Jamshedpur�: Xavier School of Management (XLRI) Jamshedpur students Tirtha Chatterjee and Sambhit Dwivedi, have joined hands to bring hand wash behaviour change amongst the residents of slum in Beldih Gram, a slum on the outskirts of CH Area. The objective of the campaign is to cause hand wash behaviour change in Beldih Basti, just behind the college campus.
To start with the students constituted a youth committee comprising Beldih Gram residents who taught others to wash hands properly, including dirt under nails, and rinse off the soap well. They explained to them how dirty hands and nails, when in touch with the mouth, can cause serious diseases that cause anxiety, grief and expenditure.
Tirtha Chatterjee in order to successfully implement the project several initiatives were taken.���We believed in charity begins at home and what better place to start with than our own backyard. Two community screenings with documentaries on handwashing were shown in between. Sports meet on the theme of handwashing with races designed to drive the message was also organised. A magic show on the theme of handwash. Magic as �Haath ki safa� was explained on the lines of handwashing.
Sambhit Dwivedisaid that they have witnessed changes in the lifestyle of dwellers. �We have installed 100 handwash stations in the community and they have gleefully accepted the new addition to their household.��A cleanliness drive in association with SIGMA, XLRI and also painted a wall on the lines of hand washing�.
Mukhiya of the village Biren says: ” We are very thankful to Tirtha and Sambit from XLRI for teaching us the importance of handwashing and enabling us to do the same. In the future we would like to continue with the good work that they have started”.
A member of the youth committe, Mukesh said : “A lot of change has happened after Tirtha and Sambit started this campaign. Not only handwash, the people have also started to keep their surroundings clean”.