OUR WORLD
When this world was made,
it was so neat and clean.
Why must mankind have been so mean?
The ponds and rivers flow so free.
But clean again they will never see.
The sky and clouds were a sight to be seen,
Now it is a struggle to keep them clean.
Aditya Das
VIII C HFS, Powai
Smoke, smoke going up to the sky.
Vehicles on road, make us cry
Oh! Every where pollution, pollution,
Let us all hurry to find a solution.
Factories belch so much smoke,
That makes our throat choke
Oh! Everywhere is pollution, pollution,
Let us hasten to find a solution.
Not only metros, even villages suffer,
Alas! Only in degrees it differs!
All round is pollution, pollution,
Let us not delay to find a solution.
We had better grow many more trees,
Surely then pollution hazard will decrease.
Let us not cut any more trees,
We all will breath in peace.
Ayushi Maitha, Std VII
Shri Balaji International School
NATURE CLEANLINESS
Please don’t be careless,
Have some civic awareness
Earth should be clean,
And very much green
Do not use plastic,
Then it would be fantastic
Lets start garbage seggregation
By dry & wet garbage seperation
Collecting garbage will keep earth clean,
And nature will be better like you have never seen
So let us gather
And do everything together.
Vaishnavi Jadav (VIII A)
S. M. Shetty School.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Articles by our young members
Water, Why we should save it ??
Mumbai, a city that is known for newcomers, suffers from major water shortages. We use many litres of water without thinking if we really need it. The amount of water we use is enough to quench the thirst of upto7 people. Slums turn to taps, but the water is often contaminated. This leads to diseases like cholera, typhoid and Hepatitis A. Let us take a minute to think, where do we really get our water from?? If the answer to this is tanker water, you should know that you are living in an area which suffers from water shortages. The tankers get the water from sources like lakes and freshwater rivers. The people who depend on the water and lakes may not even get any water. Villages depend on ground water but it dries up and cannot be used. We need to be able to use water efficiently .to do so, we must have desalination plane to use the sea water effectively. SAVE WATER, DON”T WASTE IT.
Akankshaa ,J.B Petit
Here is a beautiful speech for saving the environment and developing India!!!
Why do you think that India is so filthy??Ha...IS this because India is illiterate,yes maybe...why not??
Cant we try making India a better country.Cant we Tranform India.....cant we make the illiterate
people of India a literate country nd y dont we stop littering our motherland.Yes surely due
to this we say dat All other international countries are liliterate,clean nd Unfilthy..
DO tou think TB is at large?yessssssss because we spit all around but in USA
why do they charge for spitting????because that is a more developed country than ours
They Charge 20 US $ for spitting nd 5o US $ for littering.........
And yes i think that we can transform INDIA....
This is why CMCA took birth in India.....
CMCA-Making A Difference.....
Here Are Some Points For Saving The Environment:
Clean or replace air filters on your air conditioning unit at least once a month.
If you have central air conditioning, do not close vents in unused rooms.
Lower the thermostat on your water heater to 120.
Wrap your water heater in an insulated blanket.
Turn down or shut off your water heater when you will be away for extended periods.
Turn off unneeded lights even when leaving a room for a short time.
Set your refrigerator temperature at 36 to 38 and your freezer at 0 to 5 .
When using an oven, minimize door opening while it is in use; it reduces oven temperature by 25 to 30 every time you open the door.
Clean the lint filter in your dryer after every load so that it uses less energy.
Unplug seldom used appliances.
Use a microwave when- ever you can instead of a conventional oven or stove.
Wash clothes with warm or cold water instead of hot.
Reverse your indoor ceiling fans for summer and winter operations as recommended.
Turn off lights, computers and other appliances when not in use.
Purchase appliances and office equipment with the Energy Star Label; old refridgerators, for example, use up to 50 more electricity than newer models.
Only use electric appliances when you need them.
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy.
Keep your thermostat at 68 in winter and 78 in summer.
Keep your thermostat higher in summer and lower in winter when you are away
Insulate your home as best as you can.
Install weather stripping around all doors and windows.
Shut off electrical equipment in the evening when you leave work.
Plant trees to shade your home.
Shade outside air conditioning units by trees or other means.
Replace old windows with energy efficient ones.
Use cold water instead of warm or hot water when possible.
Connect your outdoor lights to a timer.
Buy green electricity - electricity produced by low - or even zero-pollution facilities (NC Greenpower for North Carolina - www.ncgreenpower.org). In your home-reduce toxicity.
Yash Jain, HFS
Diwali is a joyful festival. Everybody buys new clothes and bursts crackers to celebrate. That was me until I knew about pollution. Most people have been quite frank by saying that they have burst crackers but they have burst a considerably less amount. Sounds like you? Looks like you're on the way to becoming a tree-hugger. Lots of children know about pollution from fire crackers but sadly, few even try to make a difference. They justify themselves by saying "One person can't make a difference, only if many peopledo something there will be a change." But how do people start changing their habits? Change starts with one person, YOU. We, the members of CMCA hope that our Diwali rally educated people and that it has helped the environment in its own way. Now perhaps, I may sound like an environmentalist, but I'm not. I am just another citizen of India, trying to make a change. If I can try you can too. Give this idea a chance and you might surprise youself by helping the Earth.
Akanksha Ashok A, J B Petit
Mumbai, a city that is known for newcomers, suffers from major water shortages. We use many litres of water without thinking if we really need it. The amount of water we use is enough to quench the thirst of upto7 people. Slums turn to taps, but the water is often contaminated. This leads to diseases like cholera, typhoid and Hepatitis A. Let us take a minute to think, where do we really get our water from?? If the answer to this is tanker water, you should know that you are living in an area which suffers from water shortages. The tankers get the water from sources like lakes and freshwater rivers. The people who depend on the water and lakes may not even get any water. Villages depend on ground water but it dries up and cannot be used. We need to be able to use water efficiently .to do so, we must have desalination plane to use the sea water effectively. SAVE WATER, DON”T WASTE IT.
Akankshaa ,J.B Petit
Here is a beautiful speech for saving the environment and developing India!!!
Why do you think that India is so filthy??Ha...IS this because India is illiterate,yes maybe...why not??
Cant we try making India a better country.Cant we Tranform India.....cant we make the illiterate
people of India a literate country nd y dont we stop littering our motherland.Yes surely due
to this we say dat All other international countries are liliterate,clean nd Unfilthy..
DO tou think TB is at large?yessssssss because we spit all around but in USA
why do they charge for spitting????because that is a more developed country than ours
They Charge 20 US $ for spitting nd 5o US $ for littering.........
And yes i think that we can transform INDIA....
This is why CMCA took birth in India.....
CMCA-Making A Difference.....
Here Are Some Points For Saving The Environment:
Clean or replace air filters on your air conditioning unit at least once a month.
If you have central air conditioning, do not close vents in unused rooms.
Lower the thermostat on your water heater to 120.
Wrap your water heater in an insulated blanket.
Turn down or shut off your water heater when you will be away for extended periods.
Turn off unneeded lights even when leaving a room for a short time.
Set your refrigerator temperature at 36 to 38 and your freezer at 0 to 5 .
When using an oven, minimize door opening while it is in use; it reduces oven temperature by 25 to 30 every time you open the door.
Clean the lint filter in your dryer after every load so that it uses less energy.
Unplug seldom used appliances.
Use a microwave when- ever you can instead of a conventional oven or stove.
Wash clothes with warm or cold water instead of hot.
Reverse your indoor ceiling fans for summer and winter operations as recommended.
Turn off lights, computers and other appliances when not in use.
Purchase appliances and office equipment with the Energy Star Label; old refridgerators, for example, use up to 50 more electricity than newer models.
Only use electric appliances when you need them.
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy.
Keep your thermostat at 68 in winter and 78 in summer.
Keep your thermostat higher in summer and lower in winter when you are away
Insulate your home as best as you can.
Install weather stripping around all doors and windows.
Shut off electrical equipment in the evening when you leave work.
Plant trees to shade your home.
Shade outside air conditioning units by trees or other means.
Replace old windows with energy efficient ones.
Use cold water instead of warm or hot water when possible.
Connect your outdoor lights to a timer.
Buy green electricity - electricity produced by low - or even zero-pollution facilities (NC Greenpower for North Carolina - www.ncgreenpower.org). In your home-reduce toxicity.
Yash Jain, HFS
Diwali is a joyful festival. Everybody buys new clothes and bursts crackers to celebrate. That was me until I knew about pollution. Most people have been quite frank by saying that they have burst crackers but they have burst a considerably less amount. Sounds like you? Looks like you're on the way to becoming a tree-hugger. Lots of children know about pollution from fire crackers but sadly, few even try to make a difference. They justify themselves by saying "One person can't make a difference, only if many peopledo something there will be a change." But how do people start changing their habits? Change starts with one person, YOU. We, the members of CMCA hope that our Diwali rally educated people and that it has helped the environment in its own way. Now perhaps, I may sound like an environmentalist, but I'm not. I am just another citizen of India, trying to make a change. If I can try you can too. Give this idea a chance and you might surprise youself by helping the Earth.
Akanksha Ashok A, J B Petit
Global warming, a sizzling hot major issue that is sending a chill down everyone’s spine. Today the Global warming is a major issue that is leading Mother Earth, closer and closer to destruction. Deforestation, depletion of the ozone layer, soil erosion and what not are the deadly effects of global warming. We must do something, so that this nightmare may be finished forever.
Ø We must plant more trees and encourage backyard and window gardening.
Ø We must minimize the use of CFCs like air conditioners and aerosol cans.
Ø We must walk short distances or use public transport. We must also encourage car pools.
And the most important , we must make others aware so that they too can take some measure.But most of the people, just don’t care. Ignorance is not the only answer. Take a step ahead so that our our future generations can follow our footsteps. Make a difference, and bad India, infact the whole world to a new direction, where problems like global warming can be handled with ease. Treat your environment like your own Kith and Kin, and trust me, Global warming will be like a long last topic in the boring books of history. Come fight with CMCA against this life threatening heat. Say no to GLOBAL WARMING.
Pearl Majithia
VII-A
Jankidevi Public School
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Beach Clean up by SVKM School
THE BEACH CLEAN -UP
I was stunned to see the population at the beach for the clean-up.
The International Coastal Clean-Up (ICCU) had organized a clean - up drive after Ganesha chaturti.
There were thousands of helping hands not only children but also teenagers & parents who grabbed their masks, gloves & bin bags. We were all geared up for the tremendous effort we had put in. We made partners and, started MISSION CLEAN UP!! We collected tobacco packets and pouches of TIDE washing soap, plastic bags and toothpaste tubes these were the ones creating most nuisance. As always many news reporters had gathered on the spot and began interviews, professional photographers and journalists took information and pictures . After the tiring job and hard work all we longed was energy and something sweet ,here the good news arrives we have something to eat . I wonder where we got this energy to sing from. While returning to school in the bus I thought why do we worship lord's idol and then immerse them in the sea which come back to the shore as waste ,...... instead of harming the nature and it's laws why not use ECO-FRIENDLY idols ,
instead of immersing the idols in the sea why not in the artificial lakes which we've made . I strongly feel that the government should penalize people who don't follow rules and don't worship Eco - friendly idols and don't use the artificial lakes.
help me for the cause !!!
TASHI
SVKM INTERNATIONAL
There were thousands of helping hands not only children but also teenagers & parents who grabbed their masks, gloves & bin bags. We were all geared up for the tremendous effort we had put in. We made partners and, started MISSION CLEAN UP!! We collected tobacco packets and pouches of TIDE washing soap, plastic bags and toothpaste tubes these were the ones creating most nuisance. As always many news reporters had gathered on the spot and began interviews, professional photographers and journalists took information and pictures . After the tiring job and hard work all we longed was energy and something sweet ,here the good news arrives we have something to eat . I wonder where we got this energy to sing from. While returning to school in the bus I thought why do we worship lord's idol and then immerse them in the sea which come back to the shore as waste ,...... instead of harming the nature and it's laws why not use ECO-FRIENDLY idols ,
instead of immersing the idols in the sea why not in the artificial lakes which we've made . I strongly feel that the government should penalize people who don't follow rules and don't worship Eco - friendly idols and don't use the artificial lakes.
help me for the cause !!!
TASHI
SVKM INTERNATIONAL
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Poetry on Civic Awareness
NATURE CLEANLINESS
Please don’t be careless,
Have some civic awareness
Earth should be clean,
And very much green
Do not use plastic,
Then it would be fantastic
Lets start garbage seggregation
By dry & wet garbage seperation
Collecting garbage will keep earth clean,
And nature will be better like you have never seen
So let us gather
And do everything together.
- Vaishnavi Jadav (VIII A)
S. M. Shetty School.
Please don’t be careless,
Have some civic awareness
Earth should be clean,
And very much green
Do not use plastic,
Then it would be fantastic
Lets start garbage seggregation
By dry & wet garbage seperation
Collecting garbage will keep earth clean,
And nature will be better like you have never seen
So let us gather
And do everything together.
- Vaishnavi Jadav (VIII A)
S. M. Shetty School.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Beach Clean up Activity by Navy Children School
We the cmca members set out to experience what we and other people have done to the precious water at Chowpatty.At 8:00 AM we left school in our school buses.We only used 2 buses so as to save fuel( a very good idea put up by Neerja ma'am).We reached Chowpatty with in 30 minutes.After that we were provided with rubber gloves,aprons and caps which we could take home.We were divided in to groups according to our sections and club names.Each club was given one sack to collect garbage.I first went close to the sand,I saw a bit of plastic and i pulled it ,it wouldnt come;it was like i was trying to pull a banyan trees root.Finally got a big plastic bag which is used to cover electronics.Then i thought i would have a look at the sea.I got a vomiting sensation the first time i picked it up from the the sea;I had a lump of black plastic which had something inside it(i did'nt look at it),something that looked like husk .This was the most disgusting thing i had ever seen i n my whole life & i felt guilty for no reason.All the garbage was taken in a BMC truck.But we did get to collect different shells .In the end my club "ECO WARRIORS"had collected a lot of garbage.Well i felt a little annoyed about how people were polluting our resources but on the whole i loved the clean up.
"Yesterday is past,
Tommorow is future,
Today is a gift that is why it is known as present."
Lets use this gift and stop polluting our natural resources cuz what ever we do today will effect us tommorow.
Sneha Rajan
Navy Children School
"Yesterday is past,
Tommorow is future,
Today is a gift that is why it is known as present."
Lets use this gift and stop polluting our natural resources cuz what ever we do today will effect us tommorow.
Sneha Rajan
Navy Children School
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Civic Club Launch at Activity High School
THE ACTIVITY HIGH SCHOOL CIVIC CLUBS’ LAUNCH ON 4-8- 09
Today, the Activity High School had the formal launch of its two Civic Clubs- the Green Teens Civic Club ( VIII A ) and the Conserve Environment Civic Club.( VIII B )
The children of Classes V , VI , VII and VIII had assembled in the school auditorium. The launch commenced sharp at 8:30 a.m. with the children saying their morning prayer and the National Anthem.
Parth Govilkar of CECC compered the programme. Rubina Shreshta of GTCC , Mahiyar Cooper of CECC and Utsav Mayekar of GTCC spoke on CMCA , its activities and the possible ways of trying to achieve its goals.
Heema Doshi and team of CECC then came on stage with their skit on Global Warming. It was interesting to hear the probable causes and the hazards created by the global warming in the universe.
GTCC (Tanisha and team), then took the stage and enacted the skit “ Litterbugs”, an amusing one, which even showed a fortune-teller predicting that our city would indeed become the best and most beautiful city in the world , if the children continued with their efforts to clean up the city. This play went very well with the audience.
Ms Vinodini Lulla then came and addressed the children , urging them to become more conscious of their environment and get rid of their ‘chaltha hai’ attitude. She announced the CMCA Rolling Trophy for the cleanest classroom in the school , which received a great applause from the Principal and the staff alike.
This was followed by the pinning of the CMCA badges on the office bearers of the two Civic Clubs by the Principal. The Club members then took the CMCA oath. The programme ended with a Vote of thanks by Ayushi Shah of the CECC.
Today, the Activity High School had the formal launch of its two Civic Clubs- the Green Teens Civic Club ( VIII A ) and the Conserve Environment Civic Club.( VIII B )
The children of Classes V , VI , VII and VIII had assembled in the school auditorium. The launch commenced sharp at 8:30 a.m. with the children saying their morning prayer and the National Anthem.
Parth Govilkar of CECC compered the programme. Rubina Shreshta of GTCC , Mahiyar Cooper of CECC and Utsav Mayekar of GTCC spoke on CMCA , its activities and the possible ways of trying to achieve its goals.
Heema Doshi and team of CECC then came on stage with their skit on Global Warming. It was interesting to hear the probable causes and the hazards created by the global warming in the universe.
GTCC (Tanisha and team), then took the stage and enacted the skit “ Litterbugs”, an amusing one, which even showed a fortune-teller predicting that our city would indeed become the best and most beautiful city in the world , if the children continued with their efforts to clean up the city. This play went very well with the audience.
Ms Vinodini Lulla then came and addressed the children , urging them to become more conscious of their environment and get rid of their ‘chaltha hai’ attitude. She announced the CMCA Rolling Trophy for the cleanest classroom in the school , which received a great applause from the Principal and the staff alike.
This was followed by the pinning of the CMCA badges on the office bearers of the two Civic Clubs by the Principal. The Club members then took the CMCA oath. The programme ended with a Vote of thanks by Ayushi Shah of the CECC.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Inspiration 2009
Here are the pictures of the Inspiration 2009 event Njoy!
http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1992979013/a=224562028_107795788/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1992979013/a=224562028_107795788/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Monday, June 1, 2009
Plant a Tree,Save Soil Erosion
Our exams have just got over and CMCA made our day today by doing something interesting and unique. As usual CMCA had come out with an amazing idea of planting trees. Well we all know trees are very important to us for their various medicinal and environment purposes. But it is very easy to say that we have to plant a tree but there is a way of planting a tree too which we learnt today!! 
Well normal trees like the papal tree which looks very usual but it is very useful for soil erosion. Then the rain tree which looks really small but when it grows it becomes a giant tree and it gives out lot of oxygen. Then I slowly learnt that not all trees give out oxygen there are some which absorb the pollutants some that decompose waste material. And all plants have some or the other role in the ecosystem, and their small roles help keep a balance in the ecosystem. And it is really fascinating to see how the ecosystem works.
I am very glad to be a student of CMCA because maybe what we might never plan or even bother to learn about when we grow up is what I learnt today that is “HOW TO PLANT A TREE”. Some people from the hiranandani organization who take care or rather are members of the plants department showed us the various plants and taught us to plant trees. I was the group leader and really enjoyed the whole process of planting a tree. We were taken to a small forest opposite our school to plant a tree. There were huge trenches which were dug for us….we then had to fill the trench with some mud first. Then we had to mix cow dung with the soil. Then we filled the trench with some a mixture of mud and cow dung. After filling the trench we had hold the plant firm to the ground and put some more mixture of the soil around it to make it stand then after making it firm onto the ground we had to level the ground. And put lots of water in the last. Then so that the plant grows properly it was tied to a stick to give it a proper alignment.
At the end of all this I felt yes I had contributed in reducing the pollution in some way. But when the event came to an end I was very sad as it was the last CMCA class and it was the last thing we did at CMCA. The year I spent with CMCA was fun filled and taught me a lot of things like the importance of policemen, traffic policemen, maids, etc. and there were a lot of campaigns too which were really fun and something unique. And basically the full year was fun to spend with CMCA.
- aishwarya.s
8c
Well normal trees like the papal tree which looks very usual but it is very useful for soil erosion. Then the rain tree which looks really small but when it grows it becomes a giant tree and it gives out lot of oxygen. Then I slowly learnt that not all trees give out oxygen there are some which absorb the pollutants some that decompose waste material. And all plants have some or the other role in the ecosystem, and their small roles help keep a balance in the ecosystem. And it is really fascinating to see how the ecosystem works.
I am very glad to be a student of CMCA because maybe what we might never plan or even bother to learn about when we grow up is what I learnt today that is “HOW TO PLANT A TREE”. Some people from the hiranandani organization who take care or rather are members of the plants department showed us the various plants and taught us to plant trees. I was the group leader and really enjoyed the whole process of planting a tree. We were taken to a small forest opposite our school to plant a tree. There were huge trenches which were dug for us….we then had to fill the trench with some mud first. Then we had to mix cow dung with the soil. Then we filled the trench with some a mixture of mud and cow dung. After filling the trench we had hold the plant firm to the ground and put some more mixture of the soil around it to make it stand then after making it firm onto the ground we had to level the ground. And put lots of water in the last. Then so that the plant grows properly it was tied to a stick to give it a proper alignment.
At the end of all this I felt yes I had contributed in reducing the pollution in some way. But when the event came to an end I was very sad as it was the last CMCA class and it was the last thing we did at CMCA. The year I spent with CMCA was fun filled and taught me a lot of things like the importance of policemen, traffic policemen, maids, etc. and there were a lot of campaigns too which were really fun and something unique. And basically the full year was fun to spend with CMCA.
- aishwarya.s
8c
Community and Social Responsibility Day
I had a full day of interaction at the American School today as it was their Community & Social Responsibility Day. I have to say that I was impressed by the school’s commitment to the programme, the teachers’ level of involvement & the independent thinking of the kids who came up with some great stuff.
The started early at 8 AM.. I briefed 30 kids from the 7th grade on safety measures (at the behest of the school) & spoke a little about the garbage problem in our city which was the reason we were going to the area behind the school to clean it up. Vinod Shetty from Acorn Intl was also there with 5 ragpickers who were introduced to the children. After distribution of latex as well as cotton gloves, surgical masks(!) garbage bags & armed with first aid kits, we set out to do the clean up.
Surprisingly, the kids got into the act immediately & didn’t mind getting their hands dirty. The 4 teachers were just as enthusiastic & by the end of 1 hour we had filled up about 20 large garbage bags. The audience of drivers, construction workers & other ragpickers were standing around stupefied watching the activity unfold. We then took the trash outside the school where the ragpickers segregated a small amount & gave us useful information on what could be recycled, the prices for the different types of plastic, metal, paper, milk packets, tetrapacks etc.( I got to learn a lot!)
We then broke up into various groups according to the activity chosen by the kids. Our group of Art From Waste comprised 10 kids & was the largest! Janjri & I had visited the school on the 14th of April to brainstorm ideas with the children. It was decided that they would do an installation of a man throwing trash into a bin. Janjri & Liz from CERE now discussed the execution of the sculpture according to the trash the kids had been collecting over the last week (a list of stuff had been sent by Janjri). Confusion reigned supreme as the students played cricket/handball with the trash but the clock was ticking & when they finally set to work, they did an amazing job. I marvel at the creativity of these kids. They came up with ideas for the actual sculpture which had definitely not occurred to Janjri, Liz or me. The teacher was non-interfering; she was around just to ensure that everyone got involved & that discipline was under control.
At the end of 2 hours, we had a fabulous sculpture. Boxes, empty mineral water bottles, toilet paper rolls, thermocol(or Styrofoam as they call it) made up the man named…oh he had a complicated 7 word name. A couple of boys intelligently strung together the water bottles & toilet paper rolls to make flexible arms & legs. Some girls came up with the idea of scrunching paper & sticking it to the head in an afro hair style. We then had to leave as the screening of the ‘Ragpickers’ film was to take place for all the groups. They quietly sat through although its a long film & had an interactive session with Vinod Shetty post the screening.
They then went back to the project, brought it down to the area outside the canteen & worked on assembling the different parts together. Liz had brought along paste to papier mache the entire model from head to toe with newspaper & magazines. The most interesting part followed… the presentation of all the activities. While we were doing our clean up, another group had gone to do a clean up of the mangroves. They made a brilliant song on the tune of ‘we will, we will rock you’ which was changed to ‘we will, we will save you’ & put the Rolling Stones to shame! Next the group that had filmed our walk & model making showed a film they had made complete with background music et al. Then the drama group put up a hilarious skit on trash at school. Our group then thanked Janjri, Liz & me as we had to leave, but I think another group was to read out the article they had written & the entire lot would then have been taken down to the canteen to see the installation.
I really have to say that it was a very rewarding day & despite the fact that I was there from 8am -3pm, I enjoyed every bit of it!
The started early at 8 AM.. I briefed 30 kids from the 7th grade on safety measures (at the behest of the school) & spoke a little about the garbage problem in our city which was the reason we were going to the area behind the school to clean it up. Vinod Shetty from Acorn Intl was also there with 5 ragpickers who were introduced to the children. After distribution of latex as well as cotton gloves, surgical masks(!) garbage bags & armed with first aid kits, we set out to do the clean up.
Surprisingly, the kids got into the act immediately & didn’t mind getting their hands dirty. The 4 teachers were just as enthusiastic & by the end of 1 hour we had filled up about 20 large garbage bags. The audience of drivers, construction workers & other ragpickers were standing around stupefied watching the activity unfold. We then took the trash outside the school where the ragpickers segregated a small amount & gave us useful information on what could be recycled, the prices for the different types of plastic, metal, paper, milk packets, tetrapacks etc.( I got to learn a lot!)
We then broke up into various groups according to the activity chosen by the kids. Our group of Art From Waste comprised 10 kids & was the largest! Janjri & I had visited the school on the 14th of April to brainstorm ideas with the children. It was decided that they would do an installation of a man throwing trash into a bin. Janjri & Liz from CERE now discussed the execution of the sculpture according to the trash the kids had been collecting over the last week (a list of stuff had been sent by Janjri). Confusion reigned supreme as the students played cricket/handball with the trash but the clock was ticking & when they finally set to work, they did an amazing job. I marvel at the creativity of these kids. They came up with ideas for the actual sculpture which had definitely not occurred to Janjri, Liz or me. The teacher was non-interfering; she was around just to ensure that everyone got involved & that discipline was under control.
At the end of 2 hours, we had a fabulous sculpture. Boxes, empty mineral water bottles, toilet paper rolls, thermocol(or Styrofoam as they call it) made up the man named…oh he had a complicated 7 word name. A couple of boys intelligently strung together the water bottles & toilet paper rolls to make flexible arms & legs. Some girls came up with the idea of scrunching paper & sticking it to the head in an afro hair style. We then had to leave as the screening of the ‘Ragpickers’ film was to take place for all the groups. They quietly sat through although its a long film & had an interactive session with Vinod Shetty post the screening.
They then went back to the project, brought it down to the area outside the canteen & worked on assembling the different parts together. Liz had brought along paste to papier mache the entire model from head to toe with newspaper & magazines. The most interesting part followed… the presentation of all the activities. While we were doing our clean up, another group had gone to do a clean up of the mangroves. They made a brilliant song on the tune of ‘we will, we will rock you’ which was changed to ‘we will, we will save you’ & put the Rolling Stones to shame! Next the group that had filmed our walk & model making showed a film they had made complete with background music et al. Then the drama group put up a hilarious skit on trash at school. Our group then thanked Janjri, Liz & me as we had to leave, but I think another group was to read out the article they had written & the entire lot would then have been taken down to the canteen to see the installation.
I really have to say that it was a very rewarding day & despite the fact that I was there from 8am -3pm, I enjoyed every bit of it!
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