A lot of parents, particularly those who might describe themselves as “traditional,” can have some very specific plans for how they want their kids’ lives to turn out.
So many people worldwide know the frustration of feeling like a disappointment if they aren’t a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer and even those with less specifically-minded parents may still find this issue familiar. After all, who hasn’t gotten a “how’s that going to make you money” response from at least someone in their life when they reveal their major?
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Despite how common that pressure is, however, it seems like a safe bet that one man in northern India is a lot more proud of what he’s done after leaving his job than he was while he was doing it.
On his website, Ramveer Tanwar of Noida, India is described as an environmentalist who has been passionate about water conservation since he was a student.
And as Zee News reported , Tanwar has seen plenty of reason to feel that way as he’s witnessed serious water mismanagement both locally and throughout the state of Uttar Pradesh where Noida is located since childhood.
Although he was committed to earning his degree in engineering, he also was able to launch an awareness campaign during his graduate studies.
This campaign, known as Jal Chaupal, promotes saving water, particularly when it comes to natural resources like ponds and lakes.
Although the campaign now sees Tanwar visiting villages, schools, and colleges to spread this awareness, he set out to tackle familiar issues of garbage disposal and lake encroachment back during Jal Chaupal’s inception.
However, it wasn’t long before Tanwar quit his job at MNC Engineering to pursue his environmental activism full-time.
As Zee News reported , the 26-year-old has spent the last five years taking a more hands-on approach to rejuvenating the ponds and lakes in his state.
His website states that his efforts have led to the restoration of at least 12 ponds and lakes since 2014, but that didn’t happen without some preparation.
As stated , he received training from the Indian government’s Central Pollution Control Board before undertaking his personal efforts to conserve groundwater.
But as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
So in addition to cleaning up lakes and ponds, he also trains local farmers in water conservation and management strategies through a separate campaign known as Project Jal.
As his website states , this emphasizes natural, simple means like rainwater collection and developing one’s own filtration systems.
More recently, he’s promoted another campaign that encourages youths to take a selfie with a pond near them.
Similar to #TrashTag, this #SelfieWithPond campaign not only encourages others to highlight local bodies of water with pollution issues, but also share any treatment efforts that have started up around them.
It seems that Tanwar is a big believer in letting awareness and conversation about an issue develop into practical action. So far, he’s making a pretty clear impact.
