Why Savi is important for the world
Savi… in her own words
This is my little big story
My name is Savi Shekhawat and I am12. People know me as a young environmentalist who left her school for a month and started a cycling campaign to save an urban forest in Jaipur, India. Fortunately, I and other environment warriors got huge support from Jaipur’s people so the forest still exists. This was a strengthening and life-changing movement for me.
I was born in a deeply eco-conscious environment. My father Vijendra makes one of the world’s most sustainable paper out of elephant poo. He instilled in me the value of respecting nature. With his help I planted four saplings when I was just 3. Although one dried up, three have by now become majestic trees.
Why I’m concerned about global warming?
I cannot express how worried I am about global warming. Our icebergs and glaciers are melting so fast that sea levels are rising. It is also a serious threat to our rivers, our main water resources. Most of our agriculture, crops, and hydropower plants depend on rivers. Imagine if our rivers start drying up, how will our huge world population survive?
Why am I fighting for a nuclear-free world?
I strongly believe that our planet cannot survive without PEACE in this MODERN era. Especially when only two countries have more than tens of thousands of nuclear weapons.
Those bombs completely destroyed two cities in Japan. The world lost more than 200 thousand lives by just two triggers! I wonder how many more lives will today’s nuclear bombs take?
Despite the world’s best technology and strong financial position, environmental losses in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have not been reduced even after 80 years.
At one level I want to urge the world to stop the engines of our vehicles at red signals so that global warming can be reduced. On the other hand when I think that 80 years ago a bomb was melting steel like wax, what power do we need today to save the world?
Challenges at the start of my peace movement
Challenge 1
Starting with my young age, the current war hysteria, and crimes against women, there was a huge concern about my cycling from Jaipur to Moscow. Family, friends, and relatives all discouraged me from going on such a long and difficult journey. But I thought that even if I put my life on the line for world peace then I would consider these 12 years of my life equivalent to having lived for 100 years.
Challenge 2
My family has a small eco-friendly venture. They make paper out of elephant’s poop in their own home. Just because they have not been educated enough, the extraordinariness of their work is still unexpressed, and it remains relatively unknown. That’s why financing this campaign is another challenge too.
To support this campaign, my family has created beautiful cards that are made from one of the world’s most sustainable papers with seeds and love. Those who want to take an extra step can purchase these cards, which have campaign details. Gifting them spreads the message even further:)
How can you support my mission?
I am doing what I can, but the wave of peace in the world is not possible without your support.
To support me you don’t have to skip your meals to support me. You don’t even have to leave your home, office, or job and take leave! All you have to do is vote for peace, share this campaign link with your friends, and persuade more and more people to vote.
I will go all over the world to make the world free from nuclear weapons and will create a mass virtual rally in the world against these weapons. This way we will create pressure on the so-called superpowers to abolish nuclear weapons.
Thank you
Savi
The Powerful 5: Savi’s Inspiration
Kaushalya Kanwar
I’ve always known her as my Dadisa. My grandmother. My role model.
Since I was little, my father has told me stories of her amazing courage and determination. She was so ahead of her time that she took a stand against domestic violence and gender violence. This when women thought it to be their fate to be abused and suppressed!
But Dadisa was a fighter since she was a little girl. She refused to accept the poverty in her life as her reality. Instead she decided to embrace struggle and hard work to improve her lot. I’ve never come across anyone who works harder! Even though she never saw the gates of a school, but she put shoulder to the wheel to make sure her children and her children’s children value their education. Is it any wonder she’s the matriarch of our family and her word is law?! Her decision is always the final decision.
Even though we’re separated by a staggering 12,000 kms between Canada and India, Sally Aunty and I have a bond that goes beyond physical geography. As far as my memory goes Sally Aunty has always been there as an indelible part of our family. She has contributed immensely to my education and has always motivated me to go beyond. Whenever our family has faced any difficulty, Sally Aunty has always been there as a pillar of hope and support. Her love and kindness has touched my life in a way that is simply incredible. Truly, she is one in a million and I’ve known no other like her.
Sally Gosse
Kavita Srivastava Ji
Have you ever seen a JCB earth mover at work? I had only heard about the power of these machines that can move the unmovable. It was during my first movement, ‘Save Dol ka Badh’, that I saw these monstrous vehicles first hand. It was not jus unbelievable, but heartrending to watch them destroy centuries old trees in one fell swoop.
While it seemed that nothing could stop these gigantic forest gobblers, they were unable to move a quiet, 50 to 55kg presence that stood in defiance against them. Kavita Srivastav ji. This diminutive lady possessed a strength that spoke volumes without her having to utter a word.
Kavita ji is a university unto herself. A defender of human rights, she strives to alleviate the suffering of the marginalised, fighting to get them justice, and in so doing she is her very own complete system.
She is a mentor, a guru to me, who has played a big role in altering the course of my life.
Whenever there is an animal or a bird in distress, there is only one place in Jaipur that comes to mind first – Help In Suffering. From a child to a senior, everyone in the city knows that just one call is enough to be assured that the ailing animals will be taken care of. We have seen with our own eyes how Help in Suffering has infused life in those who were on the verge of death. The individual behind such an amazing endeavour is none other than Timmie Kumar Ji.
An incredible and multi-faceted lady, she is also a highly disciplined, successful entrepreneur who can be seen at Clarks Amer, the pride of Jaipur on the world tourism stage.
Timmie Kumar Ji
Jaya Jaitly Ji
www.dastkarihaat.com
Anyone who knows Jaya Jaitly Ji thinks of her, there are 2 things that come to their mind without any prompting. One, her large bindi nestled between her brows, and the other, her captivating smile.
But beyond her charming personality, this grandma has travelled extensively through India, reaching its remote corners, discovering unknown crafts in the depths of jungles. She is responsible for empowering so many craftsmen and craftswomen who could not even imagine the kind of support they could get. Her Dastkaari Haat Samiti has been able to do what no government system could even hope to accomplish. She has, through her thriving institution managed to put the rich and diverse heritage of Indian handicrafts and textiles on the global map.
Jaya Ji entered our lives as a saviour. Our family has been in the business of making the world’s most sustainable paper for over two decades. A few years ago, the orders dried up and my father was forced to pull the shutters down. It was during this phase of intense hardship that we received a call from Jaya Ji and with some financial support she brought us back on our feet.
Her belief in us changed our lives. Today our little venture is now empowering villages, helping the unemployed and even elderly women to work from the comfort of their homes.