Mukkala Nammalwar Chetty Vivekananda VidyalayaKundrathur, Chennai 69

Panchamithras - Friends of Nature

Panchamithras – D. Manikandan, Dilip Prabhakaran, S.Dhivyasri, P.Amruthavarshini & L.Nivetha

FeelProblems that bothered us

1. Traffic jam at the market place.2. Traffic signal not functioning properly the cross road.3. Low lying electric cables broken by passing vehicles.4. Damaged roads.5. Drainage block due to plastic waste.6. Growth of weeds in vacant land.7. Unhealthy, unhygienic roadside food stalls.8. Lack of proper drainage system in extended areas of Kundrathur.9. Littered plastic waste in and around the school premises.

Talk to people involvedWe talked to the residents around the school locality regarding the

problems faced by them regularly (Sambandam nagar & Manickam nagar). The following were the problems listed

1. Too much of mosquitoes2. Blockage in the sewage line3. Over flow of sewage water4. Breathing problems 5. Irritation of eyes etc.

We discussed with the residents as to why these problems are prevailing in our locality. The reasons are: the littered plastic waste blocks the drainage line and leads to the overflow of sewage water into the streets which breeds germs and mosquitoes causing several diseases among the residents, burning of plastics garbage also leads to breathing problems and irritation of the eyes, the plastic waste littered spoils the beauty of nature

Imagine

Problem Chosen

To fight against plastic waste generated in and around the school locality.

ReasonProblems like low lying electric cables, traffic signals, traffic jam etc need

to be solved by the officials of governing bodies. Plastic garbage, misuse of plastic is considered as the main cause for many problems listed above. We were emotionally disturbed by the news of outbreak of communicable diseases like dengue, cholera in several places. Clearing plastic litters and creating awareness among the public could be done by ourselves so we selected the problem.

Solutions

Create awareness about hazards of plastics to the students Create awareness about plastic pollution to the residents by arranging

for a meeting of local residents at school. Cleaning the locality with the co-operation of school mates, residents

and NGO (Hand-in-Hand)

Keeping information boards in locality, which insist the proper segregation of waste and harmful effects of plastic.

Final decision To create awareness among the residents and to clean the area of

plastic waste, with the help of the Vidyalaya students and Hand – in – Hand a nongovernmental organization in Kundrathur.

DoResources needed to implement the solution.

Pamphlets – to invite residents to the meeting held at school with information for segregation of biodegradable and non biodegradable waste

Placards – carrying messages related to plastic waste management Badges, meeting hall with mike, chairs, projector with LCD, camera,

gloves, facemask, tools for cleaning, bags, band to draw attention etc.,People needed

Scouts, Guides and JRC students from the Vidyalaya. Volunteers from NGO (Hand-in-Hand) Members of residential associations to do follow up work Residents from the locality (Sambandam nagar & Manickam Nagar) Principal and teachers of the Vidyalaya.

Budget required Money needed for pamphlets and awareness boards to be kept at

vantage points of the locality. This is our story of change

The plastic waste littered around our school premises troubled us so much that we thought we should do something to create awareness among the residents of the area about the hazards of plastics, how it affects the environment and also the living creatures.

o Prepared pamphlets and placards for an alertness walko Sought permission from Principal to organize a meeting for the

residents in the school premises, to use the LCD projector, help of Scouts, Guides and JRC Students to help clean the locality

o Went on an alertness walko Invited the residents for a meetingo Issued pamphlets about segregation of domestic waste.o Met the Sambandam nagar welfare association president to invite

for the meeting.o Sought the help of NGO (Hand-in-Hand) to help clear the plastic

waste.

o Appealed to the school students to sponsor some old newspapers to meet the budget requirement.

o Cleaning of the locality was done on two days – 13th & 14th September 2012.

o Collected the old newspapers from the students.o Sold the old news papers to the old newspaper mart and

generated Rs. 820.00o Displayed placards carrying slogans stressing the importance of

segregating plastics waste and keeping the earth a better place to live

Outcomeo A teacher has decided to avoid items made of plastics to be

presented to others during functions and celebrations.o The residents have promised to segregate the waste as

degradable and non degradableo Students have promised to speak to their parents about reducing

the use of plastics.

What we learnt and how we felt at the end?We learnt valuable lessons while working on “Design for Change”. Our

respect and faith in Mahatma Gandhi’s words “Be the change” has increased multifold. We realized that in order to bring the desired change outside, inner change is the first step.

When we get ready to do something really good, we get the help and support of a number of people. Winning the support of the local residents is necessary to make this everlasting. Taking the first step was difficult. After taking that, the rest of it was easy as we developed a lot of confidence.

When we try something on our own, quite a few people criticize but we should not get discouraged by it. We have realized and have started reducing the use of plastics and have also brought a positive change in our family members and friends. But there is still a lot to be done and to achieve complete success a continuous effort must be made to make our locality ‘plastic free’. We feel happy that we have taken the first step towards it. We will make this world a better place to live.

Preparing placards and pamphlets

Alertness Walk

Inviting the residents for a meeting

PowerPoint presentation on hazards of plastics

Cleaning the area with the help of students of the Vidyalaya and NGO (hand-in-hand)

Students at work

Panchamithras & their team

Panchamithras with Principal and Members of NGO (Hand-In-Hand)

Old Newspapers collected from students

Old Newspapers being sold to Old newspaper mart

Information boards put up at vantage points