Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], March 17 (ANI/PNN): With an aim to nudge individuals and community action to protect and preserve the environment. Mission LiFE - Lifestyle for Environment comes forward in changing individual and community behaviour to have a significant impact on the environment and climate crises. One of the key approaches of Mission LiFE is to focus on Individual Behaviours through mass movement (Jan Andolan) by focusing on the behaviours and attitudes of individuals and communities. As the call to action of Mission LiFE is to adopt a Lifestyle for the Environment, it seeks responsible behaviour from an individual towards the effective and optimum utilisation of resources and thus exhibiting a profound respect for the environment.

The Ministry of Rural Development has taken a stride in collaborating with ETPA Foundation for Social Development, New Delhi to complement the objectives of Mission LiFE across the country. ETPA Foundation has a comprehensive developmental approach with a prime objective to create and support result-oriented activities through innovation, collaboration, and convergence to address the pressing social issues of the community.

Mission LiFE was launched by the Prime Minister of India in Gujarat on 20th October 2022 with an aim to mobilize the citizens to take individual and collective action for protecting and preserving the environment in the period 2022-27 as well as make at least of 80 per cent of villages and urban local bodies to become environmentally friendly by 2028. There are 75 individual LiFE actions across 7 categories identified under this Mission.

StoryTelling Sessions in the SAGY Gram Panchayats of Jharkhand with Mottainai Grandma

ETPA Foundation introduces the concept and values of Mottainai Grandma in schools through storytelling sessions and other activities. The spirit of Mission LiFE is echoed by the concept of Mottainai which conveys a sense of regret over waste and encompasses the spirit of the 4 R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Respect the environment. Storytelling sessions were conducted by Storyteller on efficient and effective utilisation of water, minimising food wastage, swacchata actions (wastes reduced), etc. Storytelling is the original form of teaching and has the potential of fostering emotional intelligence and helping the child gain insight into human behavior.

Keeping this concept at the core, the model Gram Panchayats under the ambit of Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) are being benefited with the appropriate and strategic communication interventions focussing on influencing behaviors and attitudes of individuals and communities towards environment and resources. In view of this, the first joint visit was conducted in the state of Jharkhand from 09th -11th March 2023 in Ranchi, Khunti, and Lohardaga districts. The visit was accompanied by Naveen Kumar Shah, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development along with the senior officials from ETPA Foundation, Sourabh Bhattacharjee, Head of Operations, Social Development Projects (SDP) and Sangeeta Yadav, Project Coordinator, SDP. Further, the Programme was graced by the presence of Sanjay Seth, Member of Parliament of Ranchi Lok Sabha Constituency.

Joint Secretary, MoRD emphasized upon the importance of implementation of the key components of Mission LiFE in the lives of the people especially related to their behavior change aspects pertaining to environment and reduction of waste.

According to Bhattacharjee, the concept of Mottainai has the innate potential of not only developing a sense of respect for the resources and peers but also it could bring in a transformational change in the behavior of the children and the society towards resources, especially those belonging to the public.

The StoryTelling sessions which were conducted in Jharkhand amongst the children and the community were praised by all. The children enjoyed the sessions and took the pledge of respecting the resources and thus making the best and most efficient use of them.

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