Jodie Underhill

Jodie Underhill (born in 1976) is the co-founder of Waste Warriors, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) headquartered in Dehradun, India, that specialises in waste collection and waste management. Her work has led the Indian media to give her the nicknames 'Garbage Girl' and 'Waste Warrior'. She is a British expatriate, and her work in India has brought her recognition in various forms such as the 'Brand Icon Award' by The Times of India and the 'Green Hero Award' by Center of Media Studies. Quotes Today Waste Warriors has several projects working across tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh. My heart will always lie in the Dharamshala but that project has reached a very difficult point," The boys who work at Waste Warriors are like my brothers and I am ashamed that I can only pay them a meagre amount for the efforts they put in. They hike up and down the mountain, every week, in every season, in every state of health, just to pick up the garbage. They go from door to door collecting garbage from the homes that are brought down from the remote villages in the mountain for proper disposal This is not a sexy industry, I know. There is a social stigma attached to the job I do and I understand that it is even harder for people to turn up, as they have, for the cleanups we have organised. Waste Warriors has helped provide employment to the lowest class of people in the country and a chance to live with dignity." The money that the boys are making does not even cover the basic expense for the effort! The people refuse to participate and the shopkeepers do not wish to pool their benefits with the boys who are cleaning up. The people of Himachal are not willing to participate "People think that Waste Warriors has some kind of funding from like the Queen of England or something. In India, NGOs have such a bad reputation that people don't want to believe that there are a few organisations working honestly and transparently for years as they believe in the cause." External links Category:Living people Category:Businesswomen from England Category:1976 births Category:Women born in the 1970s