Various goods created by impoverished youngsters utilizing waste materials were displayed to the audience during the valedictory session of the four-day workshop “Waste to Wealth”. A flower vase, a dog and cat pen stand, a mask, a photo frame, painted plates, a carry bag, and other objects were created by the kids.

As a part of Swachhata Pakhwada, Science City, Kolkata, a unit of the National Council of Science Museums, Ministry of Culture, Government of India in collaboration with the National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India organized a workshop ‘Waste to Wealth’ to train the underprivileged children for building art & craft items out of waste materials from July 10 to 13, 2023.

Thirty kids of all ages took part in the session, which was organized by three illustrious NGOs from Kolkata: Humanity for You and Me (HUM), SOS Children Village, and Tiljala Shed. The Science City, Kolkata resource people taught these kids how to make things out of scraps and assisted them in honing important creative and problem-solving abilities. For the purpose of assessing comprehension of environmental awareness, a quiz in the form of a questionnaire has been created. To emphasize the theme of cleanliness and to increase awareness of the safe environment, two puppet shows on “Cleanliness” and “Safe Environment” were also organized. 

Through this workshop, these poor kids will acquire practical life lessons, boost their self-esteem, and discover how to turn what was once trash into something beautiful. This will not only help to achieve cleanliness but could also aid in the economic advancement of this socially outcast group.

The valedictory program saw the participation of more than 150 underprivileged children from different NGOs in Kolkata.

Priyanka Dutta