The Stories Of Change

Year Roundup: Our Best Stories of 2018

We have curated The Stories of Change’s 10 best stories from the year 2018. From rural innovations and maternal health to cross border relationships and farmer issues, we bring you the best reads of this year.

The year 2018 was all about stories that created ripple effects. It was yet another year of some incredible stories that created change and resulted in some amazing discussions.

From cross border relationships to rural innovations, we covered many grounds. Here is a list of The Stories of Change’s top 10 stories of the year 2018.

1. Beyond Border: Tales of Friendship, Love and Beauty From India and Pakistan

The two stories of love, friendship, inspiration, partnership and success beyond the borders of India and Pakistan garnered global attention.

Shilo Shiv Suleman, a Bengaluru based artist’s and Nida Mushtaq, a human rights activist from Pakistan run a unique initiative together. Called Fearless Collective, this project is spreading awareness through art and love.

India based Shubendhu Sharma and Pakistan based Shahzad Qureshi gave a whole new meaning to their friendship when the created forests together in different geographies of the world. Read more.

 2. A Silent Movement That Lead to Zero Maternal Deaths in a Rural Indian Town

The exclusive story brought out some personal accounts of women from rural north Karnataka and how through a small intervention they were able to lead a healthy life after delivery. The region was once known to have one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Karnataka, after an organization’s intervention, the region did not witness a single death of the mother or child. Read more.

3. MITTI: An Overwhelming Journey of Differently Abled and How a Simple Job Changed Their Lives

Alina Alam, a 25-year-old passionate lady started MITTI cafe in June 2017 to provide employment opportunity for differently abled people. MITTI Cafe currently has 18 employees and each cafe can serve up to 450 people per day. The story shares how each person’s disability became their advantage. Read More.

“Through these cafes, we want to redefine the mainstream space. We don’t want these cafes to be some alternate spaces run by people with disabilities. We want them to be like any other cafe where people go and enjoy a cup of coffee,” says Alina.

4. Moni Begum: A 17-year-old’s Journey of Eliminating Child Marriages in Her Village

A 17-year-old young girl Moni Begum has single-handedly made her village in Bangladesh free of child marriages. Through her constant intervention and awareness, no girl in her village gets married before the right age. She also trains 40 girls and 10 boys on how to stop child marriage. Read More.

5. Atishi Marlena and Her 5 Solutions That Changed the Face of Government Schools in Delhi 

Atishi Marlena, the 37-year-old advisor to Delhi Education Minister played a key role on revolutionising Delhi’s public education system. Her unique initiatives resulted in an increase in the passing percentage, better infrastructure facility, and much more. The story explores five amazing initiatives by Marlena and the positive impact it created. Read more.

6. A Water Filter Worth Rs 20 is Providing Clean Drinking Water to Karnataka

This simple yet extremely useful has been making quite a stir across the globe. Niranjan Karagi, a 22-year-old boy from Belgaum, North Karnataka created an affordable water filter that costs just Rs 20. He has already sold over 15,000 pieces of this portable water filter. The story resulted in global-level queries and orders for his products. Read more.

7. Dogma That Led to the Rape of 450,000 Women in India

We thought this ritual was part of the history. But, even today, many girls become victims of this age-old tradition of Devadasi. The life of Devadasis is meant to be as a prostitute in the name of goddess Yellamma. The story explores exclusive stories of the Devadasi women and how one organization is freeing them from this evil practice. Read more.

“When I was 10 years old, they tied the red and white mala around my neck against my will and just like that, I was dedicated as a Devadasi. When I asked my mother why she condemned me to a life of rape, she told me if she had married me instead, she would not have someone to take care of her in her old age,” said Mala Kamble, Bellad, Karnataka. 

8. A Family’s 133 Year Old Legacy of Creating Green Fireworks

This heartwarming story revolves around a family from Assam who has been making eco-friendly firecrackers for several decades. Lakhiram Pathak started Manoranjan Fireworks located in Barpeta town over 100 years ago. Even today, his legacy goes on. The story covers exclusive information and interview of the family and how they have been constantly making Diwali “greener”. Read more.

9. A Journey from Being Marginalised to Becoming Fierce Leaders

A young man from the slums of Nairobi, an abused girl from Kenya, a victim of domestic violence, a man from Dalit community facing discrimination. What do all of these have in common? They have defied all odds to become fierce leaders. After living a life of trauma and extreme difficulties, many more inspiring individuals like them have started extraordinary initiatives to create change. The story explores how they all made that possible. Read more.

10. The Farmers March Again. When Will the Government Hear?

Farmers from all over the country gathered for Kisan Mukthi March in Delhi hoping for the permanent solution from government. From neglect of farmers from the North East to delayed payments and falling prey to private companies, farmers shared their woes through this exclusive story. Read more.

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Chaithra Srinivas

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