Faraway Friends: Music For Clean Water
A trio of musicians from Austria, Germany and India are highlighting the social impact of India’s worst ever water crisis through catchy and powerful music.
In Austria, we wake up, turn on a tap and have a ready supply of clean and safe drinking water. We are so used to this, that we no longer see it as a luxury. But in India, according to a recent report, more than half the population has no access to safe drinking water and about 200,000 people die every year for lack of access to safe water.
Social capital matters
Dr Rajesh Tandon is Founder President of PRIA, New Delhi
Two months after the lockdown began, schooling for children began online. Teachers were asked to conduct online classes. They were also asked to visit hamlets of poor communities to conduct some face-to-face classes in small groups of 5-6 children in the community itself. In poor neighbourhoods in and around Bhachau (Kutch district of Gujarat), no such awareness about online education existed then. The field staff of a local civil society organization, Unnati, recognized that no education was taking place as government schools were closed due to coronavirus. The schedule for classes on DDGirnar (TV & radio) prepared by the Government of Gujarat was not known to the local community. With the support of some teachers and Sarpanchs, Unnati disseminated this information in the month of July. But it became clear soon that many kids were still not getting an education. A survey conduct