Swachhata Pakhwada – 2018
Responding to the clarion call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva Movement’, Amrita Vidyalayam, Juinagar has taken the lead in making an action plan to implement various activities under the “Swachhata Pakhwada” in the school’s campus from 17/9/2018 to 1/10/2018. “Where there is cleanliness, there is godliness” – the life mantra of Mahatma Gandhiji on whose vision the Swachhata Pakhwada is launched. Principal Brni. Rekha took the lead in this initiative. She charted out a detailed plan for all the grades from 1st to 12th to make sure this mission is accomplished in the right earnest by all.
Phase I – Shramdaan by 6th graders (107 students) – 17/9/2018
The Principal interacted with the 6th graders first to help them understand about the importance of everybody’s participation towards making the world a cleaner place. The students also collectively answered when asked about the different colored garbage bins for segregation. They were given specific guidelines on what is dry and wet waste. Armed with gloves and sacks, the students set out to collect the dry waste in and around the campus. They formed neat groups and were very excited to be a part of this mission. The groups were divided into 3 groups. One group cleared the school ground of plastic wrappers and other dry waste, while the other 2 groups went to the surrounding areas of the school. The enthusiasm to collect as much dry waste was visible when they returned back with their sacks full. They felt elated that along with their teachers, their guiding force was the school Principal.
Phase II – Swachhata hi Seva by 5th graders (126 students)-18/9/2018
The Phase II of the Swachhata Pakhwada Mission saw 5th graders participate in ‘Swachhata hi Seva’ – an activity where they wrote letters to their parents. The students were inspired by the words of Mahatma Gandhiji’s whose quote “A clean body cannot reside in an unclean city” is timeless. They contributed their ideas towards making their homes, housing societies, schools and the surrounding areas clean.
The young minds came up with some simple and innovative ideas which, if implemented can contribute hugely towards this mission. The importance of safely disposing electronic waste, creating compost pits at home, which will eventually eliminate the need of keeping dustbins at home for wet waste and remembering to always carry cloth bags and a bottle of water while leaving home, which will greatly contribute towards eliminating the use of plastic were some of the points stressed by the students in their letters. The letters were written on colored paper and beautifully designed.
Phase III – Swachh Bharat Sundar Bharat by 4th graders (145 students) – 19/9/2018
It was Mahatma Gandhi who told us that “in a gentle way, each of us have the capacity to shake the world.” The 4th graders showed how profound these words were by showing off their dreams for a cleaner country that they wish to grow up in.
They used the twin powerful tools of imagination and artistic fingers to draw villages, towns and cities which were spotlessly clean and named it ‘Swachh Bharat Sundar Bharat’. The drawings were a visual insight to their dreams and aspirations of living in surroundings that are clean. Their drawings also highlighted the measures taken by the local municipal corporations to spread awareness on keeping the city clean and green. The emphasis was on planting more trees, cutting down the consumption of plastic, ‘no spitting’ etc., and the students have proved that the message of Swachh Bharat has indeed reached the ears of a responsible generation.
Phase IV – Swachha Parisar (Seggregation of Dry/Wet garbage and Best out of waste)by 7th graders (136 students) – 20/9/2018
Mahama Gandhi said “You never know what result will come out of your action, but if you do nothing, there will be no result”. These words acted as a wake-up call to the students when they got ready to participate in the Phase IV of the Swachhata Pakhwada Mission.
Students of 7th grades assembled in the auditorium where they participated in a discussion on “Segregation of Dry/Wet garbage”. A Power Point presentation on the proper method of waste disposal was shown to the students. The efforts taken by NMMC to provide Green and Blue coloured bins in order to ensure that the segregation of dry and wet garbage happens at homes and housing societies was discussed in detail. Students were excited to be living in the 8th cleanest city of India and were motivated to keep it cleaner and ensure that it bags the first prize in the next survey, which can be possible only if the correct steps are taken.
Students participated in ‘Best out of waste’ activity and made interesting items like “self watering plant pot”, “fan out of used milk packets”, “paper bags”, “piggy bank” etc and utilized every bit of their creativity.
Phase V –Poem on “Swachha Bharat’ by 8th graders (108 students) – 24/9/2018
लम्बे-लम्बे भाषणों से कहीं अधिक मूल्यवान है इंच भर कदम बढ़ाना।
Just as gently as Gandhiji expressed a deep and meaningful message through these subtle words, the students of 8th grades took to poetry on ‘Swachha Bharat’ to express the vision of India they have in their minds. The poems were written, both, in Hindi and English.
Phase VI – Ek Kadam Swachhata ki Aur by 9th graders (83 students) – 25/9/2018
“You must be the change you want to see in the world” – an ever inspiring quote of Gandhiji struck the right chord with the 9th graders as they created steps leading towards their mission “Ek kadam Swachhata ki Aur” against the backdrop of Gandhiji’s picture. Each step had one unique idea which the students wrote as an oath to ensure that they follow it to build a clean India. Some ideas included “use of solar energy”, “making of compost pit”, “discontinuing the use of single use items” , “cleaning and organizing is a practice and not a project”etc. Students also made slogans and posters to put forth their ideas and displayed it promindently on the school notice boards.
Phase VII – Water Conservation Methods by 10th graders (93 students) – 26/9/2018
Gandhiji uttered “The earth, the air, the land and the water are not an inheritance from our forefathers but on loan from our children. So we have to hand over to them at least as it was handed over to us.”
Students of 10th grade assembled in the auditorium where they participated in a discussion on “Water purification and conservation methods”. A Power Point presentation on measures that can help to purify water and how ‘Every Drop Counts’ was stressed upon highlighting the impending water crisis that faces the world. Students of 10th grade participated in an interactive session and spoke about the simple ways that can be implemented in daily lives, such as collecting the water while washing pulses, vegetables and fruits and re-use it for watering plants, encouraging the practice of eco-friendly Ganapathy to lessen the pollution to water etc.
Phase VIII – Swachha Bharat Abhiyan by 11th and 12th graders (75 Students) – 29/9/2018
Students of 11th and 12th participated in an English essay writing activity. They wrote an essay of around 400 words on Swachha Bharat Abhiyan.
Phase IX – Personal Hygiene for 1st to 3rd graders ( 456 Students) – 01/10/2018
Students of 1st to 3rd participated in a Personal Hygiene Day. Class teachers had made a wonderful PPT and short videos were shown which highlighted the importance of personal hygiene viz. Clean teeth, body, nails, private parts. The importance of washing hands before and after eating food, wearing clean clothes, socks, cleanliness of feet, taking bath daily and to eat a healthy diet was stressed by way of interactive session with the students. Students made a list of clean habits to follow every day and stuck it in their respective classrooms. ‘Cleanliness starts from self’ was the clear message of this awareness drive.
