pity, considering not even 55% of them can afford water tankers to water their crops—that’s impossible, even for the rich farmers. The tube-wells have stopped drawing out water in the drought-stricken regions, and the wells stand barren. 

Maharashtra, the third largest state of India, has always known for the water crises, and this time, the state is facing the worst drought in the last 100 years. Nearly 90 lakh farmers of Maharashtra are said to be strongly affected by the water crises, which leads to the haunting reality of farmer suicides. 

 Vedant Goel, Chanchala Kodre (Ex. Mayor, Pune), Yusuf Soni

 In all this water dilemma and the unbound challenges of nature, there is a ray of hope coming out from little steps taken by people of India. 

Two young minds Vedant Goel and Yusuf Soni, who run an organization I Need Sai, have taken an initiative towards water reservation in Maharashtra. 

Vedant Goel, who hails from the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, is now living in Pune. After watching his state greed for every drop of water, the young man decided that it’s the time to be the change. The duo has started a camp in various schools of Pune, teaching children the importance of water and its reservation.   

Over 7000 students and staff members have joined the cause. Every day, each member of the school have been contributing leftover water from their homes to the school for purposes, like watering plants and cleaning toilets. 

This has totally cut out the use of fresh water from the tasks which are possible without it, and is an achievement in itself. 

When asked about their aim, Vedant told Bigstartups.in, “Our target is to educate more and more people; though initially, we aim at 10,000. We’ve reached 7000 already. Teaching children about the sustainable use of water is our primary aim, we focus more on reservation of resources and possible ways to achieve it. It is a simple idea that we are following. We’ve asked kids to not throw the leftover water of their bottles but to collect it in a drum, which later can be used for other tasks which can substitute fresh water. It will not only provide an alternative way for water conservation but also helps kids to understand the concept of sustainable development.” 

“We don’t want to limit ourselves only to Pune but we want to make this a revolution in whole Maharashtra.” He added But why did they choose schools for it? Why not organize a camp in a university or somewherewith more limelight? 

Vedant told, “Our organization, I Need Sai, works for the betterment of the needy children. We teach children who are poor, and while serving them I realized morals and valued are instill in a developing mind not in developed. So, we were already working for the development of children and decided to take a step ahead, and teach them about the importance of water reservation. We see more and more children joining our cause.” 

The duo visits these schools every Saturday and Sunday, and teach them about the importance of reservation of water. 

“Now, the schools are closed for summer vacations, and we visit every Saturday and Sunday to continue our teachings. We’re sure that the message is spreading rapidly. Children are contributing in an initiative lucrative for the future, so localities, parents, and societies are aware of its importance too.” 

“We have no problem, whatsoever, with merging with other NGO’s,” Vedant said, when asked if he would like to connect with other like-minded organizations. “We have also talked to a few organizations regarding our idea, and have asked them to take this initiative forward on individual levels.” 

Though, they do not seek anygovernmental aid or donations of any kind. 

“We are working for the betterment of the society. We are gaining not giving. We do not seek any kind of help in the form of donation from the government or anyone. We impart knowledge we have, and that needs no money.” added Vedant. 

Vedant and Yusuf are the holders of Limca Book Records for the event, My Teeth- Better Teeth, Better Health’, they had organized on 20th January 2015. They had gathered 1,011 students from Dr. Dada Gujar School, Pune, and taught children about the importance of healthy gums and teeth. The students aged between 9-13 were taught how to brush properly for 2 minutes.

Many initiatives are being taken to improve the condition of Maharashtra, and we can only hope to see it rising combating all the calamities it is facing.

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