Service Initiatives to aid humanity and the environment: Anushka Basu
Anushka Basus initiatives to serve humanity and environment:
Anushka Basu has been an avid nature lover. From a very young age she has shown keen interest in working towards protecting the environment. She believes that the only way to make something happen is ‘to do it yourself’. With the spirit of self-initiative and service mindedness, she looked out for avenues to help serve the environment and humanity. She would actively participate in service activities planned by her school.
In 2018, disturbed by the damage caused by the floods in Kerala, she initiated a collection drive in school motivating the entire school community to contribute for the cause. This generated 220 cartons of relief aid containing medicines, clothes and footwear.
Earlier that year she participated in the Round Square International Service project in Ecuador (RSIS). She worked with 49 kids from around the world to construct a community centre and day care centre in a small fishing village in the outskirts of Guayaquil.
Anushka continued her efforts to make a difference by engaging in service endeavours in school. She leads the MOJ ( Moment of Joy) program which promotes sports, provides equipment and facilitates training to the underprivileged school / students.
In her bid to work towards the cause of improving the state of the river she explored the possibility of starting the Mithi River clean up outside her school. In order to gain experience on how to initiate and execute a clean-up activity, Anushka joined hands with Mr Afroze Shah (Recipient of Champion of the Earth Award from UN). She regularly visited the beaches where the clean up drives were conducted and understood the nuances and the processes. She inspired her peers to participate as well and lead a group of 80 people to participate in the clean up during the International Coastal Clean up Day.
The Harvard Undergraduate CBE student Sustainability award:.
Anushka is a recipient of the Harvard University Sustainability innovation award for her innovation and service towards the environment through her Clean-up efforts. This award is granted to only 10 deserving students from around the world for their sustainable innovations and leadership.
Her initiative of Mithi River Clean up has been recognised and appreciated by the Havard University through this award.
Anushka has now set her mind to work towards the Mithi River clean up and aims at educating and building awareness amongst the slum dwellers. She aims at building a program that will offer them solutions for better methods of disposal and build a sense of belongingness to the River that flows outside their homes. The project aims at engaging people in the clean-up with the aim of making them aware of the damage caused by improper disposal of garbage. Funding will be sourced through the offices or corporates in the area through CSR.