Chitravathi River Cleaning Seva – October 2019 - MITRAz

Chitravathi River Cleaning Seva – October 2019

The Chitravathi River in Puttaparthi received plenty of rain in Sep-Oct 2019 upstream. With the newly constructed check-dam, it was a beautiful sight, in many years, to now see the river in full glory and the river-side walk and the shrine received lots of visitors. With the visibility for the river, it was also the prompt time to raise the visibility on caring for the river! The idea to do a river-cleaning seva was initiated by some local youth. MITRAz Foundation took up the idea in right earnest.

The Chitravathi River in Puttaparthi received plenty of rain in Sep-Oct 2019 upstream. With the newly constructed check-dam, it was a beautiful sight, in many years, to now see the river in full glory and the river-side walk and the shrine received lots of visitors. With the visibility for the river, it was also the prompt time to raise the visibility on caring for the river! The idea to do a river-cleaning seva was initiated by some local youth. MITRAz Foundation took up the idea in right earnest.

From 29th October to 1st November, local youth and volunteers helped in cleaning up the river bed of the plastic waste and the other junk that were dumped on the riverside. About 35 volunteers participated in the exercise. The cleaning was divided into two sessions, for about 3-4 hours in the morning and about 1-2 hours in the evening. In the first phase, the stretch starting from the Chitravathi bridge to the public water tank was covered and was extended upto the river-side shrine.

It was shocking to see the kind of waste that was put in the river-bed. Chips covers, biscuit wrappers, milk covers, construction debris, plastic articles, vegetable waste, water bottles and all other forms of plastic and non-bio-degradable waste, in addition to human waste were found throughout the stretch. The volunteers cleaned up the area to a spick and span look. The collected waste was handed over the municipality for further disposal or processing.

Breaking the barriers – The story of a young man on the path of growth

He saw success around him, but he didn’t have access to it.
He knew the life he wanted, but didn’t know where to start.
He was undeterred by failure, but language was a barrier.
His thinking was defined, but his presentation was not refined.

Seldom do young men make a conscious transition from a position of disadvantage to a position of confidence, through tenacious, consistent efforts. The story of RG is one such. He was a student of the 3rd batch of our BFSI course. A small farming family, combined with an arid climate and water shortage, was a recipe for misery in the little hamlet Narasampalle. He studied in government schools and college. As would his lot often do, he landed in a job in Vizag that demanded him to work 12 hours a day for less than the minimum wage. He got to know about MITRAz Skills during one of our mobilization visits to villages. He was a very rough and crude person till he joined MITRAz Skills. After joining us, he was a very attentive and enthusiastic to learn as he realized this was the one great opportunity to come up in life. He was obsessed with improving his English language, according to him, it was the window to the world. Every new word he came across, he would note down and follow-up on the meaning and usage, as if it was a task on his to-do list!
At placement, he was selected in all three interviews! Joining Kotak Mahindra Bank, Penukonda, for a salary of Rs.15,000/- has turned his life around. From being difficult, he has grown to handle difficult customers with understanding and active listening. His boss is a happy man because RG takes the initiative to take the bank to new customers by actively pursuing leads and convincing conversations to open accounts. Life at home and in the village is not the same anymore. Written off earlier as good for nothing, his success had made them look at him with respect and pride. He now contributes two-thirds of his salary to the household. The emotional bonding in the family has improved. In his own words, ‘The single most takeaway from MITRAz for me was, I take responsibility for what I do. I work like an owner not like a labourer!’
The challenge in Skill Development is, often, not the imparting of knowledge, which is just a certain amount of information. It is to curate and mentor the underlying attitude towards life and learning, to mould the clay that is youth, into a shape of art. We learn, not how to earn, but how to learn. With RG, the Center has fulfilled this goal of a wholesome transformation. From enhancement of livelihood, he is moving towards a pursuit of excellence in life. We believe, that change, will take him places.