In Palghar district of Maharashtra, water scarcity during intense summers, combined with the receding water levels in the wells, forced the people of the region to consume mucky water. Moreover, with the fear of an impending outbreak of water-borne diseases, Goonj motivated 207 people from the 15 villages of Vikramgad, Dahanu and Palghar blocks to work towards the cleaning of 15 wells of the region. Wells as deep as 30 feet were cleaned merely using local resources.
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Three years ago, rains washed away the bamboo bridge at Foskadanga village in Alipurduar district of West Bengal. This led to the dwellers of the tribal hamlets in Kalchini block to travel an additional distance of 20 km to reach schools, health centres and local markets. Goonj, in collaboration with its partner organization NEST, motivated and mobilized 40 residents to rebuild the bridge under its ‘Dignity For Work’ (DFW) initiative,
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For the natives of South Mandabari village in Alipurduar district of West Bengal, the absence of an irrigation system made paddy the only cultivable crop in the region during monsoon. With a resolve to tackle this issue, 75 people from the village, under Goonj’s DFW (Dignity for Work) initiative, worked tirelessly for 10 days towards the digging of a pond (50ftx25ftx12ft). Under DFW, locals are mobilized, motivated and empowered to identify and solve problems at the community level,
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We took our DFW (Dignity For Work) initiative to the Kadar tribal hamlet, nestled inside Nelliyampathy forest area in Palakkad district of Kerala. Just like any other tribal area, this one too has the problem of malnutrition, poverty, exploitation, lack of transportation facilities and a heightened drinking problem. When our team member went on a visit, the locals had told her they wanted to repair the road before the rainy season,
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So..as many here know one thing which has been troubling me and a whole lot of us a lot, is the entire language and thought process, the new words. Social distancing instead of physical distancing to the entire meaning of Migrant Worker. And my #Covidi in making is just on this pain !!
We have all seen millions of people, labelled migrant workers, struggling on the roads,
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Under Goonj’s CFW (Cloth for Work) initiative, our Karnataka team and our partner organization motivated 53 individuals from Pandathimnahalli village in Kolar to clean a pond which was left unattended for years. Situated en route the village temple, the pond, which was once frequently used for religious rituals, was in a state of complete neglect. Now, having heard from our team the importance of practising hygienic ways in the time of this pandemic,
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Five women of a small village in Palakkad district of Kerala show us how to stand up in the face of a challenge by the pandemic. One, whose daughter was about to get married… one, whose children have dreams to fulfil, and others, with just the task of survival… When their husbands and sole breadwinners lost jobs and income, these women came together to address the problems they face. A small community farm was the solution they came up with.
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The people, many call labourers, recently repaired a 2 km road in Kukru Village of Jharkhand. Left with no work after the lockdown, when we spoke to these 115 families, they chose to receive the relief kits, after working on their own issues, under Goonj’s ‘Dignity For Work’ initiative. Our team mobilised and motivated this small community to identify and work on their own issues. Apart from the road repair they also cleaned their village primary school and water tank.
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A massive forestation drive is on in Uttarakhand’s Watan village to create a source of income-generation for the villagers of this hill state. Team Goonj is working closely with the people of this region to plant saplings, herbs, shrubs etc to convert it into a proper forest, using the Miyawaki technique that helps build dense, native forests. The approach ensures 10 times faster plant growth, resulting in 30 times denser plantation.
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Working in the East Singhbhum district, Jharkhand, when our team mobilized the villagers of Kalajharna, they decided to work on making a bridge, to lessen their travel distance by about 4-6 km, between Panchadih and Barudih. Situated inside the forest area, the village is home to around 300 people, who do small-scale farming and collection of forest products. Each of the participant families worked very hard to make the bridge,
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The internship’s purpose is to inculcate leadership qualities in high school students, give them a platform to explore the professional sphere and increase school engagement. High school (Grades 9 to 12) is the time when students participate in extracurricular activities to develop and discover career prospects. This experience will act as a driving force towards learning while enjoying and spending time mindfully.
Number of hours- 15 hours Per Week
Students will be tasked with making the people around them aware of Goonj and its various initiatives. They will also encourage them to recycle, up cycle and contribute underutilised goods to Goonj so that they can be reused. The students will additionally be engaged in observing and learning what happens behind the scenes. If there are any specific skill sets you have, please inform us beforehand.
In the end, what you learn from your stay at Goonj is up to you 🙂
An 11-year-old girl from Srimitra Solitaire Apartment in Kasanavahalli, where the collection drive and gullak-making session were held, not only participated in the gullak-making session but also assisted her friends and other participants by sharing the extra materials she had brought. She was extremely helpful and enthusiastic in sharing the idea of making gullak more creative.
She made three gullaks out of various sets of materials she had gathered. The first gullak she made was from the hard box cover of Horlicks, the second from an old tin jar, and the third from the potli she had brought. During the interaction with her, she emphasized that gullak is a reminder that we must give back to the world in order to make it a better place. The session like gullak making clearly made Goonj’s continuous effort and vision to make the world a better place to live into a pragmatic sphere.
Toward the end of the session, the children created the innovative gullak with the intention of saving money and contributing it to a good cause.
On the same lines of the Dalai Lama, who says that our prime purpose in life is to help others, we wish to highlight the story of a selfless volunteer whose persistent help is reaching the needy through Goonj.
Dipanjana ji has been associated with the Kolkata team for the past 3 years. In the early days, she used to send material to the office and for the past year she has been actively involved with Goonj in various ways. Previously, she has participated in offline crowdfunding during the Nepal earthquake and cyclone Amphan, where she had collected a good amount and contributed to Goonj. Her affinity to be of help didn’t stop there, she now voluntarily keeps aside some amount every month to help Goonj in some way possible and has opened her place to be one of Goonj Kolkata’s dropping centers.
She has had a zero-waste outlook in life, from the time she used to shift places and had to make the most of every resource around her, to now when she is making use of every possible piece of material in her capacity to repurpose it into wearable clothes for Goonj. Her flare to carve sculptures out of unused wood has translated into upcycling clothes for the needy.
She recently procured bulk material and worked upon how to get it stitched and mended. A lot of ideations went into making the best use of them. Some ways she adopted to repurpose different pieces of clothes include making tops and petticoats out of oversized pants, transforming swimwear into a set of top and bottom wear, made tops out of cushion covers and covered some unwanted spots and faults using her unique ideas. Her outlook was to make clothing that the communities in need can utilize. Later, finely ironed and folded pairs of cloth in bulk were dropped at Goonj. It’s unlike her, she says, to give away something that is not in proper condition and it not just aligns with the outlook of Goonj but highlights that dignity is deserved by all.
It is always possible to be kind and Dipanjana ji is a living embodiment of it. She came down to the office and interacted with all the processing unit workers, showed them how she looked at different material, taught some tips and tricks to upcycle so that they could also implement it by themselves. The interaction was loved by processing center workers and she left them with many insights, a fresh spirit and in awe of her work.
Her approach echoes, ‘I want to teach someone, learn something, help somehow’. She draws satisfaction from helping the society, as much as she can in her capacity. Goonj is ever happy to be the platform for her kind gestures of selflessness, towards making society a better place. It is not often that we come across volunteers like Dipanjana ji and when we do, it feels imperative to highlight such stories to inspire the generosity in mankind.
A Public collection camp is conducted in the Besant Nagar by the volunteer Mr. Aravind Srinivasan in his home. Once the Goonj team member reached there to co-ordinate with collection drive, he welcomes the person with water and breakfast. The hospitality was very nice. He arranged the tables, chairs, etc which are needed to start the camp. Once, all are set, he shared the information in a WhatsApp group. All the contributors started coming to the drive and dropped the material. He came forward and explained to the contributors about the process in the processing unit and also about the initiatives of Goonj. The contributors who are not aware of the location, he shared the map and also guided them to reach to the drive while going to some walkable distance. This was a great and tremendous support from him. When handed over the souvenir to him, he politely refused stating to give to the contributors. After successful completion of the drive, he requested a person from his neighbour to load the material in the vehicle. Not only he supported in loading the material, her daughter also supported in loading the materials in the vehicle. The volunteer is soft hearted, down to earth person.
The internship’s purpose is to make college students as well as other graduates from various fields strong willed, goal-oriented individuals while also presenting them with a career path. Interning at Goonj is an opportunity to have fun while creating change. We aim at opening a vault of fresh and new ideas and suggestions which can be taken up by the young changemakers.
Number of hours- 150 hours (1 month)
For a wilful, multi-lingual and inquisitive person, the sky is the limit. Here at Goonj you will be tasked with various activities and opportunities which will take you on a whirlwind of self-discovery while having tons of fun. During your internship you get to organize and be a part of various awareness initiatives organized by Goonj. If there are any specific skill sets which you have, please inform us so we can proceed in that direction.
There is no good or bad time to apply but make sure that you are available to dedicate a month fully for the social internship.
In the end, what you learn from your stay at Goonj is up to you 🙂
