Converting rags into necessities

Over the years, many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have sprung to take up the cause of bread and butter and esoteric issues like food, shelter, global warming and education.

A handful of them are into provision of clothing for the underprivileged. NGO Goonj is a distinctive resource mobilisation initiative providing clothes to millions in distant areas.
Goonj is the brainchild of Anshu Gupta and was started in 1998 with just 67 clothes. Now it sends out over 20,000 kg of material every month.

The philosophy of Goonj revolves around how one person's rags can indeed become someone else's necessities, especially in the context of India's gigantic urban-rural divide where more than 35% of the population lives below poverty line.

The NGO convinces people to donate old clothes, which are to be thrown away, the organisation processes them into finished garments. For example, tattered rags are processed into garments like socks etc. 

What started as a small initiative on a chilly night in Delhi, has now spread its wings across 21 states in the country. The idea is to enable widespread distribution centres reaching scores of needy people.

The NGO has around 15 collection centres in the city alone. “We are overwhelmed by the response. Our first centre was set up in Andheri in November 2006 and now we have spread all across the city,” says Rohit Singh, Goonj's Mumbai coordinator.

Each collection centre in a state looks after the neighbourhood areas. Collections from Mumbai are sent to central and western parts of the country.

The collection is sorted, restitched and distributed. Wearable clothes are sent to villages, worn out clothes are used to make quilts and sanitary pads for village women. “No piece of cloth is wasted. In villages sometimes, women share a piece of cloth during menstrual cycles which is unhealthy,” adds Singh.

Cloth for work, started by the organisation, is a unique initiative which is attracting many unemployed rural youth. “It demands voluntary labour by villagers and in return for clothes and apparel. It is not charity and keeps a person’s dignity intact, since one is repaid for the service rendered. The success of this concept is inspiring as several villages have come forward for their development. In Vidharbha, villagers built fences around their schools and temples, in return for clothes,” informed Singh.

Another initiative, School to school collects old books, bags and shoes from the city and reaches out to students in villages. “Children discard bags and stationary according to fashion trends. We take this and give then to the needy,” says Rohit.

So the next time you think of throwing away your old clothes, think of a person shivering on a footpath or in a village far away.