October 2015

Our Radio Interview with Journalism Students at University of Queensland, Australia

Ever wondered why we started JAAGRUTI, it was to help people care, co-exist or learn to care better for the animals that live on the streets, most commonly, the Indian Street Dog

Through our experiential learning and sharing, we have assisted, empowered and informed many a people who care for that ‘dog’ on their street, about their rights and those of these dogs as well.

These street/community dogs are much more than mere ‘dogs’..hear us speak more in the first-half of this Radio Interview I had with students from School of Journalism students at University of Queensland, Australia, who came to India on a Study Tour few weeks back.

November 2012

PDF File of an Article titled ‘A Dog’s life for Man’s best friend’, published in Deccan Herald on 11th Nov 2012, whereever in this article, quotes are attributed to ‘Mehta’, that means Vasudha Mehta of JAAGRUTI

June 2012

Jaagruti’s association with Project Akshar of SIFE Chapter of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies to recycle waste paper was featured in :

1. Deccan Herald Newspaper on June 25, 2012

Shining idea on used paper

Each individual at their level can make a great difference in society and bring about a positive change! Students of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS) are a perfect example of the idiom. 

More than a year old initiative of collecting one-sided used sheets to make notebooks, is not only making the environment better today but also helping the hearing impaired and victims of drug abuse and trafficking become economically independent.

Under Project Akshar which began in April last year, around 26 students set up drop boxes at schools, colleges and offices where people could drop one-sided used sheets.

They sent the collected sheets to NGOs which work for the rehabilitation of deaf women, victims of drug abuse and human trafficking who then bound the papers into notebooks. The students taught them how to bind the sheets together.

“Initially, only deaf women would bind these sheets but we associated ourselves with more organisations that worked for drug abuse and human trafficking also,” says Divik Giridhar, a first-year team member of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) of SSCBS under which the project is being run.

But the students have taken the project a step further. The notebooks are distributed to students and children belonging to the economically weaker sections of society with the help NGOs. According to students of SSCBS, one-sided sheets’ notebooks have now reached more than 1800 children of the City who cannot afford them.

Initially, only 22 students of SSCBS of the college were part of Project Akshar but later students of other colleges also joined for support. “The impact is bigger like this and the message reaches out to a large number of students. Other colleges were also made a part of this initiative which aims at helping the needy people in an indirect way rather than giving charity money to NGOs,” explains Divik.

Since the second phase of the project that began in November last, notebooks are also being made after recycling used paper at the recycling unit of NGO Jagruti. Notebooks made from recycled paper are available in local markets through different NGOs and one in every three notebooks is given to a needy child. “It is something everybody would want to be associated with. There is no particular day for taking the sheets for recycling. We take the collected paper to the NGO as and when the drop box gets full,” says Kunal Bora, a student and college leader of Ramjas College.

With each passing day, the support for the project has swelled. Presently, the project has college leaders from around 35 colleges including Lady Shri Ram, Miranda House, Hansraj College and Jamia Millia University.
A consultancy firm of Gurgaon provides logistics to the students as its support to the cause. “When college leaders cannot go to recycling unit for some reason, this company collects the stacks of sheets from the colleges and takes it to the NGO,” Divik says.

Everyone needs to take a leaf out of the book of these students and recognise that it is indeed individual effort that can bring about change!

2. Asian Age June on 27th, 2012

Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is an international non-profit organisation that mobilises university students to make a difference to their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders.

Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Delhi University, is an associate of SIFE. Under its project Akshar, students of SIFE with support from MTV and Viacom recently organised corporate and residential paper collection drives.
“Our objective is to create awareness about the need to preserve the environment and urge people to contribute their waste paper for recycling. Our partner Jaagruti helps us in the recycling process, and our other NGO partners, Prabhat and Sahara, bind the recycled sheets into notebooks which are then sold in various colleges and schools, offices and at stationary shops,’’ says Arpita Singh, associate, SIFE.
With a three-fold objective of economic, social and environmental betterment, members of the society believe in their power to be change catalysts. “We regularly organise sensitisation sessions in schools, colleges and corporate offices to make people aware of our mission and urge them to contribute paper,” says Arjun Aggarwal, another SIFE associate.
Going ahead, these students plan to bring about change at the national level. “Over the next five years, we will increase our scope through a number of new projects,” says Mridul Gupta, member, SIFE.

April 2012

Delhi International Airport Limited’s Paper Recycling Initiative with ‘Jaagruti’ gets featured in the National Press on 2nd April, 2012. To read more, click here