Forca Goa Foundation and Drishti Marine have been recognised by Network 18 for their efforts in the Swachh Bharat initiative. The Forca Goa Foundation and Drishti Marine were among 18 organisations from across the country who were felicitated for their work. The foundation was recognised for their efforts in helping communities take care of their waste, while Drishti Marine was recognised for their efforts in raising awareness among beach goes about waste management through the 150-day #TeraMeraBeach campaign.
Dr Mahesh Sharma, Union Minister of State for Culture (I/C) and MoS- Environment, Forest and Climate Change lauded Jill Ferguson, Managing Director, Forca Goa Foundation and Ravi Shankar, CEO, Drishti Marine for the commendable work put in by the Foundation and beach clean-up campaign respectively.
The Forca Goa Foundation aims to make a difference in communities by using football as a tool to empower individuals and teach them sustainable habits. Therefore, encouraging the community to start segregating, composting and recycling at home by teaching children at their grassroots centers the effects garbage has on the environment.
#TeraMeraBeach aims to make visitors responsible and aware of the necessity to use bins along the beach, segregate waste and participate in beach clean-ups. The campaign consisted of daily drum circles lead by musicians from Taal Inc. followed by each participant of #TeraMeraBeach adding one piece from the collected waste to the community art installation. The art installation consists of bottles, cans, papers, cloth etc. collected by the participants during the clean-up drive.
In a bid to improve the cleanliness on Goa’s beaches, the state government had reached out to Drishti Marine in December 2016 to step in and assist with garbage collection along the beaches to support the effort of the government.
Accordingly, Drishti Marine has offered its assistance and mobilized manpower and equipment for clearing garbage from the beaches of Goa and the same is transported to the Saligao Waste Management plant. The agency has an existing framework which includes infrastructure and management capability to effectively carry out the exercise along the beaches.
