Suraksha Abhiyan

Suraksha Abhiyan is our pilot project that was born out of the need to address the grave yet neglected need to improve the standards of personal health and hygiene in the underprivileged communities of India. We observed that despite a glaring lack, topics like the importance of washing hands, taking a bath, brushing teeth etc. are very rarely given any serious consideration in the civil society and health sector. These seemingly common practices are often inaccessible luxuries for many poor communities who largely suffer from diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid, food poisoning, herpes, skin allergies, head lice and many other infectious diseases that can be life threatening and transmit from person-to-person easily.
We, at ROOTS through in-depth research, realized that the booming Indian hotel industry is grappling with the problem of generating tons of waste every year due to the half-used shower gel, shampoo bottles, and bar soaps that are discarded by the cleaning staff and ultimately find themselves in landfills, posing a huge environmental hazard to our ecosystem. So, integrating these individual problems we devised a method to recycle and reuse hotel toiletries by distributing this recycled material to marginalized sections with an aim to increase their access and awareness to the use and benefits of these hygiene products and so improve the overall health and hygiene standards of these communities.
This practice will not only support the families directly impacted by it, but also reduce the burden from our health care by encouraging preventive care practices. We believe that developing a personal hygiene routine is more effective, easy and cheap than taking medicines to treat the consequences of unsanitary behavior. Our local intervention has clearly shown how something as easy as using a soap bar can save so many lives. Thus, we at ROOTS are committed to support and empower the unprivileged sections of our society by handing to them simple yet powerful tools to access and enjoy their basic right to life, health and hygiene.