After showcasing India through the Incredible India campaign, actor Aamir Khan will be creating awareness about urban sanitation and hygiene issues among schoolchildren.
The government has approached Aamir to be the brand ambassador for the Urban School Sanitation project, a joint
initiative of the Human Resource Development Ministry and the Urban Development Ministry, and help save children.
“Yes, we have been approached and have said yes to the initiative,” a spokesperson at Aamir’s office said.
According to Unicef, diarrhoea, which is directly linked to poor sanitation and hygiene, kills more than 1,000 children in India every day.
The project aims to generate awareness among schoolchildren about two key issues — the need for hygienic sanitation, its impact on health and environment and the importance of waste segregation.
The campaign will initially target schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education. Municipal school students will be next.
As part of the programme, the children will be told about hygienic sanitation practices and the ills of defecating in the open. They will also be taught waste segregation. Every student will be given a project on sanitation.
“Children are the best ambassadors of change. Through these children, we hope to take the message across to a wider audience,” the official said.
An urban development ministry official said Aamir was their natural choice for the campaign to be unveiled on Apri 27. “Children would associate with him very easily. He has done acclaimed films such as Taare Zameen Par and 3 Idiots. He would be able to get across the message effectively to children in a way that they can comprehend,” said a ministry official.