Azera Rehman

Mahesh and Nisha Bora have set up an organization in Guwahati that converts elephant and rhino poop into paper, further manufacturing beautiful products like notebooks and more. This is how their initiative is helping in wildlife conservation.

While many states in India have an alarming sex ratio and a large number of girls are still being abandoned and killed, it indeed comes as good news that couples looking to adopt in India prefer girls over boys. Is it the winds of change?

Illiteracy and alcoholism thrive in communities of Assam, along with ill health and domestic abuse, which give a perfect opportunity to traffickers. Here is how one organization and interesting initiatives are addressing the issues.

When Seema's parents decided to get her married at an early age, she approached her friends and convinced her family to drop the idea. Adolescent Girls Clubs, run by ABITA in partnership with UNICEF, are fighting against many similar cases of child marriage in Assam enabling young girls to dream big.

Imagine getting into an autorickshaw and at the end of the ride being told that someone has already paid for it. Or after a fabulous meal at a restaurant, instead of being presented with a bill you get a handwritten note that says it was a gift from a guest! Sounds implausible, doesn't it? Well, you might find yourself more at the receiving end of such "random acts of kindness" as the concept of gift economy takes shape in India.

A unique concept - boat clinics - are offering crucial medical assistance, advice on family planning, and most importantly, hope to the millions living in the many small, flood-prone islands in Assam where hospitals and dedicated medical centres are unheard of, and at many times in the year, inaccessible.

An accredited social health activist (ASHA) in her remote, often flood-ravaged village in Odisha, Pankajani not only saves lives on a daily basis but goes way beyond her call of duty to be available to her wards at all times spreading awareness, dispensing advice and curing ills. Her dedication is plainly visible as she recalls painful memories of last year's floods in Odisha and the steps she took to ensure that the situation in her village remained under control.