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JULY
NEWSLETTER
BUT THE WORK HAS TO GO ON..
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Dear
Friends :
Thanks a lot for the overwhelming
response and reactions on my note regarding the sanitary napkin
issue (some comments mentioned in the newsletter). .
Many of you praised GOONJ’s initiative for turning Tsunami
disaster wastage into a resource in Tamil Nadu and the media also
wrote a lot but I’m sorry to convey that the attitude of the
funding agencies has really been disappointing.
After Tsunami, millions are being spent in the affected areas on
relief and rehabilitation. We raised an issue on millions of clothes
which came as donation but ended up as wastage in the stores. Just
by spending a few lakhs this important resource can benefit millions
of people but despite being probably the first of its kind effort,
no agency came forward to support this.
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I really wish that all of us understand the importance of clothing
as a basic need. When I spoke about a sanitary napkin, it is nothing
but a piece of cloth, when we talk about hundreds of deaths because
of cold every year- a piece of woolen cloth can prevent that..
In the process of making clothing a matter
of concern in the last seven years we know very well the importance
of even the dirtiest and torn cloth..
Just in a small cost of 98 paise a cloth can be given to someone
needy (which includes the cost on sorting, mending, packing and
distribution). Within one month of starting the work at Chennai,
we already have more demand than material.
BUT the work is going on and will continue, with the support of
individuals like you who wrote to me understanding the value a
piece of clean cloth as a sanitary napkin. I’m sure if all
of us get together we can finish this enormous task..
More
in the newsletter...
Happy
reading.
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RAHAT
FLOODS 2005 -
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Large
parts of Assam, Bihar, west Bengal and Gujarat are flooded again.
Every year GOONJ.. organizes RAHAT FLOODS, a campaign to support
flood victims. Our disaster preparedness work began way back
in April and in the last few months we have been able to send
out a huge quantity of relief material. The problem is much
bigger this year as many states like Himachal Pradesh &
Madhya Pradesh are experiencing these kind of unprecedented
floods for the first time.
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YOU
CAN support us by organizing collection drives at your work
place or residential areas and in organizing material like dry
ration, medicines, tarpaulin, basic clothing & funds for
transportation, dispatch etc.
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TURNING
UNUTILIZED TSUNAMI CLOTH DONATIONS INTO A RESOURCE
In Chennai the massive task of sorting, repairing & packing
has already begun with 20 people putting 8 hrs a day, segregating
on gender and age basis & also making separate packs for
school uniforms, old cotton bed sheets, suits, saris to be turned
into low cost sanitary napkins.
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Sanitary
napkins -
- The
response as I said earlier has been very encouraging. Some of
the comments I got –
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“
I remember the old cloth napkins that mothers from my generation
stitched washed and sun dried for our babies. Sorry to say except
for the disadvantage of not being stain proof - cloth is any
day a better option than cotton or sanitary napkins. I wonder
if you know the research that is being done on secondary infections
from substandard sanitary napkins. "-
Mrs. Malini Rajendran, Deputy Secretary General, FHRAI.
- “
Glad to hear about your sanitary napkin project – an issue
which many men would be very afraid to address – but not
you Anshu – excellent, very impressive.”-
Stephanie Parashar, Ground Manager, Intrepid Travels
- You
can help us in sourcing clean cotton and cotton bed sheets/ other
cotton clothes to further boost our ongoing operations.
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GOONJ'S... project
around turning the Tsunami clothes into a resource got accolades
in Zee News, on the front page of India’s
most well respected national daily
‘ The Hindu ',
The
Asian Age
and Deccan Chronicle all gave us front-page
coverage. Our work was also appreciated in the popular internet
site
‘
goodnewsindia.com '
GOONJ.. network
spreads abroad -
GOONJ.. will be initiating work in Nepal together with Mr.
Anil Chitrakar (a well known social activist and an Ashoka Fellow)
& Lucky Khetrapal (Ashoka fellow) to set up the same network
and systems, replicating our successful initiatives. Discussions
are on with similar organizations/people in Sri Lanka, Thailand
and Indonesia.
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I take this opportunity to acknowledge your role in Goonj’s
spread and success. We think the key to our success is that all
our work involves people i.e all of you. Today when our operations
are on the threshold of leapfrogging many folds we repose our faith
in this strength and seek your involvement in our growth.
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We
urgently need ......
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Volunteers and financial support for the Chennai Tsunami surplus/
wastage operations
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One sterilizing machine, washing powder, dettol & large
quantity of cotton for making sanitary napkins out of waste
cloth.
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People
(school kids teachers parents) for motivating more urban schools
to join ‘SCHOOL to SCHOOL’ programme.
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Material
and monetary donations to support ‘RAHAT FLOODS’
campaign
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Volunteers to organize collection camps in their colonies RWA’s
offices and schools.
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5000
People who commit their monthly lot of old newspapers and magazines
to Goonj.
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Let’s
start small..
ONE rupee given
with each cloth – will go towards reaching it to any part
of the country.
THIRTY rupees from you–
will ensure supply of notebooks for a village school kid for one
year.
FIFTY rupees –
will provide a sitting mat (patti) for three children in a village
school.
HUNDRED rupees or more-
on a monthly basis means added strength for Goonj to go on..
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Please log on to the April
Newsletter for a list of activities in which your participation
as a volunteer can play a critical role in the effective implementation
of these activities.
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Our contact Details-
GOONJ..
Tel.- (m)-98681-46978, (o)-011-26972351
J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi-44
E-mail - anshugoonj24@gmail.com
anshu_goonj1@yahoo.co.in
Website-www.goonj.info
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