WaterAid India in association with Dabang Delhi Kabaddi Club launches ‘Stop #PaaniPeKabaddi’ campaign to raise awareness on the daily struggle for water

A new digital campaign launched today by WaterAid India together with Dabang Delhi Kabaddi Club (DDKC) aims to raise awareness on the daily struggle for accessing clean water. Today, 157 million Indians lack access to clean water, making every day a struggle for survival.

Stop #PaaniPeKabaddi in the season of the ongoing Pro Kabaddi League is a step towards making people aware of the daily walk that millions of Indians have to go through for a few litres of water.

With a teaser campaign already live, WaterAid India through this digital campaign aims to draw a parallel from the game of Kabaddi. As a sport, Kabaddi epitomises struggle and this struggle is reflected in the daily lives of millions as they fetch water, sometimes twice a day. In fact, the effort to collect water is akin to having to go through the struggle of playing a match of Kabaddi, unfortunately though, this struggle is far more than what we see in any game.

With Stop #PaaniPeKabaddi, WaterAid India intends to start a conversation around the daily struggle of a basic need for millions – water!

Avinash Kumar, Director-Programmes & Policy at WaterAid India said:

It is rather embarrassing that so many people in our country still have to exist without access to clean drinking water.

Moreover, the entire burden of fetching water for the household falls on women and children leading to a loss of more fulfilling and productive lives. The job of fetching water for the household often robs women of the time to earn their livelihood or attend to their children. In case of children, they often miss school, as fetching water for basic daily needs becomes the priority for the family.

In the second year of our partnership with Dabang Delhi KC, drawing a parallel with the game of Kabaddi, we would like to urge everyone that for millions in our country, the act of Kabaddi to access water is not just a sport but a daily struggle to survive.

WaterAid India is Dabang Delhi KC’s charity partner in the fifth season of the Pro Kabaddi League. As part of this association, Dabang Delhi’s Kabaddi players are encouraging people to start a conversation and be aware of this daily struggle of millions of Indians. A share of proceeds from the ticket sales of Dabang Delhi’s home matches will also be donated to WaterAid India.

Saumya Khaitan, CEO, Dabang Delhi Kabaddi Club said:

 We believe that as a socially responsible team, we should give back to the society. In this season, we are collaborating with WaterAid India as their charity partner to spread awareness on the issue of access to clean water.

Our partnership with WaterAid India is a special one as the cause is really close to our heart and we would like to appeal to not only all Kabaddi fans but to everyone to come forward and support this cause as no one should struggle to access a basic need like water.

WaterAid India will drive this month-long digital campaign through short films, photographs, stories and facts using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and its website (www.wateraid.org/in).

With well-received teasers already engaging curiosity, #PaaniPeKabaddi short films feature community kids who struggle to access water daily with Dabang Delhi KC players pledging their support to this cause close to their heart.

The campaign urges all — Kabaddi fans and everyone to come forward and join the conversation as we need to wake up to the issue that millions of people across India fight to access a basic need —  clean water every day — in order to start making a change.

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