Located in the foothills of the Aravalli, Alshigad village in Udaipur district of Rajasthan has been subjected to continuous deforestation and soil erosion for a long time. It was in the wake of this situation that the concerned villagers decided to act on it. Soon, they were joined by their brethren who had migrated to the cities but had returned to the village following the lockdown.
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The temple of Chowdeshwari in Srinivaspur village of Kolar district in Karnataka is a century-old structure wrapped in history and beauty. Located close to it is the temple pond from where the locals had been drawing their drinking water since time immemorial. Added to that, the pond was also used by the devotees for their ritual cleansing and other related activities.
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Narayanjote village in Jalpaiguri recently witnessed how the collective efforts and resolve of families towards the building of a community poultry farm could bring about a bright ray of hope for a stable livelihood in spite of the trials posed by Covid. With one of the families even offering their farmland for free, along with Goonj’s initial one-month support of chicks,
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In Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts of Odisha, villagers being marginal and small-time farmers have been facing distress sale of groundnut since the beginning of the pandemic. Goonj reached out to families under its ‘Vaapsi’ initiative and procured tonnes of groundnut, to be added to its relief kits. Our teams, during the Rahat-COVID work in the area,
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In Keranipara of Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, Goonj reached out to support a group of people under ‘Vaapsi’ initiative towards the procurement of packets of tea leaves. Hailing from ethnic tribal communities, they were earlier employed by the local electricity department. However, with the advent of digital meter boards, they too were forced to look for other employment options.
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The village of Gharbhanga Jenasahi in Kendrapara district of Odisha recently saw how the joint efforts of the resident families towards community cleaning and livelihood projects could bring about a stable livelihood option to the locals. Villagers have been facing severe water-related problems and with no source of income, young boys are forced to search for livelihood elsewhere.
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Even today the word ‘menstruation’ is surrounded by stigma and talked about with hesitation. People of Apithi village in Odisha are no exception. With similar apprehensions, the village women were unable to talk about their menstrual health and hygiene till Team Goonj reached Apithi to conduct an NJPC session. Initially, the women were shy and embarrassed but soon they opened up about their issues.
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Recent actions by the women of Sankarpurva village in Bundelkhand has not only transformed the village infrastructure but have also addressed many persistent problems of the community. It started with Team Goonj travelling 55 km from Banda (district headquarters) to Sankarpurva to organize an NJPC session with the village community. The meeting primarily aimed to raise awareness and foster education on the subject of menstruation,
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When our team visited Tanda Basti in Latur district of Maharashtra, they were surprised to see the village lanes piled up with dirt. “The roads were covered with all sorts of unhygienic materials and the surrounding gave off a stench,” a team member said. So, after a meeting with the local residents, it was decided to dig soak pits outside the houses to ensure the cleanliness of the surroundings.
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In Sandhiha village, 30 km from Hazaribagh district headquarters in Jharkhand and situated in a valley guarded by mountains, people from all communities live together in harmony. Majority of the villagers usually migrate to the city for work. However, due to COVID and the following lockdown, they are all back and stuck in their homes without any work.
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