Dubai: Delhi Private School Dubai (DPS Dubai) has launched a new project to upcycle old uniforms and bedsheets into eco-friendly bags for students.
Pioneered by DPS Dubai principal and director Rashmi Nandkeolyar, the Warriors for Environment (WE Project) aims to stitch 15,000 bags by year-end.
The project is a collaborative endeavour by the entire school, involving students, teachers, management, parents, and ancillary staff.
All through Ramadan, the project saw every student bring in their old uniforms and bedsheets that had been carefully laundered by their mothers. Last Saturday, the mothers volunteered to come to the school to sew the donated material into bags on 10 sewing machines provided by DPS Dubai.
Veena Theeyancheri, mother of grade 11 student Malavika, said: “Being associated with such a worthy cause has inspired me to learn how to upcycle and recycle to make a difference in the environment.”
Many mothers also volunteered to make the bags at home. The ancillary staff, comprising a group of artistic Filipinas, have also stitched the bags. Their efforts will be rewarded by the school, which is an added source of income for them.
The school said the WE Project has far-reaching benefits. For example, upcycling is more energy-efficient as it does not break down the materials, but rather refashions them using creativity. It also brought the school community together to achieve common goals by sharing knowledge and skills.
By the year-end, the bags will be given away to students to carry their new books and uniforms.
A member of the school’s Student Council said: “DPS Dubai believes that educating the youth today is one of the best ways to address the environmental problems we face, the pooling together of resources and skills by the parent community has added an impetus to the project.”
Nidhi Sharma, a teacher at school, said: “The response from the parent and student community has been phenomenal and it is heartening to see that students and parents digging into their archives for old school uniforms and bedsheets to extend their life cycle that might otherwise be discarded in landfills.”
The WE Project comes in line with the theme of the school’s current academic year — Global High-Five — and the Year of Zayed 2018 initiative.
