Providing a healthy environment in schools to promote better education!

The initiative

Support My School is a WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) initiative launched by Coca-Cola India and NDTV in association with the UN-Habitat, Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) in 2011. The motto of this initiative is to provide a clean and healthy ambiance in several government schools so that students get a holistic learning environment.

Schools in the rural and semi-urban areas

There are several government schools, especially in the rural areas which do not have separate toilets for girls and boys. The students don’t have access to water and a poor infrastructure. The schools also do not have clean playgrounds and clean classrooms. Without these basic amenities, schools can hardly provide a healthy environment for students which is favorable for learning.

Many girls drop out of schools because there is no separate toilet for girls. Sanitation issues and poor access to clean drinking water results in absenteeism. According to several studies, the drop-out rate is maximum in schools that are located in semi-urban and rural areas because these schools lack the basic amenities.

Mission of the Campaign

The future of a country depends on the quality of education provided to the students. If a large section of students drop-out of school due to an unhealthy environment, it is a serious matter to worry about.

Support My School is a campaign with a mission to revitalize 1000 schools in our country. The mission is known as Mission 1000.

The core activities that this campaign undertakes are as follows:

·        Improved access to clean, drinking water.

·        Proper sanitation facility for boys and girls.

·        Sports and recreation facilities.

·        Recharging groundwater through rainwater harvesting.

·        Overall improvement in the environment and the infrastructure of a school.

Conclusion

Such programs are the need of the hour to improve the education sector of our country. The Support My School initiative by Coca-Cola India and NDTV is in line with Swacchh Bharat Vision and promises to bring about a major change in the quality of education in our country. This initiative has already revitalized many schools in the districts. After getting revitalized, the schools have reported of higher attendance of students and increased enrollment.

Thus, we should wholeheartedly support this campaign, to our best abilities. Let’s hope that this wonderful initiative is able to bring more and more students to school and provide them with a holistic learning environment.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela