Sunday 21 June 2020

Mental Health Awareness


The world is going through an crises which is unimaginable, where people are quarantined at home, some are self isolating, and all of us are uncertain of the future. 
It is therefore paramount important that we encourage mental health awareness all year, every year. 

During this difficult times as such, it is natural to feel blue and lot of us are struggling with anxiety ,Depression and restlessness. 
It is important to hold on a little bit and also hold a positive outlook and utilize this time to check up on our loved ones, check up on each other, raise each other up. Also make best efforts to be present for the people we care and love.
But most importantly to be there for yourself.So let's just slow down for a bit, rejuvenate, breathe, and let's be kind and gentle to ourselves and others. 
Remember, no skill will ever be worth more than your peace of mind.Indulge yourself in whatever truly gives you joy. Also, talk. Talk your hearts out.Remember, we are all in this together.Sometimes, it's okay not to be okay. But let's hope for a healthier, happier world for us all. Better days will surely come And yes, time will heal everything.
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-Pooja Sarkar




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Happy International Yoga Day


The theme for International Yoga Day 2020 is Yoga for Health - Yoga at Home. According to the United Nations, while social distancing measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic have shut down yoga studios, practitioners have turned to home practice and online resources. The theme highlights that yoga is a powerful tool to deal with stress of uncertainty and isolation and helps maintaining physical well-being.
celebrate International Yoga Day 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, has started a campaign called 'Yoga at Home, Yoga with Family' to encourage people to practice it and stay healthy.
Yoga Day 2020: Benefits of Yoga
Yoga is known to keep the balance between body and mind and help get rid of age-old diseases. From chronic diseases to deadly diseases like cancer, Yoga is the solution to every problem.
Here are a few benefits of Yoga-
Boosts immunity
Relieves depression, anxiety and stress
Strengthens bones, relieve joint pain and spinal pain
Weight Loss
Boosts cardio and circulatory health
Improves athletic performance
Increases muscle strength and helps in weight gain/loss
Helps fight infections and respiratory diseases


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FATHER'S DAY !


Always a son's first hero, a daughter's first love and charm, none other other than their fathers, their DAD. 
And in what better day to remind them of your love ?

Every year 3rd Sunday of June is celebrated as FATHER'S DAY .
Father's Day is a day of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society.
It is celebrated in almost 111 countries and represents not only fathers but also the fatherly figures in our lives. 

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me."

- Jim Valvano

 Your mother teach us to love but also your father teach you many life lessons even though it remains unheard of. 

We may not get to hold our father's hand but we had their hand on our back as appreciation and support. Love and care. 

This year , on Father's Day , may be you won't be able to take your fathers to their favourite restaurants.
But you can surprise them with your own cooking, making them a card as a token of love and say the things you've always wanted to express and hug them.

Talk to your father wholeheartedly ,tell them how much you love them , how much you care for them, how much you respect them. 

Happy Father's Day to all the heroes.

-Pooja Sarkar



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Friday 19 June 2020

The Workhouse Legacy – Child rag pickers during COVID 19


The Workhouse Legacy – Child rag pickers during COVID 19
-          -Vaishnavi K N

COVID – 19 has plunged the world into a crisis of unprecedented magnitude and scope. Health crisis occupies the forefront, but we cannot ignore the massive impact on the economy and society on the whole. These impacts will not be spread uniformly across the world. Vulnerable communities across the world will be the worst affected by the immediate and secondary repercussions of the pandemic. Now more than ever we need to ensure our children are safe
On June 12th every year, we observe Anti Child Labor Day. The theme of World Against Child Labor 2020 is "Protect children from child labour, now more than ever". This year saw ILO, UNICEF and many other organizations move their campaigns online. The virtual campaign drew attention to the need to generate an environment for children to grow and live a dignified life and also to fight against child labor throughout the world.According to ILO, 152 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 were in child labour, almost half of them, 73 million, in hazardous child labour.
The statistics are staggering. Our reaction and response are inadequate.
This brings us to the question of ‘what is child labor?’ According to the International Labour Organisation, child labour is "work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity and that is harmful to physical and mental health". ILO also says that child labour is any type of work that has physical, mental and social consequences on the children and damages them in any way. It can be:
·         Work that deprives the children of the opportunity to attend school
·         Work that forced a child to leave school at an early age
·         Work that requires children to attend school but with the heavy workload.
Let us get to know this better by looking into the informal waste management sector in India, you may know them better as ‘rag pickers’.Waste picking is a labour-intensive informal sector, severely lacking in health facilities, safety and legal cover. Waste pickers collect garbage in search of recyclable items that can be sold to scrap dealers. And this often “employs” the most vulnerable sections of society. Women and children from marginalized communities make up large sections of the informal sector. An ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry) of India study in 2014 estimated that over 4.5 Lakh child labourers are involved in ragpicking. These numbers have steadily risen over the years.
Household and municipal waste has evolved to contain highly toxic and hazardous materials. In India, waste segregation at source in non-existent, and all of the waste finds its way into landfills, which are not scientifically engineered (there are material recovery facilities and refuse driven fuel plants but not enough to cater to the needs of all Indian metropolises). These dismal mountains of waste cause infectious diseases attract flies and other vectors apart from being prone to fire hazard. An added risk is the exposure to and incorrect handling of electronic waste. Waste pickers provide services that benefit the environment yet face harrowing occupational hazards and are exposed to toxins in the absence of protective gear. This risk becomes more pronounced during the pandemic. This is where these 4.5 lakh children are employed. Child waste pickers face added threat from abusers, traffickers and lower wages than their adult counterparts.
Child labour (prohibition and regulation) act 1986, and the amendment of 2016 is the legal framework that exists in India to check child labour. The law has faced criticism on grounds of allowing children above 14 years to be employed (not 18), and the 2016 amendment allows children to be employed in family business, which can prove to be counterproductive. The law becomes futile here as there are no ‘visible employers’ in the informal sector who can be held accountable and penalized for violation of the 1986 act.  An effective and efficient solid waste management system is required to deal with the problems faced by child waste pickers. This is why community at large has an important role in mobilising public opinion against waste picking. Also perhaps it is time to redefine the existing framework.
A two pronged approach is required to tackle child labour effectively – on the demand side and the supply side. Corporate initiatives can deal with the demand side, but social policy intervention is required to deal with the supply side. Consequently, corporations need to move beyond legal obligations and adopt social responsibility measures to successfully prevent children from entering the workforce.
Support HEEALS, We have a mandate of empowering local and rural communities to become sustainable in Health, Education, Environment and Livelihood Society sectors through engaging workshops, resources distribution and content creation.


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United we fall, Divided we stand !

United we fall, Divided we stand !
A little distance can unite us all.
Keep social distance.
Social distancing and self quarantine are necessary to break the chain of corona virus .It is one of the most effective way to fight against COVID -19.

-Pooja Sarkar

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Thursday 18 June 2020

COVID-19 - SYMPTOMS AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES


One of the major symptoms of covid-19 is sore throat. Other signs of symptoms include fever, cough, respiratory symptoms, difficulty in breathing, shortness of breath. if you feel you are  dealing with any of the combinations of the symptoms mentioned here:
then 
- isolate yourself as quickly as possible

-go for medical checkup as soon as possible  or call the public health authority.

"PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE"
To prevent the spread of COVID-19:
Wash your hands for 20 seconds regularly. Use soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand rub.
Maintain a safe distance from anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth.
Cover your nose and mouth with your bent elbow or a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Stay home if you feel unwell and self isolate from others.
If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention. Call in advance


- Pooja Sarkar

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.

Saturday 13 June 2020

1.33 billion People, a Pandemic, and Biomedical Waste


1.33 billion People, a Pandemic, and Biomedical Waste
Vaishnavi K N

When the world is faced with a pandemic, it is only natural that there is a spike in the demand and hence the production of medical equipment, medicines, and related services. And more the production and consumption, more is the waste generated. The management and disposal of
biomedical waste are to be done according to Bio-Medical Waste Management (BMWM) Rules 2016, under the provision of the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1986. The waste is to be segregated at source, color-coded, and transported to common bio-medical waste treatment facilities (CBWTFs) where they undergo treatment such as incineration, autoclaving, microwaving (to disinfect), etc. Now the question is, is India equipped to deal with the surge of biomedical and plastic waste in this COVID era? To put things into perspective, as of 2018, India has 200 CBWTF in operation across 28 states, the remaining 7 do not have CBTWFs. This has not led to any significant problems as of now as the states with no CBTWF have low occurrence of cases. These facilities are not evenly distributed across all states and union territories and are struggling to handle the waste generated from 733 districts across India. It is to be noted that, the flattening of the cases curve, does not imply a flattening of the BMW curve. That is, the BMW generated does not cease to exist, the moment new cases stop occurring. This is clear from the fact that in Wuhan, China, long after the incident cases curve flat lined, CBWTFs are running at maximum capacity to dispose the waste that was generated but stored during the peak of the pandemic.
Typical to the Indian scenario, there is no shortage of policy framework to tackle this surge in BMW, all issues arise from lack of proper implementation. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has released detailed guidelines to be followed while handling, treatment, and disposal of waste generated during treatment/ diagnosis/ quarantine of COVID – 19 patients, which includes measures to be taken in, isolation wards, sample collection centers, and testing laboratories, and in quarantine camps and homecare for suspected patients. WHO, International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), and many other bodies have also released guidelines for the same. There is also the case of conflicting guidelines being issued by CPCB and State PCBs, as seen in Maharashtra. There should be effective communication between the concerned authorities and the people at the implementation end.
From used tissue paper, to facemasks, to sanitizer bottles, most homes have seen an increase in waste generated. This is especially true for houses with quarantined persons. The CPCB guidelines specifically ask such homes to store their biomedical waste in yellow bags which would be collected by CBWTF personnel. But then, lack of source segregation of waste has always been a major concern in the solid waste management scenario in our country. Maharashtra PCB data shows large fluctuation of total BMW generated, and the officials feel that it could be due to improper segregation at source. Such cases mean that, contaminated BMW could be steadily finding its way into regular municipal solid waste, and eventually our landfills, putting the sanitation workers, the large informal sector involved in waste collection and communities living near landfills in the path of direct risk of contracting the virus. We have seen first-hand what improper disposal of medical waste can do in the incidence of Hepatitis B outbreak in Gujarat in 2009, where 240 were infected. The use of recycled and unsterilized syringes and injection needles were cited as the means of transmission of the infection by health department officials.
ISWA guidelines highlight the need to train the municipal workers who collect waste from residences on regular disinfection, and following social distancing in the workplace. It also emphasizes that the vehicle needs to be disinfected often. But in reality, the sanitation workers face a dearth of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and inadequate training. The general public understood the gravity of the situation when the son of a sanitation worker tested positive in Coimbatore.
Many states are ramping up their BMW disposal capacity by adding new small scale plants, incinerators etc., but will this be enough to cater to the rapidly rising needs especially considering the unsettling reports that state that India has not yet approached the peak. Like China, we could also consider opting for compact, on site treatment machines, which grinds down and sterilizes waste, making it less risky to transport to treatment facilities. The National Green Tribunal and CPCB have been reiterating the need for source segregation of waste over the past many years, perhaps it is time the general population starts paying heed to their words.
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DONATORS LOCATED IN INDIA
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Bank: ICICI 
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Friday 5 June 2020

Time for Nature !!!


Time for Nature !!!

“Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty.”
—John Ruskin

The quote holds true especially in the times when on one hand the world is fighting with this pandemic together and on the other hand nature is healing slowly and gradually.

Air traffic is down, fewer cars are on the road, and factories are closed; thus air pollution has drastically decreased in many parts of the world.
There is a large improvement in air quality, especially in urban areas — from alarming or poor to satisfactory or good.
Due to the lockdown, the drainage of industrial waste into the river water has stopped and this has brought a significant change in the water quality. The dissolved oxygen has increased in water thus aquatic life has flourished.

At HEEALS we believe in doing our bit. On the occasion of World Environment Day, we would like to educate our readersand also pledge to bring some changes in our lifestyle , so as to put less burden on the environment.

Simple activities that all of us can do :
·         Use Cloth Bag for our daily purchase and Say no to Plastic.
·         Never forget the 3R’s ('Reduce', 'Reuse' and 'Recycle')
·         Reduce Water Consumption (during brushing ,bathing ,washing etc.).Frequently check for leaked taps.
·         Start gardening(Begin by planting saplings) – *Great hobby* to purse during lockdown
·         Save electricity (Minimise usage of Air Conditioners, Use energy-efficient bulbs)



The Earth is what we all have in common.Lets pledge to protect it !!!!

-Priyanka Dalmia

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DONATORS LOCATED IN INDIA
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FOOD AND MOOD

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