Corresponding with our celebrity role models is something all of us have wished for, at least once in our lifetime.
Be it a personalised letter, a phone call, a mail or even a tweet; the idea that someone you look up to, took time out from his or her super busy schedule to respond to you is probably enough for many of us to feel that our life’s purpose has been achieved!
But never would have 12-year-old Kulsum thought that her essay on JK Rowling would catch the attention of people from across the world, including the celebrated British novelist herself!
It all began when her teacher from the Haji Public School in the Breswana village of Jammu and Kashmir, posted the heartrending lines that the young girl had written about being inspired by Rowling’s life and her legacy on Twitter two months back.
This was then retweeted by the school’s director, Sabbah Haji, who had tagged Rowling as well in the message, “Dear @jk_rowling. Kulsum, 12, a first generation English learner from the Himalayas would like to meet you someday. So come visit us at Haji Public School.”
What followed next will reinforce the love and respect you probably already have for the lady!
Please can you send me Kulsum's full name by DM? I'd love to send her something.
Rowling immediately responded back to Baji’s tweet, asking for Kulsum’s full name and other details! While most of us will think that, that was the end of Kulsum’s correspondence with Rowling, be prepared for the sweetest thing ever.
HELLO, WORLD. SO @jk_rowling SENT A HUGE GIFT BOX FOR KULSUM AND FRIENDS. HANDWRITTEN NOTE, INSCRIBED BOOK, AND THIS IS ALMOST TOO MUCH TO HANDLE. We are so thrilled and squeaky, I cannot even. Thank you so much, Ms Rowling. Thread below. #HajiPublicSchoolhttps://t.co/X39EtCd9kn
While Rowling, who is referred to as a ‘Queen’ by her fans, is renowned for having personally responded to messages and genuine requests from them on several occasions, it was nevertheless, really kind of her to send gifts for not just Kulsum but also for her entire class—all the way from UK to Kashmir through post—along with a personalised note for her biggest fan!
Here’s the video of a visibly elated Kulsum reading out the note from Rowling:
Heart-warming instances such as these are what make life worthwhile. We are sure that little Kulsum must be on cloud nine after receiving gifts from her role model and will cherish these for rest of her life.
Play is the work of children. It’s very serious stuff.
And serious it is! Children playgrounds and open parks are increasingly becoming difficult to spot in our urbanised congested cities. The buildings are clamouring for space and shooting upwards; the streets are widening, and highways are almost knocking on our doors to accommodate the vehicles and ongoing traffic.
In all of this urban mess, where are the open green spaces that breathe life into the utter chaos? Where is the innocence of childhood that swings carelessly and slides away from all troubles?
Let me take you for a walk through the metropolitan city of Chennai, which thankfully can boast of 578 parks within the city limits, a feat that needs to be applauded and appreciated.
The Greater Chennai Corporation or GCC can be credited for its initiative of building and maintaining park areas within the city.
Children’s play area in a Chennai park.
An official of GCC told The Better India, “578 parks in Chennai have been created by GCC for the public. All these parks have been developed by GCC. At present, 40 parks have been handed over to various agencies for adoption and maintenance for one year which would be renewable every year based on the maintenance performance.”
So who decides where to construct a park? The GCC primarily makes these decisions, based on the availability of vacant OSR (Open Space Reservation) land. According to the specifications of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority or CMDA, an open space area for the community should be reserved for a building or development plot area exceeding 3,000 sq m. The main purpose of this is to use the area for recreational purposes or community needs of the resident’s association. According to GCC officials, residents or residential welfare associations too can request the corporation for parks.
Besides, 38 new parks are under creation under the Atal Mission For Rejuvenation And Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, to be completed and open for public use by the end of this financial year. A budget of eight crores has been set aside for this scheme.
The GCC, of course, has set its targets and like all cities, the planning and maintenance of parks is a significant duty. However, unlike, say, Delhi, which is famous for its historic gardens, or Kolkata which is blessed with the central Maidan area or Chandigarh which is a planned city, Chennai does not have similar advantages.
Thus, the effort of actually building parks around residence complexes or converting available OSR into parks is a conscious decision undertaken by locals as well as the government.
Gym area in the Nageswara Rao Park.
However, on the other hand, it is estimated that Chennai has only 0.81sq m of open space per capita, which is low compared to other metropolitan cities. Officials argue that this number is a lower estimate since major open areas such as the Guindy National Park are designated as protected areas.
Also, Chennai is nowhere near the top 10 green cities in India, in fact, only a little about 2% has a green cover, as opposed to 33% as per the National Forest Policy.
But essentially, not all parks have a healthy green cover. Earlier, designated park areas were usually constructed with concrete and shrubs provided for the only greenery. However, this is changing where officials look to keep at least 70% of the park area under green cover and the remaining 30% for children’s equipment, furniture, walking tracts and more. Read the 2016 report published in The Times of India.
Not delving too deep into numbers, let me say this. I have been living in Chennai for the past eight years and only when I began to take my child outside the home to play, did I realise that the city had quite a few of them. In most areas that I frequented, I was pleasantly surprised to see an open gate park area, which had its stock of swings, slides, see-saws, benches and walking paths. Some were small and sufficient for the adjoining residence complexes, whereas, others were big enough to accommodate people from other localities as well.
The parks are not only a good source of play-time for toddlers and children but also act as leisurely walk areas for the elderly and in many cases also as exercising zones for fitness enthusiasts. Nageswara Rao Park is a perfect example of how a park is a place for the culmination of many things.
As Sangeetha, a frequent visitor to the park says, “It is refreshing to come here. The kids enjoy playing, and I can do a quick walk myself.”
A local park with a broken slide.
A shed area within the park is a common place for youngsters and groups to practice their various art forms of dance and drama. The open badminton court area is often active with people forming pairs and enjoying a game or two with the racquet. However, what strikes most is the little gym area very recently opened within the park which is a great place for people to flex their muscles for free. This very recent development was a sweet, pleasant surprise for the park visitors.
Needless to say, though some of the bigger parks are maintained and regularly upgraded, like the Nageswara Rao Park, Semmozhi Poonga (a botanical garden set up by the Horticulture Department, which boasts of a variety of flora) or the Guindy National Park. However, there are lesser known local parks that take the brunt of negligence and may consequently lose out on their true essence.
A local park in Santhome area, for example, is in sad shape, with almost every play item distorted or broken.
The slides are damaged, some have the ladder missing and the see-saws precariously hinged.
A slide without a ladder.
Similarly, the play park a little away from the main Secretariat area lacks tree shade and looks almost like a decrepit desert zone, with the slides and swing poles standing out like cacti.
As mentioned by a GCC official, “The parks are inspected regularly by the Park overseer on alternate days. In addition to this, the concerned Assistant Engineers (AEs), Assistant Executive Engineer (AEEs), and Executive Engineer (EEs) inspect the parks periodically.”
It is heartening to see green spaces within the city and more so when they also incorporate children’s play areas. With many newly-constructed apartments making it mandatory for play areas to be a part of the complex, the future doesn’t look too bleak.
As concerned citizens, if you find any parks near your locality or elsewhere that need attention, post your grievances online at www.chennaicorporation.gov.in or through the 1913 complaint cell.
(Written by Tasneem Sariya and Edited by Shruti Singhal)
Sometimes, the solution to a complex problem lies in simplicity. Take, for example, the question of saving water on a household level. You might think that you are insignificant when it comes to water conservation, but have you ever wondered how each drop you save is the thread that will tightly weave the cloth of water conservation?
Here, the phrase “boond boond se sagar bane” stands true in its literal sense.
For example, every day, on an individual level, we use about 5-6 litres of water, more than the required amount. As reported by the Times of India, every flush takes about ten litres of water whereas the work can be done in just 500 ml.
A group of young students from Mumbai have come up with an innovative solution to tackle the water wastage that occurs in toilets.
‘Team Livewire’ which consists of students from classes VI to VIII in various schools in Mumbai, has come up with two solutions to tackle this wastage.
One is a household change that you can bring about yourself, and the other is a prototype sensor that you can install in your toilets.
Dhruva Iyer, Rohan Shenoy, Sidak Arora, Chaitanya Raghavan, Shaommik Kelkar and Dhruva Jain make up Team Livewire and suggest fixing two 500 ml bottles in your flush tank. This way, the tank won’t fill up, and the next time you flush, only the appropriate amount of water will go on the drain. That’s their simple solution to reduce to the amount of water we flush every day by half!
Imagine how much water a family of four will save in just a month, using this method!
Apart from this home-made solution, the students are also working on a sensor-based prototype called “Flexi Flush”.
The team demonstrates their prototype. Source: DNA.
Using the tagline, “Every flush saves”, the Mumbai boys are developing a sensor that will estimate the amount of water that is disposed of in a commode, and will even flush only the required amount of water.
Speaking to DNA, Dhruva said, “Flushing takes up a large amount of water at the household level, and our aim is to save water that is wasted in the process. The sensors, if fitted in the commode, would dispense just the correct amount of water, thus, avoiding wastage.”
The Flexi Flush will be India’s official entry to the ‘First Lego League’ global competition being held in Estonia this month.
Two PET bottles and the will to protect our resources—that is all that is needed to reduce water wastage. Initiatives like these deserve all our attention and support, as they will definitely help us to conserve water and benefit the environment in the long run!
Losing a child is one of the worst tragedies that could befall a parent. Imagine the loss of three!
T Uma Devi is a teacher, and her husband is a physics lecturer. They always yearned to have children but unfortunately, till recently, they could not. In the past, Uma Devi had miscarried thrice.
“Last year we found out that she has been suffering from chronic hypertension and anaemia.
When she finally got pregnant again, we were so happy—but because it was a twin pregnancy her condition became high risk and complicated.” the husband told Humans of Bombay (HoB).
As there was a risk to the health of the twins, Uma Devi was forced to schedule an early delivery. When they were born, the girls were extremely underweight and needed to be placed in an incubator to survive. The couple has tried everything—from exhausting their savings to breaking their fixed deposits—for the treatment of their twins, Shivani and Vaishnavi.
Speaking to HoB, the couple is appealing to you to help them. Please read their post here and support them in any way you can.
In an accident scene, while most onlookers act aloof or record the incident on their smartphones, there are some who step up. More often than not, it is the presence of mind and timely intervention by these strangers that has saved the lives of countless road accident victims.
For Kaniyambal Chemmannur Roy, the saviour appeared in the form of a 13-year-old school student, Kannan, who unlike many mute spectators at the accident site near the Sakthan Thampuran bus-stand in Kunnamkulam, Kerala, rushed to the former’s rescue and went out of his way to get the man to the nearby taluk hospital.
As reported by Manorama, a local Malayalam Daily, Roy lost his balance and fell down while giving way to a bus that was entering the main road from the bus terminus, and sustained head and leg injuries.
Unfortunately, no one came forward to help and many were quite unabashedly recording the man’s extreme discomfort on their mobiles.
Kannan, a student of Class 8 at the Holy Cross CBSE Senior Secondary School, was on his way to school when he saw Roy and swiftly rushed to his help. He parked his scooter, picked Roy up and tried to seek help from vehicles passing by, and even attempted to halt an auto-rickshaw, but the driver steered away from the site.
Finally, it was a lady, who serendipitously happened to be a nurse at a private hospital in the town, who came to the duo’s rescue and together, they managed to get help from an auto-rickshaw driver and rushed Roy to the intensive care unit at the taluk hospital.
It was only after Roy’s family members, who were alerted by one of his acquaintances, arrived at the hospital, did Kannan leave for school.
Upon being inquired about his late arrival, Kannan informed his teacher about the incident, following which his exemplary act of human compassion was commended at a special assembly, and a PTA committee meeting was convened to appreciate him.
Because of Kannan’s quick intervention, Roy could receive timely medical attention and was discharged in the afternoon. The young boy’s concern didn’t stop at getting help alone, and after the school got over, he even went to meet Roy at his house.
“I now know what fun it is when I am freely playing on the street with other children. I saw the magic show for the first time, and I was thrilled! And I like to go to parks too as I learn new things…”- Amirrudin, 12, NGO Saath, a partner of aProCh
I have been witness to the last five decades of India not as a bystander but as one who has grown up walking the streets of many of our cities and interacting with some wonderful people across three generations. While I love my nation, what does not sit right with me are the many lifestyle changes that have come about in the name of urbanisation.
As a child, my fondest memories are of how every evening I played on the streets with my friends (games like Gilli-Danda, Pittu and Dabba, I-spy) and how we returned home with dirty hands and feet, sometimes even bruised, but always with the happiest hearts.
Over the years, the boundaries of our cities have expanded, but ironically, the free streets and community parks have shrunk. Our simple play times of the yesteryears, now seem old school for our children and have been replaced by lengthened screen time, playing with ever-evolving gadgets and e-socialisation.
The focus on indoor activities has reduced opportunities for human interaction and alienated today’s kids from experiencing the joy of nature and free play.
Gadgets are the friends of today’s kids.
Safety concerns are on top of the mind for parents when they send their children to play outside the home since our cities are often not designed while keeping the child in mind. These days, I often look at the maze our cities have become and think about the words of William H Davies – ‘What is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare…’
For the last decade, I have become a part of the aProCh (a Protagonist in every Child) initiative, taking a cue from the immense body of research that supports the positive impact of unstructured activities and free play on children. This has been highlighted explicitly in Richard Louv’s book ‘Child in the Wood’ where he mentions that we are facing ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ today, which is affecting our children and thus, our society at large.
Several research studies carried out by Hillman et al., show that the independent mobility of a child has reduced from 5 km to 500 meters in last 50 years. The child’s connect to his surroundings has clearly decreased substantially.
Theoretically, children might have access to information about geographies and the diversity of nature than ever before, but they don’t know how it feels to be in nature, to run around bare feet, feel the wind while cycling or look at the fields from atop a tree.
I have vivid memories of how my school and other educational institutes in our locality used to be centres for community engagement.
‘Street Smart’ at the Law Garden street, Ahmedabad.
Schools were set up not just with the sole objective of imparting academic lessons to its students but also took on the responsibility of adult education and evening sports for those residing in their vicinity. This trend has diminished over the years, and many schools today serve only those children who are formally enrolled with them. Our children are ferried to and from home and school, and there does not seem to be space for any community in between.
Consider this–Children (0-15 years) comprise almost 30% of the total population in our country. And today, they are spending more time in the four walls of the school, the home or coaching centres than ever before. And every wall that gets added also adds a barrier that veils the mind. The focus of education should be to dissolve such boundaries.
This implies that we as a society have the immense responsibility of taking care of our children and their childhood. Together, we need to invest in planning and designing their childhood experiences in the best possible way. Empowering the child’s voice and believing that ‘Every Child Can’ will happen only with the paradigm shift of trusting that ‘Children are not the future – they are the NOW!’
Unsurprisingly, all of this insight about the current scenario children face in our cities came from none other than my students! In 2007, during one of my conversations with our children at Riverside, I got the sense that they often did not feel welcome at all places in the city. Some of them shared how even crossing the street was a herculean task for them, and they felt unsafe as the traffic paid no heed to their presence on the road.
This conversation fired us up to reclaim the spaces for our children. The birth of aProCh (a Protagonist in every Child) was momentous and an eye-opener for many in the city. What was most encouraging was the support that began to pour in. We soon joined hands with the Municipal Corporation, Police, Corporates, Schools, NGOs & citizens to organise child-centric events in the city.
I’m so grateful to institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), National Institute of Design (NID) and the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) who extend their unconditional support to aProCh till this day and have played an important role in making this vision a reality. We marched ahead with the ambition of transforming our city into one where the child would have the freedom to explore, derive fun and joy, and have ample opportunity to build happy memories for a lifetime.
It was amazing how the spaces of the city suddenly started welcoming children with open arms. Many spaces like streets, parks, recreational places, corporate houses, and media houses which were hitherto closed for children became a part of the aProCh events.
This literally made it possible for children to say ‘My City is my Playground’.
‘Mov’ing Experience’ at the ISRO Exhibition Centre, Ahmedabad.
After this, various initiatives were designed and implemented under aProCh. ‘Street Smart’ was the outcome of this where all the stakeholders collaborated to make sure that the busiest streets are closed down for traffic once a month and offered children the opportunity to engage in games and fun activities on the street, irrespective of their age, economic background and religion.
Guruprasad Mohapatra, Ex Municipal Commissioner, Amdavad Municipal Corporation, Ahmedabad, says, “We are happy to involve children at a very young age in matters about the city’s prospects, the city’s problems, their role in the city, how the city is growing and what is the expectation of the citizens from the city – aProCh is a good attempt to give children the confidence to play their role as emerging citizens of the future Ahmedabad.”
Subsequently, we opened up more and more spaces to give the message to our children and society that we care.
Programmes like Mov’ing Experience, Parents of the Park, City on Cycles and City as My Landscape were initiated to provide multiple avenues for children to explore with curiosity, engage in creativity and community while experiencing the joys of childhood.
All of these programs under aProCh are based on collaboration and bringing the community together for the betterment of children. We have partnered with around 40 schools and 40 NGOs in Ahmedabad so far, and information regarding the planned events is shared with all of them. This ensures that every event sees the participation of children from different communities and sections of the society, something important to see in the segmented society in which we live!
Impact
‘Child-friendly’ Zebra Crossing in Bangladesh.
aProCh has completed ten years now, and the idea has travelled beyond the city of Ahmedabad. An idea that was born at The Riverside School in 2007, has today touched the lives of children and citizens across ten cities in India, which include Aurangabad, Anand, Baroda, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Kolkata, Rajkot, Sangamner and Surat.
Beyond our borders, aProCh is now in Bangladesh and Mexico as well.
The movement has been empowered by the participation of 5,00,000 children. aProCh is the Runner-up of the prestigious Financial Times/Citi Award and the Amex Serve2gether pro-bono Award.
In our impact study, it was evident that engaging with the aProCh initiatives has multifold benefits for children like increased self-confidence and skills such as decision-making, creativity, leadership, teamwork, bonding with peers and respecting others.
The initiative has also helped change the mindsets of the local government and the community at large. Some examples which make this visible are children participating in traffic weeks, leading to the creation of Child-Friendly Zebra Crossing and the designing of parks.
aProCh has inspired other schools and NGOs to take the responsibility of running this programme in their vicinity. aProCh has received continuous affirmation from all stakeholders regarding the positive impact of the different initiatives on the holistic development of children. We endeavour to reach more and more schools, NGOs, Corporates and Citizens to facilitate active engagement of all custodians in building ‘child-friendly cities’.
Let’s join hands to spruce up our cities with more fun filled parks, safer spaces for children to play, cycling lanes and convenient public transport systems. Let’s truly bestow upon our children the ‘Gift of Belonging’.
All these programmes were low cost, flexible and easy to replicate. (Read more about these initiatives at www.aproch.org)
(Written by Kiran Bir Sethi and Kirti Zala. Edited by Shruti Singhal)
About the author: Kiran Bir Sethi is an Indian educationist, designer and thinker. She founded the Riverside School in 2001 and since then has infected millions of students and educators with the ‘I CAN Mindset’ through her design thinking framework of ‘Feel-Imagine- Do- Share’ (FIDS).
Deep in the remote corners of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district is a community, school, and home for 90 orphaned, destitute and abandoned children called the Jhamste Gatsal Children’s Community.
With the nearest town of Lumla situated 30 minutes away, the school started by Buddhist monk Lobsang Phuntsok aims to nurture at-risk children from surrounding impoverished villages, based on the principles of love, compassion, and wisdom.
The very phrase Jhamtse Gatsal is Tibetan for “garden of love and compassion.”
Coming to aid the process that Lobsang started in 2006 is National Geographic explorer Mike Libecki and his 14-year-old daughter Lilliana, who has travelled to 26 countries across all seven continents with her father, besides undertaking five major expeditions.
The duo is collaborating with the computer hardware giant, Dell, reports IANS.
They helped the community install 20 new laptops, printers, set-up internet access and impart computer literacy to both children and teachers at the children’s community. In addition, they have also installed new solar panels and generators for both the computer centre and community.
“We worked closely with the community. All of the kids in the community are orphans, or they have come to live there because they have family issues. They are all first-generation learners, none of the families of these kids have an education. They want the children to go to college; without having computers and internet, they will lag behind and not be able to do. In the times we live in, we need to be technologically advanced and savvy to make progress,” Mike told IANS.
Mere installation, however, isn’t enough. If the kids don’t know how to utilise these computers and internet, there is little use of such an endeavour. Besides imparting training for these children and teachers, they are also reportedly working to ensure that these systems run on solar power in an area where regular electricity supply isn’t forthcoming.
All the equipment was shipped directly from the United States, and Dell employees, as part of the company’s Give Back Project, came along to assist in the installation process.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
NEW: Click here to get positive news on WhatsApp!
For parents of children, balancing long working hours and taking care of their young ones can be quite a challenge. While most of them try to find viable solutions and make the situation work, there are quite a few who dislike being away from their children for an entire day but do not have an option.
This is why, a recent proposal by the Maharashtra government, promises to be a pleasant piece of news to parents in the state.
Employees of the Maharashtra government, who are parents of children below the age of 18 years will now get 180 days of paid leave!
Although the primary focus of this initiative is mothers, the government has also extended it to single fathers whose wives have passed away.
Sudhir Mungantiwar, the Cabinet Minister of Finance & Planning and Forest departments in Maharashtra confirmed that the state government approved the “special child care leave proposal” on Tuesday, 3 June 2018.
“The cabinet decision confined to government employees was taken to enable better parenting,” he said.
He further added that at present, women employees can avail 180 days maternity leave twice since this leave can be taken by women with two children.
A mother or a widower father can avail the special child care leave until their child/children are 18 years of age. Parents have an option of availing the leave in one stretch or in gaps, according to Daily News and Analysis.
This new initiative will ensure that parents get to spend ample time with their children until they become adults. Not only will this help in their upbringing, but will also ensure that the bond between children and parents is carefully nurtured.
In a time when parents find it hard to balance their work and personal lives and when long hours in the office tire them so much that it is tough for them to stay active and engage with their children after returning home, the Maharashtra government has undoubtedly brought some much-needed relief.
Every weekday, young students in a remote village located the Palghar district in Maharashtra would put on their uniforms, comb their hair and get ready for school. Some put on shoes, while some stayed barefoot.
And barefoot, they walked several kilometres every day, just to get to school. No wonder then, that after a few years of basic education, the children would quit.
This, until Dr Suwas, a Mumbai-based dentist decided to donate a cycle to them.
That’s all that took to transform a life of a student—one bicycle.
One bicycle changed the lives of these Maharashtra students. Source.
Dr Suwas, who could complete his education solely because his friends were willing to help him get to school from his home in a slum, understands exactly how underprivileged students feel when they cannot afford transportation.
According to the NGO, Our Better World, Dr Suwas says, “One of the biggest transforming factors in a kid’s life is education, but how to get the students to the school remains a challenge. People are hard-pressed for even a few rupees. They cannot afford the bus fee or the rickshaw fee.”
And how has one bicycle helped the tribal students of Palghar? Check out the video to find out!
Thanks to the widespread penetration of plastic, the sad reality is that you will rarely come across public and private spaces without any plastic content at all. Wrappers, poly bags and broken household articles, have unfortunately become an indispensable part of our lives.
Understanding that the perils of plastic could have severe consequences to our environment, various individuals, non-profit and even government organisations are now implementing initiatives that aim to considerably cut down on single-use plastics and introduce more eco-friendly alternatives for public use.
But these students of Subbiah Vidyalayam Girls Higher Secondary School in Thoothukudi have set a stellar example that most of us adults should take inspiration from and implement in our own lives.
In an initiative mooted by the City Corporation that intended to address the issue of packaged consumables with their manufacturing companies through schools, the school girls collected 20,244 wrappers of all the packaged food items that they had consumed in approximately two weeks.
They then sent these wrappers back to the respective manufacturers along with a note that said, “We are happy with the taste and quality of your products, but unhappy with the plastic packaging. We want to ensure a safe environment for our future generations and minimise our plastic footprint. We have decided to collect used plastic wrappers of your products and send them to you for safe disposal. Please help us savour your products without guilt, by introducing eco-friendly packaging.”
About 10,660 wrappers belonged to leading food products company, Britannia, while Nabati, a company which manufactures wafers, came next with 3,412 wrappers. These were sent back to these companies with the help of Alby John Varghese, the Corporation Commissioner of Thoothukudi.
In his letter to the companies, Varghese mentioned that producers, importers and brand owners were wholly responsible for collecting plastic waste left by their products, as per section 9 of the Plastic Waste Management Rule, 2016 and that the Corporation expects these companies to come up with an action plan for collecting used wrappers that can be implemented in two months.
“The exercise by the students was a grand success. We will extend the practice to other corporation and private schools,” the commissioner told the Times of India.
Sixteen children die on Indian roads daily. Seeing this statistic, students at Espalier Experimental School in Nashik were concerned about how unsafe Indian roads have become. One of their teachers lost her life in an accident, and many of the children also met frequently with accidents when they came to school by bicycle.
A group of 13-year-olds from the school decided to take matters into their own hands. The 8th graders realised that awareness about road safety and traffic rules needs to be inculcated in people right from childhood. To do this, they created a website to conduct an Online Traffic Awareness Exam, on passing which school-going kids can acquire their Bicycle Licenses.
Concluding that the rules that apply to two-wheelers should also apply to bicyclists, the students realised that children could begin to learn these rules at a young age. The students were inspired by the 4-step formula of Feel-Imagine-Do-Share, developed by Design for Change.
This is a not-for-profit organisation that challenges children to solve problems in their community.
To conduct the Traffic Awareness Exam for students, the children started a website called www.mybicyclelicense.com, under the mentorship of Sachin Joshi, the founder of Espalier Experimental School.
After much research, they framed over 75 questions on traffic rules. The website hands out bicycle licenses to people who acquire higher than 70% marks in the online exam. “Kids love to collect cards of all kind,” explains Sachin Joshi, adding, “That is the psychology at work. So this project plays with that idea!”
The website generates a certificate that the children can proudly show to their friends, but to get it, they have to study the traffic rules first and pass the test.
Dr Ravinder Singal, the Police Commissioner of Nashik, agreed to a Round Table Conference with the children and lent his full support to the Bicycle License Project. They also met the Commissioner of RTO, Bharat Kalaskar, for guidance, who expressed his interest in working towards conducting this online test for Bicycle License all over India through RTO.
The software company ESDS helped the students in making the online exam free of charge.
Students of Espalier Experimental School with Police Commissioner of Nashik, Dr Ravinder Singal.
After conducting the exam across ten schools in Nashik in 2017, the children wanted to expand the project’s reach. A boon came their way when the Education Officer of Nashik Municipal Corporation, Nitin Upasani, issued a government circular to all Nashik schools making the Online Traffic Awareness Exam mandatory for all students.
To create enthusiasm for the project, the children wrote a song about traffic rules called ‘Sonu’ that they published online. 3,000 students have so far received a Bicycle License. Outside of Nashik, Ahmedabad’s Riverside School has also conducted the Online Traffic Awareness Exam so far.
This year, the students want to achieve a target of 10,000 students.
And over the next three years, they would like 50,000 students all over India to have their Bicycle Licenses.
Another thing that’s great about the Online Exam is that it makes it mandatory for people to fill in their mother’s name into the data fields, hence including both the father’s and mother’s names as the ‘middle name’ on the eventual certificate. This has been a practice followed at Espalier Experimental School since the past few years.
In 2015, students at Espalier had come up with a Design for Change project called ‘Take Pride, Add Mother’s Name‘, to campaign towards making it mandatory to include the mother’s names in official documents. Since then, the students and staff have maintained this practice.
By including this practice in the Bicycle Licenses as well, the children hope to give out an indirect message about gender equality to everybody who takes the test.
The students that were part of the project want to be known as Nachiket Pratibha Shreyas Ghule, Purva Anuradha Tushar Matkari, Rutuja Sangita Sunil Dorkar, Aakash Gauri Santosh Sable and Dnyanesh Anuradha Sachin Khairnar!
Students receive their Bicycle Licenses after passing the Online Traffic Awareness Exam
The project was recognised for its ‘Long Lasting Impact’ at the ‘I CAN Awards 2017’, making it among the top 20 stories of the year. Since 2009, the award ceremony that’s organised by Design for Change has attracted 14,000 stories of change from school children all over India. The event is to recognise children who are making social change in their communities and inspire them to believe that they can effect change in the world.
The founder of Espalier Experimental School, Sachin Joshi explains,
“We hope to reach the PM’s office one day and make the Online Traffic Awareness Exam mandatory for all school children to take. This will help inculcate traffic rules for road safety from a young age.”
Help spread the Bicycle License project for road safety by these school children. Share the website link for www.mybicyclelicense.com.
Be a part of one of the largest global movements of children driving social change in their communities. Take up the ‘I Can’ School Challenge. Find out more online, or reach out to Design For Change on +91-95999-16181.
Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us:
contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter
(@thebetterindia).
Rachana Prasad is a mother to two children, one being a special child. She also runs a theater group for children – Chiranthana. It is ironical that our society is harsh on parents when it comes to the way they raise their children. They are perhaps even harsher when it comes to parents who are raising one or more kids with special needs.
Rachana shares her parenting journey with Mums and Stories.
Parenting is no easy job, that too when you have a child with special needs. It is extra hard for plenty of reasons, but trust me; it’s extremely rewarding.
When you wonder where the rewards are, I would say, just dive deep down into your heart and the answers will be right there for you to see and feel.
Rachana and her daughter.
My daughter was born after six years of my marriage. My cute little bundle of joy with pink lips and curly hair looked like a fairy princess, straight out of wonderland. Our joy knew no bounds. With every delight comes the dismay, I guess!
Very soon, she was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder affecting her overall developmental milestones. My child was only eight months old then…. Did all hell break loose?
I must say, the entire universe fell apart for us ….
It sort of leaves you devastated, traumatised, shattered and shocked. My everyday commute to doctors and therapists had become a norm. What was worse was that I had the entire world nonchalantly giving out parenting tips, religious and astrological guidance and slyly thriving on my weak spots, sort of deriving sadistic pleasures.
It is important to mention that I also found a few precious gems in the process and today, they are the ones integral to my life.
I had to let go of my cushy job, was left with a daughter who needed plenty of help, suddenly felt lonely and life had stopped looking bright and gay. But, didn’t someone say: Make lemonades when life gives you lemons?
Yes, the lemon here was the ample opportunities awaiting me…. Luckily, nothing can pin me down for too long as a person, and very soon it dawned upon me that it was a calling. I realised that I had to do it… because if it wasn’t for me, who else would?
Empowering oneself to handle challenges is very important. I wondered how I could make a difference as I knew only two things; I had specialised in training skills and had theatre in my blood. I gave it a shot. I started Chiranthana, a yummy lemonade! An exclusive life-skills programme designed for children, with art as an intervention.
Chiranthana started in a small garage with just eight kids (my daughter being one among them), catering to skills beyond academics.
Classes were fun and enriching, and before I realised it, eight became 80, 80 became 800, and very soon we were everywhere.
My daughter continues to be an integral part of all my workshops. Today, she enjoys being on stage, can perform dance/drama for at least ten minutes and has picked up a lot of skills through theatre. A diploma in Inclusive Education was another add-on that gave more structure and strength to my training modules.
Play therapy and Art therapy work best with children. There is a sense of belonging and confidence-building that happens, and it is heartening to see children reaping the benefits of this.
Today, we are a registered NGO under the Trust working with children and youth. Our USP has been theatre arts and an inclusive set-up.
Art Courtyard is another initiative of Chiranthana. It’s been ten long years, and I have traveled a very long way.
So, has it been easy all the way?
Not at all…It’s not easy to look elegant and poised all the time, without burning yourself out. A mother has to play the role of a ‘Super Hero’ and believe in her child more than anyone else. I continue to celebrate every milestone of hers and enjoy just being with her. We act silly, play pranks on each other, snuggle along, and ensure a constant circus runs at home.
I still believe in miracles, but also equip myself every other day to the harsh realities of life.
Insecurities like ‘What after us?’ haunt us as a family. But I know I am not alone… There are thousands of other parents and children walking our path and fighting similar battles. I feel a lot more reassured today with emerging inclusive set-ups and awareness among people.
I am sure God has his plans. Even If I hear nothing, I feel at pace, knowing that he hears me!
My daughter gave me a career, showed me how to smile despite all odds, gave me a life worth living and made me fearless about having another baby. There were times I felt I could have done better with my girl and have come under extreme guilt pangs whenever I prioritised myself over my children. Yes, I also have a six-year-old boy.
I have now learned to realise how important it is to be happy myself, because only a happy mother can raise happy children. So, I indulge in my whims and fancies too…
I may not always prepare the best of snacks for them. I may not perfectly dress them up all the time or micro-manage them by being a hyper parent. I put all that at rest, because I know I am busy fighting greater life battles.
My daughter turned 13 a month ago, and today, she is a happy, empathetic adolescent with an infectious smile and an undying zest for life.
Rachana’s daughter turned 13 recently.
My only prayer to God is to spare my daughter from the ugliness of this life, and instead ‘Try me Out’.
She still needs a lot of help with studies, self-help, physio, grooming, and speech among many other things, but what is life without challenges? I am happy I found the concoction for my lemonade, without losing MYSELF in the process. Life just goes on.
Mums and Stories admires the spirit of mums like Rachana who refuse to give up. We wish Rachana and her family a great future ahead. If you know an inspiring mum or believe you are one, do reach out to us and tell us your story.
You would have come across many people, for whom football is nothing less than a religion, and they will go to any extent to prove their love and craze for the sport.
However, chances are that you wouldn’t have met a greater football fan than 14-year-old Firoz from Kadalayi in Kannur district of Kerala, whose profound love and support for the France team was common knowledge in his village.
It is therefore heartbreaking to know that the little one was not able to celebrate his favourite team’s entry to the FIFA finals because he lost his life last Thursday while saving his younger brother and a friend from drowning in the sea.
On July 5, Firoz and his 13-year-old brother, Fahad, were playing football along with a few of their friends on the Kadalayi beach when the ball went into the water.
A picture of Firoz and his hand-drawn flags of teams in FIFA. Credits: Murali Vijayan/ Facebook.
Fahad entered the water to retrieve the ball but was swept away due to the high tide. Seeing this, his friend jumped to his rescue, but also ended up being carried away by the waves.
Without thinking twice, Firoz put his own life at risk and managed to get both the boys to the shore safely, but unfortunately, drowned in the process and lay on the river bed for over 15 minutes before people could take him to the district hospital.
His condition was quite critical as slush had entered into his organs, because of which he was shifted to the KIMS hospital in Kozhikode and kept on ventilator support. For five days, Firoz battled for his life before finally succumbing on Monday.
Firoz’s parents, Basheer and Sabira, are a painter and homemaker, respectively, and are not very well off. Keeping this in mind, the residents of the village came to their aid and helped them conduct Firoz’s last rites.
While the young boy’s parents and brother are inconsolable, the entire village is also mourning the loss of a young life and is and is still grappling to come to terms with his demise.
“Firozikka (brother) died when he tried to save me. I want him to somehow come back home, Allah,” a teary-eyed Fahad told Asianet News.
The tragic incident came to public knowledge, when Vipin Murali, the cameraman for Asianet News Kannur, who had reported the incident, took to social media and shared this heartbreaking experience of meeting Firoz’s family.
“On the front pillar of the house, there is a hand-painted flag of France. Amid tears, his mother told us that Firoz was a good son and loved football. That’s when we noticed little Fahad when he limped to stand beside his mother to console her,” Vipin’s Facebook post said.
At that time, France had been playing in the semifinals. Vipin also added, “Maybe he is watching the match sitting in a gallery in heaven. Before he left the world, he saved two lives. I hope he gets his due share for what he has done.”
Art was one of my most favourite subjects in school. Every Wednesday, one hour was dedicated to sketching, drawing and colouring—my school somehow knew that this break would refresh the students like nothing else. We would all open our blank sketchbooks, draw with pencils, and spend the rest of our time colouring the pencil drawings, with crayons.
As young students, we never realised that in this process, we were digging our nails in the crayons, which were made of wax and colour pigments, among other ingredients, and later, these flecks of wax would mix with our food and enter our bodies.
A similar observation and an effort to lower the carbon footprint have prompted some people in India to start manufacturing organic crayons.
Two companies in India, Avani EarthCraft in the Kumaon hills, and Azafran in Ahmedabad have taken up the initiative to make crayons from natural, plant-based ingredients. Avani Earthcraft is also indirectly empowering marginalised women.
If your young one has just started colouring and doesn’t worry too much about shading and hues, Avani’s crayons may be your perfect choice of crayons.
Their natural crayons are created using locally harvested beeswax and plant-based pigments, including indigo, marigold, eupatorium and myrobolan. These colourful crayons are completely non-toxic and safe for kids of all ages!
The organic beeswax is bought from a foundation in the Nilgiris that employs honey gatherers.
Speaking to The Hindu, Rashmi Bharti, the co-founder of the Kumaon-based company said, “It was my daughter who inspired me to create organic crayons. Most art supplies available in the market today are made with synthetic ingredients, and I wanted to develop something that wasn’t harmful for children.”
The crayon sets are then procured in wholesale by a social enterprise in Mumbai called Sew Saw Handmade. According to Eazelly, a product curation website, “Sew Saw works with marginalised women artisans across Indian to promote economic empowerment of rural artisans. These women create Handmade and non-toxic essentials for children of all ages.”
Along with Avani Earthcraft, Azafran Organics, based in Ahmedabad also make crayons from organic raw products.
Representative image only. Source.
Aditi Vyas, the director of the company, said, “We use soy wax, palm wax, soy butter and food-grade colours in our Veggie Crayons. Wax and soy butter is melted and mixed with natural colour pigments and poured into moulds. The mixture is then allowed to cool and become solid.” Priced at Rs 350, Azafran offers eight colours in their crayon set, all organic and safe for your young ones.
If you wish to buy these organic crayons from Avani earth craft or Azafran Organics, visit their websites (click on the names) and place your orders!
At first sight, Aayaan Aggarwal would pass off as any other happy-go-lucky child, for whom the world is a curious place that has many wonderful mysteries and things to offer.
But the 7-year-old from Ludhiana has been actively spearheading an anti-plastic crusade across the city during a time when the harmful effects of the toxic non-biodegradable material has already begun to show scary implications for our environment.
A student of Class 2 at the Sat Pal Mittal School, Aayaan had always nursed an inclination towards science and is endlessly curious about the world around him—a trait that his parents, Karan and Neha Aggarwal, have encouraged.
It was a trip to the United States during Aayaan’s school vacation this year, that opened the little science enthusiast’s eyes to the real world problem of plastic and how it was penetrating seas and oceans and killing marine biodiversity—an area that particularly was close to his heart.
The 7-year-old anti-plastic crusader. Courtesy: Neha Aggarwal.
“During the trip, Aayaan saw a picture of a dead whale being flashed on a news channel that had died owing to ingesting different plastic components that remained in its stomach. Given the love he has for marine sciences, the incident left a long-lasting impact on our son, and he understood about the ill-effects that plastic has on all life forms and on our planet—the only one that has life,” says Neha to The Better India.
Starting from that moment, Aayaan decided that he was going to champion against plastic, and single-use plastics in particular, and wanted to begin with himself and his family.
While they were in the US, he observed and learnt about the importance of waste segregation and the colour coded system practised there. Once they returned to Ludhiana, Aayaan asked his mother to quit using plastic bags and refuse to accept them from departmental stores and restaurants as well.
“It is quite rare to see a child as young as Aayaan to have so much conviction for something he truly believes in. While neither of us had considered the thought previously, he managed to convince us as well. He was so firm about his anti-plastic resolution that he refused to take a plastic tiffin-box or water bottle to school, and even containers with plastic lining were a strict no-no!” she says.
Once the school started, Aayaan decided to take his crusade against plastic even further and approached his class teacher to set up an appointment with the principal.
Aayaan with his mother, Neha. Courtesy: Neha Aggarwal.
It took some time for the meeting to take place, but when it did happen, the principal was impressed by his persistence and ideas.
“He explained how plastic was posing a serious threat to the environment and that as a school, they should completely ban it across the school premises. Ma’am was not only impressed by his conviction to the cause but also decided to actually implement the no-plastic rule in campus, starting with banning plastic tiffin-boxes or water bottles. In fact, Aayaan was also given the opportunity to speak during the morning assembly where he shared his ideas with the entire school,” Neha proudly says.
And this proved to trigger a chain reaction, for Aayaan now decided to reach out to restaurants in the city and request them to stop serving soft drinks with plastic straws.
He even gave them placards that they can place over the tabletops to raise awareness amidst the customers.
Aayaan at Flame Bois, one of the restaurants who stopped serving plastic straws to its customers after his intervention. Courtesy: Neha Aggarwal.Aayaan giving a presentation upon the perils of plastic to the environment to the staff of a restaurant. Courtesy: Neha Aggarwal.
“Till now, he has been able to reach out to Small World Cafe, Cake square, Kuchh Bhi, Flame Bois, Just Baked Cafe, Belfrance and Hot Breads. He has convinced them to give straws to customers only on request and placed placards on each table to sensitise the diners too. He continues to sensitise people around him whenever he gets a chance,” says Neha.
The young champ hasn’t stopped there. Together with his father, he has flagged off a website, Anti-Plastic Crew, in June that discusses the hazards of plastic through the eyes of the 7-year-old. “Everything in the website contains only things that Aayaan has come across and talks about in public,” she adds.
While the fact that school has reopened, makes it difficult for Aayaan to go about raising awareness, the family of three still finds the time to visit at least one new restaurant every week, to try to convince them to stop using plastic straws. “His greater aim, however, is to include plastic bags as well in his crusade,” Neha states.
His persistent efforts to ban plastic even earned the young boy a chance to speak in front of over 100 entrepreneurs from across India in Delhi and even here, he urged them all to limit plastic usage in their lives.
But nothing beats the meeting that Aayaan had with Avinash Rai Khanna, the vice president of Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). “Mr Khanna was so impressed by Aayaan’s vision, and ideas that he wrote an official letter addressed to Prime Minister Modi about Aayaan acknowledging his efforts,” a beaming Neha adds.
In a time where even adults remain indifferent to their indiscriminate plastic trail, Aayaan’s sensitivity towards the planet and conscious efforts to cut out plastic showcase a great environment crusader in the making. The role of his parents in this crusade must also be appreciated, for it is familial support and encouragement that makes children confident enough to face the world.
We salute Aayaan and his parents for their selfless participation to cut down plastic usage and hope that more people begin to consciously make changes to their lifestyles for the sake of our planet, which like Aayaan says, is the only one that we know which harbours life!
You can check Aayaan’s website, Anti Plastic Crew, here.
On July 10 2018, the country witnessed something that had never before happened in its history of 71 years—a letter to the President of India requesting permission to be euthanised. The letter was from a 24-year-old young man from Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.
Vishnu Teja had to take such a drastic step after suffering from two decades of debilitating trauma as a child sexual abuse survivor. A trauma that neither his family members nor society came forward to offer support or even acknowledge.
Why?
Thanks to a rigid conviction in Indian society that men and boys can never be victims of sexual assault or rape and that by masculine gender socialisation, they can’t be vulnerable either.
Letter to the President. Courtesy: Vishnu Teja.
In a study conducted by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare in 2007 to understand the magnitude of child abuse in India, about 53.22 per cent children faced one or more forms of sexual abuse. Contrary to the idea that girl children are most vulnerable, it was found that boys were more subjected to varying degrees of sexual abuse – at a staggering 52.94 per cent.
Over a decade later, the fact that our society is yet to come in terms with the prevalence of male child sexual abuse in the country is not just disheartening but appalling.
Speaking to The Better India, Vishnu shares, “The sad reality of our country is that laws come into place only after abuse and rape incidents levelling to disturbing degrees occur. Take the Nirbhaya Act (2013) for instance. It took a brutal incident to actually make policymakers come to their senses that bestial crimes against women were on a surge and that these had to be taken seriously.”
Which has exactly been the premise for Vishnu to zero down on the decision of writing to President Ram Nath Kovind to be legally granted euthanasia – instead of taking his own life.
“Maybe this move would finally elicit some serious changes, in terms of discussions awareness in the society and subsequently, laws and bodies specifically focused on protecting male child sexual survivors would come into place,” he says.
What torments Vishnu more is how the subject is even comprehended in the country—from parents and school authorities to police and media.
“In my journey of coping with my personal trauma, I met many survivors and shared their pain. In every single one of those cases, what had remained common was that they were subjected to disbelief, refusal to acknowledgement and worse, ridicule when they opened up to their parents or reported their assault incidents to the police; just like me,” he remembers.
Thanks to cinema and media, the idea that ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota’ (men don’t feel pain) has so intrinsically penetrated into our society that we admonish young boys for crying when they hurt themselves or act the way not considered ‘manly’ enough!
Vishnu Teja.
“To think of it, have you ever wondered why no incidents of male child sexual abuse ever make it to the news or are even lodged with police despite the large occurrence of young boys and adults being subjected to rape and molestation?” asks Vishnu.
He further points out that there is a definite bias in terms of gender in the country.
“We come across news about rape crimes against women and girls on a daily basis. But what about the countless voices of boys and men in India that are stifled down by shame and ridicule? Even if parents give their support, there is a lack of action from police authorities, who more often than not, wriggle out of registering the case and instead bring both parties to a compromise instead of penalising the sexual perpetrators. Why do you think that never has there been a case in the country where a case of male sexual abuse has ever been prosecuted or found justice?” Vishnu questions.
Even if a male child victim’s case is fought in a court, the urgency and swiftness with which the culprit, in cases involving girl children, is prosecuted or awarded the death penalty are never observed in the former scenario, he notes.
“Even POCSO Act (2012), for the protection of child sexual abuse victims, has failed with its non-gender-neutral stance on sexual abuse on children, with no clear parameters on the medical examination, punishment to the perpetrators or even compensational aspects for male victims. When the laws in place do not consider or even acknowledge the vulnerability of male child and adults, how can we expect the society to change?,” Vishnu mentions.
“As to my knowledge, no state or district in the country has a proper cell that helps the male victims to cope with their mental trauma and offers guided counselling. In a society that derides men for even slight deviations from the ideal mould of masculinity, where is the place for sexual abuse victims to raise their voice or find justice? Sadly, there is none,” he adds.
A men’s rights activist, Vishnu is willing to reach out to anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse and open the room for discussion. You can write to him at me2formensrightsindia@gmail.com or call on 6303440580.
Note: All the information regarding Vishnu Teja has been shared with his own permission.
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that occurs when your blood sugar (glucose), is too high (hyperglycaemia). The body uses glucose for energy. The pancreas produces a hormone called insulin that helps convert glucose from the food you eat into energy.
When the body does not produce enough insulin, or it becomes resistant to insulin, this results in a condition termed as diabetes mellitus.
In people with diabetes, blood glucose levels are high. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in your blood.
There are types of diabetes, namely, type 1 and type 2.
Type 1 Diabetes was formerly called juvenile diabetes because it usually is diagnosed during childhood. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the body does not produce insulin because the immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells from the pancreas. It can only be treated with insulin injections, given several times a day.
Type 2 Diabetes is a condition where the cells cannot use blood sugar (glucose) efficiently to produce energy. Here, the insulin production is only slightly reduced, but the cells become insensitive or resistant to insulin (termed ‘insulin resistance’). It usually affects adults but has now started affecting children also.
This article focuses on type 1 diabetes, where insulin production in the body almost completely stops. This results in very high blood sugar levels in the body.
The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is still not known. However, it is believed to involve a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The underlying mechanism involves the autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Diabetes is diagnosed by testing the level of plasma glucose or glycated haemoglobin in the blood.
Type 1 diabetes can be distinguished from type 2 by testing for the presence of autoantibodies and the complete absence of insulin secretion as measured by plasma c-peptide levels. It constitutes an estimated 5–10% of all cases. According to the International Diabetes Federation, there are approximately 5,00,000 known cases of children with type 1 diabetes worldwide.
If kept under control, children with type 1 diabetes can have a long and healthy life, despite the condition. However, if left uncontrolled, it can lead to various complications.
Complications of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
Over time, complications can affect major organs in the body, including eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart, brain and feet. Eventually, these complications may be disabling or even life-threatening. Both boys and girls are equally prone to these complications.
Diabetes can cause damage to the blood vessels of the retina or back of the eye, similar to the film in a conventional camera. The effect on the retina can lead to progressive loss of vision or even blindness. Most serious diabetic eye diseases begin with blood vessel problems.
Risk factors for diabetes eye complications: High blood glucose level, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and smoking may also raise the risk for diabetic eye disease.
However, we can take steps to prevent diabetes eye disease, by taking good care of diabetes. In addition to keeping blood glucose levels under good control, blood pressure, and cholesterol should be maintained within the normal limits.
Irrespective of the type and severity of diabetes, every individual with diabetes should undergo an eye examination once a year.
Because retinopathy is estimated to take at least five years to develop after the onset of hyperglycemia, patients with type 1 diabetes should have an initial eye examination within five years after the diagnosis of diabetes and annually after that.
Diabetic patients are prone to develop diabetic kidney disease if
~blood glucose is too high
~blood pressure is too high
Diabetes can damage the glomeruli (small blood vessels in the kidney) that filter waste from the blood. Severe damage to glomeruli can lead to kidney failure or irreversible end-stage kidney disease, which may require dialysis or a kidney transplant.
It is possible to prevent or delay by controlling blood glucose levels and blood pressure. Diabetic kidney disease can affect both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
The following symptoms may suggest kidney disease, but they occur late:
Swelling of the ankles, feet, lower legs or hands caused by retention of water;
Becoming short of breath, when climbing the stairs, for instance;
Tiredness as a result of a lack of haemoglobin or oxygen in the blood;
Nausea or vomiting;
Skin changes;
Darkening, itching, dry skin;
Screening for Kidney Disease – Diabetic Nephropathy
Kidney disease is mostly asymptomatic. Hence, it is important to screen at least once in a few months.
A few basic tests which are performed to screen for kidney disease or nephropathy:
Urine to see whether there is albumin or protein in the urine;
Blood creatinine, to check the glomerular filtration rate of the kidneys to see their functioning;
Healthy lifestyle habits, which include restriction of salt and dietary protein and taking regular medicines as prescribed by the doctor will help to maintain the renal function and improve the overall health.
3. Diabetic Neuropathy
Nerve damage in diabetes is called diabetic neuropathy. Nerve damage is one of the commonest diabetic complications. Over time, high blood glucose levels and can injure the walls of the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that nourish the nerves, especially in the legs, leading to tingling, numbness, burning or pain that usually begins at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upwards.
Damage to the nerves related to digestion can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or constipation. For men, it may lead to erectile dysfunction.
Early diagnosis is made by early recognition of symptoms by patients and as well as by careful examination by the healthcare provider and the team at regular intervals.
Patients with type 1 diabetes for five or more years should be assessed annually for diabetic neuropathy using the medical history and simple clinical tests. Symptoms vary according to the class of sensory fibres involved.
The most common early symptoms are induced by the involvement of small fibres and include pain and dysesthesias (unpleasant sensations of burning and tingling). Glucose control should be optimised to prevent or delay the development of neuropathy in patients with type 1 diabetes.
Tips to care for the feet
Check your feet every day for cuts, sores, red spots, ingrown toes and blisters.
Wash your feet every day with warm water, wipe them and apply powder to make them dry to prevent infection.
Smooth corns and calluses gently.
Trim your toenails straight across.
Wear shoes and socks at all times to avoid hurt and check inside the shoes before putting them to make them free from other objects.
Protect your feet from hot and cold.
Keep blood flowing to your feet.
Wear shoes at the beach and on hot pavement to prevent boils and
Apply sunscreen on the tops of your feet to prevent sunburn.
Do not put a hot water bottle or heating pad on your feet.
How to increase the blood flow to feet:
Put feet up when you are sitting.
Wiggle your toes for a few minutes throughout the day.
Do not wear tight socks or elastic stockings. Do not try to hold up loose socks with rubber bands.
Be more physically active. Choose activities that are easy on your feet, such as walking, dancing, yoga or stretching, swimming or bike riding.
Diabetes dramatically increases the risk of various cardiovascular problems, including coronary artery disease with chest pain (angina), heart attack, stroke and narrowing of arteries (atherosclerosis).
Over time, high blood glucose from diabetes can damage blood vessels and the nerves that control the heart and blood vessels. The longer the duration of diabetes, the higher the chances are for a person to develop heart problems.
In adults with diabetes, the most common causes of death are heart disease and stroke.
Risk factors for heart disease or stroke
Smoking: It is important for a diabetes patient to stop smoking because both smoking and diabetes narrow blood vessels. Smoking also can damage the blood vessels in the legs and increase the risk of lower leg infections, ulcers, and amputations.
High blood pressure: In those with high blood pressure, the heart must work harder to pump blood. High blood pressure can strain your heart, damage blood vessels, and increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, eye problems, and kidney problems.
Abnormal cholesterol levels: High levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides than the recommended level raise the risk of heart disease.
Obesity and abdominal fat: Being overweight or obese can affect your ability to manage diabetes and increase the risk for many health problems, including heart disease and high blood pressure. Excess fat around your waist, even if you are not overweight, can raise your chances of developing heart disease.
Stress: Feeling stressed, sad, or angry is common for a person living with diabetes. Long-term stress can raise blood glucose and blood pressure, which in turn, may lead to heart diseases. Deep breathing (pranayama), gardening, walking, yoga, pursuing a hobby, or listening to your favourite music are some of the ways to relieve stress.
Diabetes-related heart diseases can be prevented if blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol are kept under control.
Severe growth retardations with the pubertal delay have been reported in patients with type 1 diabetes. Thankfully, these conditions are now becoming rare due to improvements in insulin delivery and better control of diabetes.
Diabetes-control generally deteriorates during puberty as there is an increase in insulin resistance during this time. Moreover, behavioural changes and psychosocial issues occurring during adolescence further worsen glycemic control.
The effect of gender on vascular complications is intriguing, with females being at an increased risk of developing retinopathy and nephropathy in childhood and adolescence, while males are at an increased risk when they reach adulthood.
A condition now commonly referred to as “diabulimia” is seen more often in girls where she skips insulin to run blood sugars consistently high, which causes weight loss but is extremely dangerous as it poses the threat of developing diabetic ketoacidosis and makes them prone to diabetes complications.
Teenage girls with type 1 diabetes were found to have a much more negative view of their diabetes than the boys.
In summary, type 1 diabetes, both in boys and girls presents many challenges. However, with sustained educational efforts, motivation and support, they can have a long and healthy life despite diabetes.
(Written by Dr V Mohan and Edited by Shruti Singhal)
“Rishaan once heard a tune while sitting in the back seat of the car and started humming it. He was quite young. By the time we returned home, he had memorised the tune and begun singing the song like it was written at the back of his hand,” Rishaan’s mother Shital recalls in an interview with The Better India.
What’s so special about a young kid memorising a song?
Rishaan is a kid with autism. And for someone on the autism spectrum, even uttering complete sentences or expressing emotions is a humongous task. That’s why him singing an entire song he had only heard once was such a big deal for his family.
12 years old now, Rishaan and five of his friends are helping open conversations about what it is like to grow up differently and how friendship could be the first step to the inclusion of every other child with special needs.
The 6 Pack band with Neha Kakkar
How? Through the powerful medium of music.
After making headlines last year with India’s first-of-its-kind transgender 6 Pack Band, Brooke Bond Red Label, in association with Y films, has now launched 6 Pack Band 2.0 consisting of kids with special needs to kickstart a journey of acceptance and inclusion.
In their third song, titled The Isspeshal Yaari Song, the young adults with special needs alongside playback singer Neha Kakkar, speak about their struggle to find that one special friend willing to go the extra mile for them and just accept them for who they truly are.
Watch the beautiful song here:
Speaking to The Better India, Ashish Patil, Head of Y-Films, the man behind the 6 Pack Band says,
“The idea is to essentially describe how the biggest challenge for kids with special needs to make friends is not in the classroom but on the playground. In a country like India, getting onto a soapbox and giving a speech doesn’t work. But the minute the same message is relayed through a story or heartwarming music, the walls are lowered and it touches people. After a massive success with the first edition of the 6 Pack Band with the hijra community, we decided to make a logical transition into the mental health space.”
1 in 89 children between the ages of two and nine years in India suffer from Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Based on the 2011 census data, this will mean 2.2 million children in that age group in India are autistic. If extrapolated, this means at least 13 million people in India live with the condition. The cause is personal to Ashish because his own son is on the autism spectrum and features in the band too.
“20% of the world’s population suffer from mental health issues, which is a staggering 100 crore people. Children and people on the spectrum – they don’t need your sympathy. They need your strength. So, why can’t we take that extra effort to give them the same opportunities by conscious inclusion in all walks of life?”
Most people fail to realise that these kids have the same potential to be friends with other kids their age. What then are the baby steps you or your child can take to extend a hand of friendship to these special kids?
Get rid of your ignorance and ask – What is Autism?
A group of eighth graders will ask you a barrage of questions on what autism is, what the symptoms are, what others can do to make the autistic child feel accepted etc., but adults won’t. Because most of us forgo these basic questions and make assumptions about a child with special needs.
Open the conversation with — what is autism? Educate yourself about it. Talk to kids and parents and then find easier ways to explain these to your own children. Many times, persons with autism may or may not be vocal, so communication can be a barrier. They may look a little different, have odd body movements. It is a form of expression for them.
At most times, they may not look you in the eye. In situations like these, many people equate avoiding eye-contact or not conversing to not understanding.
Kamini Lakhani, the Founder and Director of Sai Connections, Mumbai, which works for kids with special needs recalls an incident when a young boy with Aspergers at a conference broke this myth
He said, “Give me a chance. Let me make my mistakes. Please don’t get offended if I don’t look at you in the eye. Sometimes, it takes me time to process everything you are saying or what I am hearing. So it becomes difficult for me to look at you and listen at the same time. I may not reply the same way as many others you interact with do, but I understand everything you say to me.”
Change is the only thing constant, but for kids with special needs — it can be overwhelming.
Many of them have sensory issues where they may react to sound different than the way we do. The simplest things we take for granted can sometimes trigger a meltdown in many individuals.
“My son doesn’t like being disturbed when he is painting. He requested me to shut the door everytime he does. The door may be just as much as an inch open, but his sense of the smallest sound is so accurate that it does bother him,” says Kamini, who is a mother to 28-year Mohit, an artist with special needs.
It doesn’t take much to be a little sensitive, a little accommodating and being a little patient in these situations.
Stop labelling them. Labels are for clothes, not people:
Many kids grapple with name-calling at school. It can be heartbreaking.
Often mothers narrate instances where their kids were bullied and called ‘mentally ill’ because of behavioural differences from other kids. At most times, a meltdown where the child runs, throws a tantrum or incessantly flaps their arms can be a result of a sensory issue.
But most kids have breakdowns. Do we stop, gather a crowd and stare everytime it happens? Then, why treat a kid with special needs having a meltdown differently?
Accept them for who they are
Accept that kids with special needs are different, just as all individuals are different from each other. The idea is not to ostracise them but to celebrate this difference and accept them, regardless.
“People think kids with autism are not intelligent. But as a mother, I’ll tell you something others won’t. These kids are extremely smart, intelligent and just as talented if not more than others their age. If you look at the kids in the band, you’d think they were born to be singers.
For Rishaan, singing is not just an art but also a coping mechanism. Every time he is anxious, he sings aloud. It calms him down. And so these kids may seem different but I firmly believe they are no less,” says Shital.
Shiva Krishnamurthy, General Manager, Beverages, Hindustan Unilever, said, “With each new song, Brooke Bond Red Label 6-Pack Band 2.0 is highlighting a relevant and significant aspect about the differently abled. This resonates with Brooke Bond Red Label’s credo of celebrating togetherness irrespective of gender, age, ability or disability. Everyone needs friends, so saluting friendships with these talented young people is special for us too.”
The Better India and Brooke Bond Red Label will be hosting the 6 pack band members at Sai Connections, a centre for kids who are on the autism spectrum in Mumbai on July 25, 2018.
Show your support by attending the event with your kids and help them make special friends. Venue: Sterling Centre, Bank of India Building, Opp. Cardinal Gracious High School, Subhash Nagar, Bandra (E), Mumbai – 400051.
If you can’t make it to the event, you can also extend your support by sharing a selfie with your special friend, use #Yaariyan. Send the selfie to editorial@thebetterindia.com or share it on WhatsApp at 9619531190.
At the end of the day, it was good old-fashioned policing which helped cops in Ranchi trace the four infants allegedly trafficked by a nun and staff member of Nirmal Hriday, a Missionaries of Charity-run shelter for pregnant and unmarried women.
The Jharkhand police conducted door-to-door searches disguised as NGO workers using local intelligence, detailed call record analysis and standard technical surveillance and found the children, reports The Print. Reports indicate that the children were born to inmates at Nirmal Hriday, but allegedly sold to childless couples by a network of traffickers both within and outside the shelter.
At the heart of these investigations into the missing children is a five-member team at the Kotwali police station in Ranchi, where the case has been registered.
For representational purposes. The Jharkhand police conducted door-to-door searches disguised as NGO workers using local intelligence, detailed call record analysis and standard technical surveillance and found the children. (Source: Facebook/Catholic Television of Nigeria)
“It seemed like an uphill task to trace these kids as we had minimal clues about their possible location. We carried out a door-to-door search as members of an NGO working for children and contacted more than 600 people before we finally reached the (four) couples who had bought the babies. We went to localities that we had zeroed in on with the help of technical surveillance. We told locals we were looking for newborn babies to give them vaccination, medicines and toys. It was a time-consuming process,” said a police officer, speaking to The Print.
The first child they traced was a young infant girl from Simdega area, who was sold to a couple for Rs 50,000. Despite not having the couple’s number or phone address, the police did know that their relative lived in an area next to a small idol of Mother Mary.
In the area, there were reportedly a lot of Mother Mary idols, but using intelligence gathered from locals and door-to-door questioning, they zeroed in onto the couple.
Another infant boy sold for Rs 50,000 was traced to an area in Ranchi after police sifted through the call records of a nun, who allegedly confessed to trafficking. After tracking their number, the police zeroed in on the couple’s location. However, the couple had found out about the search party, and continuously changed their location, until the police finally caught up to them.
When captured, the couple told the police that they had initially insisted on undergoing the path of legal adoption, but the shelter home threatened that if they didn’t buy the child, it would be their last chance.
Since the scandal broke out and new adoption rules have been promulgated allowing single parents to adopt, the Missionaries of Charity has put an end to all its adoption activities in India.
The third child was traced after the police analysed the call details of the Nirmal Hriday nun and staffers who have confessed to trafficking.
“We finally got a few numbers that were frequently dialled for a specific period and did not feature in the list thereafter. We then traced the location of the users and zeroed in on the location of the couple,” a police officer told the publication.
After the three young children were traced, they were taken before the Ranchi child welfare committee, which falls under the jurisdiction of the District Magistrate established to rehabilitate children born under very vulnerable circumstances.
After much deliberation, the children were returned to their adoptive parents since they had established a very close bond. Before receiving their adoptive children back, the couples had to fill in all the necessary paperwork, verification, and other formalities to make the adoption process legal.
(Source: Facebook/Batchu Jagannath Das)
“The babies were handed over on the condition that the couples will have to produce the babies before the CWC every two weeks for the next two months so that we can be assured that the child is being taken care of,” said a member of the CWC.
The fourth child, meanwhile, was traced by the Jharkhand Police earlier this month after a nun who worked at the Missionaries of Charity confessed to having sold the child “for free” to different people, according to this Press Trust of India report. Police, however, weren’t inclined to offer any further details on this case since it is “highly sensitive.”
Unfortunately, during the questioning of Sister Koncilia and Nirmal Hriday staff member, Anima Indwar, it was found that they had sold three more children beyond the four traced by the police. These babies are yet to be traced. Going by their statement, these children were sold from anywhere between Rs 45,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
We hope that the police find the other three missing children.
“The Juvenile Justice Act has been violated, and since we have a confession that a child was sold for money, we have lodged a case of human trafficking against specific persons. The police have not targeted any institution,” said a senior police officer to Scroll.in.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
NEW: Click here to get positive news on WhatsApp!
She was only nine when Haryana girl, Janhavi Panwar was given the title of ‘Wonder girl of India’.
At 14, when most of her counterparts are studying in class eight, Janhavi is pursuing the second year in her Bachelor’s degree in Arts from Delhi University.
Janhavi Panwar at 14
Shocked?
Well her exceptional academic record is not the only feather in her hat. Born to a government teacher and a homemaker in the village of Malpur, this young girl has mastered eight foreign accents, in addition to basic French, basic Japanese, English, Hindi and Haryanavi languages.
Her parents realised Janhavi was different from most kids her age when she was merely a year old, her father, Brijmohan Panwar, recalls in an interview with The Better India.
“When she was only one, her vocabulary was equipped with 500-550 English words. When she turned three, she wasn’t admitted to Nursery but directly to Senior KG because she had picked most things at home. As years passed, when we spoke to the school management, they realised Janhavi’s potential by looking at her scores, and she was given special permission to clear two classes in the same year.”
Even as young as she was, the crosswords and pictorial books consisting of animals, birds and fruits her father brought interested her more than any other toy.
The family though wasn’t financially sound at the start. After his father’s death, Brijmohan worked at a private school where he would travel on his cycle. It was only after Janhavi’s birth that he started working in a government school.
“When my wife was pregnant, like most families in rural settings, our family thought it would be a son. But Janhavi’s birth was celebrated with just as much zeal. I’ve always maintained that my daughter is my pride. Girls are in no way secondary to boys.”
He continues, “We are from a traditionally rural background, neither my wife nor I am fluent in English. Even the school Janhavi was studying in, had teachers who would speak on our local dialect, Haryanavi or Hindi. But I would help her as much as I could. I still remember how she first picked up accents when we started speaking to tourists at the Red Fort.”
It was after this that Brijmohan started downloading short English video clips to make a young Janhavi listen to them.
Janhavi and her father Brijmohan Panwar meeting Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar
“She would listen to it once, and she speak in the same accent. It was at the time that I started downloading BBC news videos. She would listen to an hour-long bulletin and within no time, start picking up the accent and speed with which the anchors spoke. I thought it could be something I should encourage,” says Brijmohan.
It was only a matter of time until he found a linguist named Rekha Raj who was based in Panipat to help Janhavi master accents. So everyday after school, he would take her to these coaching classes, where she would train under Rekha. It helped her a great deal, says Brijmohan.
Today, Janhavi can speak a number of accents including British, American, Posh, Scottish, Australian etc.
To avoid people from mocking her saying she was merely mimicking these accents, her father even signed her up for linguistic classes online in the US and UK.
By 11, she could speak in these eight accents fluently.
She even started learning the basics of foreign languages like French and Japanese.
Her father recalls, “We even visited the embassies in Delhi to help her polish her foreign languages, but they don’t admit children until they turn 16 years old.”
As a motivational speaker, she has spoken to IAS officers and educational institutes across eight states in India.
(L)Janhavi at the BBC newsroom in Delhi. (R) Janhavi with Deputy Commissioner, Panipat Ms. Sumedha Kataria,
She wants to become a BBC news anchor when she grows up and pursue a course in mass communication for the same.
She is also keen on cracking the UPSC and has started reading the preparatory material.
In addition to learning new accents and languages, Brijmohan adds how the young girl has a beautiful singing voice. When she isn’t busy reading a complete book in two days, she records song covers.
Janhavi at 9 vs Janhavi at 14
“She has even read the Bhagavad Gita in English. If you were to ask her to recite what happened in any particular chapter, she would narrate it to you in detail. Her memory is that powerful,” adds her proud father.
In a final message to parents, he says, “As busy as most of us are, it is important to give our children the time they deserve. It doesn’t matter if they are academically bright or not, believe in them and support them in their dreams.”
