Agencies/Kathmandu
Water-starved South Asian nations have devised their own answer to the Ice Bucket Challenge taking the social media world by storm, instead filling buckets with rice and other supplies for the needy.
Since June, thousands of people worldwide have doused themselves with a bucket of icy water, then posted a video recording of the stunt online and challenged others to do the same or pledge a donation.
The “Ice Bucket Challenge” aims to raise awareness about ALS, a condition of the nervous system also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
However, in India, a 38-year-old woman decided to transform the #IceBucketChallenge into the #RiceBucketChallenge, encouraging social media users to donate a bucket or bowl of rice to someone in need.
“The idea occurred to me when I saw the Ice Bucket Challenge on Facebook,” said Manju Latha Kalanidhi, who works for oryza.com, a website focused on rice research.
“You feed someone hungry and you aren’t wasting water,” Kalanidhi, whose campaign has attracted 138,000 contributors since it launched last Friday, said.
In neighbouring Nepal, a #FillTheBucket challenge has launched asking people to load up plastic buckets with food and medical supplies to help families displaced by deadly flooding and landslides this month in the Himalayan nation.
“We received about 25 buckets today and a local school is bringing 100 tomorrow,” said Sunny Manandhar, whose Kathmandu clothing store Curves is serving as a collection centre.
At least 250 people have died and over 14,000 families have been displaced in Nepal after torrential monsoon rains triggered landslides and flooding, devastating entire villages and leaving thousands homeless.
Contributor Binayak Basnyat, 24, said that although “the ALS challenge is viral worldwide...this makes more sense for Nepal.”
The original social media campaign has attracted criticism in the region over water wastage.
Sri Lankan politician Malsha Kumaratunga staged an ice bucket event to raise money for a local animal welfare trust but saw her donation declined.
“Wasting water like this in a tropical country is an insult to thousands who are suffering because of the drought,” said former foreign minister and opposition spokesman Mangala Samaraweera, referring to the parched southern regions of the island nation.
He said the Ice Bucket challenge has been converted into a publicity stunt by local politicians who blindly follow whatever that comes from the West.
“No one has noticed that people living in Bandarawala, Badulla and Nuwara Eliya face an ice bucket challenge every time they wash themselves,” the United
National Party (UNP) MP said.
He asked how fun and games could be conducted on the Internet at a time when parents were killing their children or committing suicide because they had no way of feeding them.
Another UNP MP Buddkika Pathirana also asked whether it was fair to waste water when people in ten districts of the country were suffering without water. Pathirana said the ice bucket challenge was similar to the reviled pyramid racket.
In Mumbai some Bollywood stars have also turned down the ice bucket challenge, citing similar concerns.
“..already made a donation !! Not dumping water :-( waste of resources!,” tweeted Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor when asked to take part.
A Nepalese woman participates in the #FilltheBucket challenge which was launched asking people to load up plastic buckets with food and medical suppli
