There appears to be no limit to how disgusting human actions can be, when one wants to behave in a terribly insensitive manner.
On Friday NGO Goonj, which works for the development of rural areas and slums, put up a short status on Facebook along with photographs of some really disgusting things they received as donations – dirty utensils, rotten food in plastic boxes, a blood bag, blood-stained underwear among other.
One of the NGO’s methods of work is to use urban discards or excess, and convert them into materials that people in rural areas can re-use, with or without modification.
This is what Goonj had to say:
Goonj wants to send out a message loud and clear that this is not a garbage store – from rotten pooja material to blood-soaked undergarments to something which even a kabari won’t touch. Please stop insulting the dignity of our team and the recipients and the good giving by hundreds of people. It’s time to name and shame people who try to pass any garbage and mess in the name of contribution.. Kindly help spread the word to keep the faith in humanity intact.. it is sad that with good material the quantity of such scrap is also growing!
Insult in Name of Donation
The post received a lot of constructive support, with some people even offering to volunteer to check donors’ items on the spot and return them if they turned out to be such articles.
People have sent Pramod Muthalik pink chaddis, plastered (unused) sanitary napkins around college campuses, let menstrual blood flow while running a marathon, and even posted pictures of themselves with period stains on clothes. These are personal decisions and tactics to discuss gender issues and protest various kinds of violence against women. Sending unwashed clothes as donations to a charity just smacks of insult and disrespect to another person.
Sending rotten food is in many ways far more disrespectful, because of the sheer numbers of hungry people, not just in India but in the whole world. If you’ve ever been hungry for a few hours beyond meal-time, multiply that by millions to get a sense of just how much starvation there is. This is not just because of food shortage but also food unaffordability.
There simply can be no excuse for such behaviour.
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