Starting young

“I wasn’t really sure of it because we were kids and we cannot do much,” said Kirennaro, a Class V student when her sister Jentina proposed the idea of the ECCO club. However, she supported her sister and they later began to invite friends to join.

When asked about her favourite part of being in the club, she said: “I do like to save the environment. I also like upcycling stuffs and teaching the eco juniors. But my favourite part of ECCO is that kids can learn how to be responsible and save the environment and become a responsible adult in the future.”

While a sibling squabbling happens, she said that the joy of working with her sister is that they can “work together and plan on what can be done together while having fun time”. The little girl hopes to one day see a cleaner and greener Kohima where children can go and play in the green parks and families can go for outing and fun. “Well Kohima is a very dirty place but if we put our hands together we can make it a better place,” she optimistically added.

She said that initially the club was not taken seriously, but now “people believe kids can also make a change”. She added how elders did not take the club seriously but after her sister was chosen for pitching ideas at the recently concluded Ashoka Changemaker Day organised by Entrepreneurs Associates (EA), the club received recognition.

Charity begins at home

Sharon Longchari, mother of the two young environmentalists, recalled how the little girls began the environment friendly club two years ago. “Initially I thought they started the club to have fun and did not take it seriously. Eventually, my husband and I noticed that they would often call their friends and even sought permission to use the house for their ECCO club meetings,” she recounted.

Longchari revealed that when her children asked for permission to go around and pick up litters, the parents refused, but later permitted them cautioning them about the roadside safety and advising them to care for the other children. With a little pinch of regret for not fully supporting them in the beginning, Longchari assured that they will try and help the children in all possible ways.

“We always tell our girls to find a passion and do something which excites them to get out of bed each day,” she shared when asked if they have any plans for the girls. Blessed with two daughters, Longchari said that although Nagaland is always considered safe comparing to other parts of India, she felt the need to educate her girls on being alert about their surroundings and how to approach adults if there are any problems that they face.

“It’s sad that we our living in a generation where we have to advice our kids to protect themselves and as a mother, I am always worried but we can only pray that our children are informed and educated about certain things so they are prepared,” she added.

The mother of the girls expressed her delight in seeing her little girls proving themselves worthy. “Girls can do so much. All they need is the support and belief in them so to the parents who have girls lucky you! Girls rock!” she proudly said.

Meanwhile, Ango Konyak, the father of the girls, also told EastMojo about how the girls began executing their ideas. “They were both much younger back then and I thought they would forget about the club after a couple of meetings. They played and used papers, toilet papers, boards and other things during their meetings and it was impressive to see them taking initiatives. But unlike my prediction, they kept it going,” he recalled.

Forty-year-old Konyak, who works in the state’s forest department, said that at a young age, he had also always felt the need to protect the environment. While he thinks that this little trait has encouraged the girls, he credits the learning to school and to YouTube for the girl’s interest.

When asked if he has any fears of raising daughters, he said “I have never had fears for them for being women. Maybe if I had a son I would have thought about it but being surrounded by girls I never thought of it. In Naga society I don’t see much discrimination based on gender but still then there are people who have different thoughts and motives and don’t care about girls. This happens in all societies, even in Western societies, and that is something which we can only pray so as to avoid such husbands.”

“I don’t have anything to say to the women folk but to the men I would like to say that girls are doing much better and it is time to recognise the value and contribution of women. It is high time we acknowledge them and give them the proper platform and opportunity to grow and develop,” he added.