ICC, Unicef launch Team Swachchh clinics
Nestled between the two affluent suburbs of Chembur and Ghatkopar, Tilak Nagar municipality which houses more than 100 families in its chawls has finally got a toilet of their own.
Nestled between the two affluent suburbs of Chembur and Ghatkopar, Tilak Nagar municipality which houses more than 100 families in its chawls has finally got a toilet of their own. Thanks to the efforts of 15-year-old Ashwani Ramraj Kori.
Ms Kori, a Class 8 student, decided to take the lead when her father, a waste picker, contracted Tuberculosis recently. “There are children in the area who defecate in the open and the adults would go to far-flung areas to answer the call of nature. When my father fell ill, I decided that he would not go searching for a space for something which is our basic right,” she said confidently.
Few weeks of relentless rounds at the BMC and endless discussions with fellow neighbours of the chawl preceded the construction of a toilet. “Forget the BMC which gave a hard time. Even the families living in chawls would shoo us away if we told them not to not let their children defecate in the open. We held a rally in BMC and went home-to-home to share about “Swachchh Bharat and cleanliness to finally get it done,” she added.
Today, Ms Kori is a part of the campaign started by International Cricket Council’s Cricket for Good and Unicef, in partnership with Board of Control for Cricket in India, that launched Team Swachchh clinics at various places, including Wankhede Stadium.
About 2,500 children in Mumbai are involved in the campaign to create safe urban communities for children. The project has a presence in Shivaji Nagar, Rafi Nagar in Chembur and at Lallubhai compound in Mankhurd.
As the cricket frenzy of the International Cricket Council World Twenty20 India 2016 began, cricketers from 16 teams joined these children to promote messages on health, sanitation and hygiene as part of the innovative Team Swachchh campaign.
“These children have fought all odds to create a healthy environment and I am happy to be a part of such a campaign,” said cricketer Sameer Dighe. Later, Sameer and former Indian women’s Test cricketer Diana Fram Edulji shared cricketing tips and discussed the importance of hygiene and sanitation.