The students of Enactus Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi are undertaking commendable humanitarian activities to improve the environment. Their initiative Project Sneh, aims to prevent open defecation and promote healthy sanitation habits among children, especially in rural areas.
98 per cent of India’s newborns do not have access to diapers. As a result, mothers let infants defecate in public, exposing a host of health risks to themselves and their families. Disposable diapers, on the other hand, have a substantial financial impact on the monthly budgets of rural households, are damaging to the baby’s skin, and are not biodegradable. They are a severe threat to the ecosystem.
Project Sneh aims to tackle these issues by producing eco-friendly and cost-effective reusable cloth diapers, discouraging the use of non-biodegradable diapers. The project also focuses on encouraging women’s employment while also protecting the safety of children and the environment.
These cloth diapers are manufactured by impoverished women and are made from natural fibres that are gentle on a baby’s delicate skin.
The modest vision
Talking about what inspired these students to create the project Abhishek (member, PR team) tells us, “The major motivation for initiating the project was to enhance our surroundings, and contribute to the improvement of child health and sanitation. It takes around 450 years to break down one plastic diaper! And while it decomposes, it lingers in landfills and drains, causing a variety of problems. Plastic diapers are also damaging to children’s health since they cause rashes. So, with our cloth diapers, we want not just to limit plastic consumption in order to improve our environment, but also to assist parents by providing a more sustainable and healthier alternative to plastic diapers.”
When it came to choosing a name, they wanted something that reflected the purpose, so they settled on ‘Sneh’, meaning affection in English.
“We wanted a name which could represent a mother’s love and affection towards her child, we designed the logo too, keeping this in mind. Our ideology is focused on protecting these babies, the new generation, from the harm caused by the choices of the present generation. By going ahead with this name, we are secure in the fact that it represents our ideology and vision in the best possible way.” Abhishek explains.
Ensuring a steady change
The project has sold a total of 280+ diapers through various collaborations, including the Rotaract Club District and Rotaract Club Resilience, directly impacting 280 homes by reducing unnecessary costs and enhancing their infant’s health. They began in January 2019 in Chanakyapuri, Model Town, Kirti Nagar, Lal Bagh, Okhla Village, and Hauz Khaz and have since earned $628. Through their Nukkad Nataks, talk shows, webinars, and offline modules, they have indirectly influenced over 80,000 people.
Moreover, they bagged the 1st position at The Startup Box, Aryabhatta 2020. They were also the 1st Runners Up at the JIMS (Jaipuria Institute of Management) Pitch the Plan competition in 2021.
The project is also quite active on social media, where they use popular strategies like reels to raise awareness about their diapers, which has attracted a substantial audience.
The hurdles
Starting a project however is never simple, as it is always fraught with difficulties. And the first and most difficult challenge for these students was selecting the material for the cloth diapers.
“Since a baby’s skin is extremely delicate, we could not compromise on the quality of the cloth. Being a student-run organisation, we didn’t have many contacts or sources, so it was difficult to acquire the raw material as well as the individuals who could sew them well,” Abhishek says.
He adds, “We had always intended to hire underprivileged women to sew for us so that, while working on the environment and child health, we could simultaneously empower women. Finding that particular group was difficult but we overcame that challenge by joining hands with talented women ‘Auntrepreneurs’ of Streebal NGO.”
Project Sneh has always aimed to make a ‘real’ difference in the child-care situation. All of the things they plan to execute in the future will eventually contribute to the vast long-term goals and achieve their wider mission as a non-profit organisation.
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