Worli locals build a wall... for charity
MUMBAI: Residents of Worli have built a ‘Wall of Humanity’ ahead of Diwali to encourage people to donate reusable clothes, toys, and other products that they might not be using. The wall is built near Shriram Mills.
The effort is inspired by the ‘Wall of Kindness’, first introduced in Iran, in which, used goods are given away and taken by those who need them.
“Last year, I tried to individually collect clothes, toys and cycles from people and realised that donors appreciate the idea, which is why I am working with the Sunil Shinde Welfare Trust this year, so that even after the festival is over, people know whom to approach,” said Pundalik Lokare, trustee.
Local youth volunteers help Lokare collect items from donators. Lokare said that last year they had allowed people who had claimed to be in need of the goods to collect them, but later realised that many sold the clothes somewhere else.
To avoid a repetition of last year, needy and poor people have been asked to register themselves with the group and collect coupons, on the basis of which they will get two to four clothes.
“We have noticed that sometimes people give away, not only old but new clothes as well, which is a better way to celebrate because that way everyone will have something new with them during the festival,” Lokare added.
He said that in the future, they aim to collect old utensils, which can then be distributed among tribals in Thane. Mahesh Chavan, from the Mumbai Fire Brigade, said that last year five truckloads worth of donations were collected. They were collected from around 1,000 donors and benefitted 1,500 beneficiaries, he said.
In order to inform people about the initiative, volunteers are reaching out to residents and office-goers through hoardings and social media. After Diwali, the volunteers intend to reach out to various people across different locations asking them to donate things that they do not require.
“From my previous experience, I can say that there are a lot of bicycles that are discarded in housing colonies. Even if they aren’t in the right condition, we can combine parts of two three cycles and fix one. We don’t just hand over the clothes; we will also be fixing them, washing and ironing them before handing them over,” Lokare said.