The school was co-founded in 2016 by Parmita Sharma and Mazin Mukhtar
From the depths of the ocean to mountain peaks, humans have littered the planet with tiny pieces of plastic. The world produces twice as much plastic waste as it did 20 years ago, and most of it ends up in landfills. Only a small percentage of it is successfully recycled. However, a school in Assam is showing the way forward with its unique method of plastic recycling.
Temjen Imna along, a politician from Nagaland, known for his thought-provoking videos, shared a video of Akshar Foundation, a school for underprivileged children that only accepts plastic as compensation. Every week, students must bring 25 plastic bottles.
“If this doesn’t surprise you, what does?” Mr along wrote while sharing the video.
Watch the video here:
If this doesn’t surprise you, what does?#Incredible_NorthEast
Credit: northeastview_ pic.twitter.com/6RO1SqhaNa
— Temjen Imna Langs (@AlongImna) October 12, 2023
The school was co-founded in 2016 by Parmita Sharma and Mazin Mukhtar after noticing two burning issues: too much waste and illiteracy. To solve both problems, they built a school where children can study for free if they collect plastic bottles every week. The collective plastic is then used to make bricks, roads and even toilets. At the school, the older students teach the younger ones, for which they also earn money.
In addition to traditional subjects, students learn languages, plastic recycling, carpentry, gardening and more. The school even has a 0% dropout rate.
“Because we could never afford to reward the kids like the quarries, we devised a peer-to-peer learning model through mentorship, where older kids would tutor the younger kids, and in return get paid in toy banknotes that can be used to buy money. snacks, clothes, toys and shoes in local shops. As students progress academically, their salaries increase. Our motto is ‘Learn more to earn more’. This monetary incentive has proven to be a powerful motivator for the community,” Mr. Mukhtar once said The guard.
People were impressed by the idea and praised the couple for the groundbreaking initiative, which paved the way for both education and sustainability.
A user commented on the video and wrote: ‘This is the most beautiful video from the North East. Our brothers are so talented. Great work dude.” Another commented: ”Incredible India, God bless.”
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