From caring for wildlife to using technology for water distribution, here are the top Social Stories for the week

While animal empathy is still controversial — considering our various lifestyle choices — some people still know how to make a difference in their lives. One such person is Alpana Bhartia, an animal lover who is teaching people to care for animals by empathising with them.

This week on SocialStory, we saw a slew of stories of people and organisations trying to make it better for underserved and disadvantaged communities with their inclusive platforms, community development initiatives, and pandemic aid.

Here are the top Social Stories of the week:

Meet animal rights activist Alpana Bhartia, who uses empathy to teach others to care for wildlife

An honourable animal welfare officer, Alpana Bhartia has been working in the field of animal welfare and conservation for the past 25 years. She is a constituted member of the Institutional Ethics Committee of the National Centre for Biological Studies (NCBS). In fact, she has been nominated by the Government of India to the committee for Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals.

Being empathetic towards animals is something Alpana had learnt right from her childhood. Born in Kolkata in a traditional Rajasthani family, she had grown to become very fond of pets and animals as her father always kept dogs.

Atypical Advantage - India’s first hiring platform exclusively for people with disabilities

Vineet Saraiwala, a business executive with The Future Group, built Atypical Advantage – India’s first-ever talent platform exclusively for PwDs. The IIM Bengaluru graduate discovered a gap when he was looking for a voice-over artist for a retail space designed for PwDs.

Atypical Advantage’s website already lists 16 categories of skills, including photographers, physiotherapists, graphic designers, models, dancers, singers, painters, and sign language interpreters.

The platform, which has over 200 people listed on it, encompasses a profile page of the individual with a short bio, a list of their talents, contact details, and the nature of their disability.

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The top 10 Monday Motivation stories of 2020

Who doesn’t dread a Monday morning! Through our Monday Motivation series, SocialStory strives to remove the dread attached to Mondays by bringing you stories of inspiration and positivity, and arm you with the right attitude for the week ahead.

Despite being the year of the pandemic, 2020 saw several individuals — from an IAS officer educating children in Jharkhand to an IRS officer going all out to help migrant workers during the lockdown — going above and beyond the call of duty to help others.

Project StepOne's network of volunteers saving lives amidst the pandemic

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic saw an increased need for remote healthcare with hospitals becoming increasingly inaccessible. There was an urgent need to both contain the spread of the virus and assist people in need of physical and psychological care. 

To fill this gap, a group of volunteers from a wide range of sectors — medical, technical, marketing, and operations — came together to form StepOne, a not-for-profit platform in June 2020. Their mission was to blend technology and human resources to provide healthcare access to those who most needed it.

By the first week of December 2020, the StepOne team had completed nine lakh teleconsultations, prevented five lakh contacts spreading the virus, and, in turn, impacted the lives of five million citizens. 

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Pandemic Heroes: this Delhi NGO has provided over 15 lakh meals to the needy

Cranberry Analytics using technology to make water distribution, consumption more efficient

Started in 2010 by Shishir Thakur, Amit Deshmukh, and Onkar Gauridhar, Pune-based Cranberry Analytics is a technology-enabled analytics startup that works in the area of water measurement.

It works with water utility companies and uses both on-ground and online tech solutions to map water use and water efficiency across its distribution and consumption cycle. Its primary focus is on getting water utilities to reduce cash burn and eventually turn cash-positive.