London NGO, Wells on Wheels, ropes in actor Sanjay Kapoor for India’s rural upliftment

As part of this association, Sanjay Kapoor will commit towards the goal of upliftment of rural areas in India with a vision to transform the lives of women and children and thereby disrupt the vicious cycle of poverty. He will also be supporting the charity by attending the exclusive charity event - For the Chosen Few - which will be held at an undisclosed location in May 2022 in London.

As part of this association, Sanjay Kapoor will commit towards the goal of helping rural areas in India with a vision to transform the lives of women and children and thereby disrupt the vicious cycle of poverty. He will also be supporting the charity by attending the exclusive charity event - For the Chosen Few - which will be held at an undisclosed location in May 2022 in London.

Elaborating further on his maiden innings as a brand ambassador for an NGO, Kapoor stated, “India is no stranger to water scarcity amongst the country's underprivileged. It's something many of us have seen since we were children. To see girls as young as six years old carrying heavy water on their head in the heat in a 21st-century world is not only heart-breaking but also unacceptable. Unfortunately, however, these girls are often locked in a vicious cycle of poverty. They desperately want to study and create a better future for themselves, but the burden of their community's survival lies heavily on their shoulders. I am a huge believer in giving access to education to the disadvantaged societies of India. When I first read of the work carried out by Wells on Wheels and heard about Shaz Memon's vision, I was blown away by how the innovative Water Wheel is changing lives for these girls in a huge way. One wheel allows five."

Inspired by the birth of his daughter, Memon took on the onus of helping women and children in rural India who shoulder the daily burden of transporting heavy buckets of water to their communities. “My daughter was blessed to be born in the UK where we don't give a second thought to the source of our water consumption. WOW is my attempt to address the imbalance and to improve the lives of women and children who are not so fortunate. We have commenced our drive in Maharashtra and will now be looking at diversification in North India,” he said.

While the accessibility to wells in rural India has vastly improved in the past two decades, typically water is carried by balancing metal pails on heads which attracts multiple health concerns as well as barriers to education. The physical loading can lead to musculoskeletal disorders, such as neck or back pain, and even risks lifelong disability. Additionally, the time spent moving water from source to communities has an impact on school hours for the young girls. Children, too, are tasked with walking in heat of up to 40 degrees to fetch water - sometimes they are as young as seven years old.