LONDON (TIP): British Sikh entrepreneur Navjot Sawhney, founder of the Washing Machine Project providing low-income communities with accessible and sustainable washing solutions, is among 14 winners of the annual 21st Century Icon Awards in London. Sawhney won the Sustainability Rising Star Award for the Washing Machine Project and received the trophy at a ceremony on Friday from Ibukun Adebayo, Group Director, Sustainable Finance and Investment Strategy, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
His eco-friendly hand-cranked Washing Machine Project benefits families without access to an electric machine in underdeveloped countries and refugee camps.
“Since its creation in 2021, they have positively impacted the lives of over 30,000 people,” read the citation for the project, which has won several awards, including the British Prime Minister’s Points of Light award in the past.
CA Bhavani Devi, the first Indian woman fencer to qualify and compete at the Olympic Games, was awarded the Competitive Sports Award, and Indian-origin entrepreneurs Ashok Duppati and Dheeraj Siripurapu bagged the Relentlessly Resolute Award for their efforts behind several market beating businesses over the last 20 years.
“We are absolutely delighted to celebrate and recognize these outstanding global icons,” said Tarun Ghulati and Preeti Rana of Squared Watermelon Limited, co-founders of the awards, now in their seventh year.
“We created these awards to showcase the young leaders who, through their tenacity, grit and hard work, have become the beacons of change, inspiring others and are on the front seat of innovation,” they said.
Around 200 business leaders, celebrities, and sports and community champions gathered for the awards ceremony last week, for which the 14 winners were whittled down from 45 finalists and around 600 submissions from around the world. The judging panel was made up of a diverse range of experts, including former Lord Mayor of London Vincent Keaveny and peers from the House of Lords.
Among other winners on the evening included the Specialist Professional Award for tech firm Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S and the Savvy Luxury Award for Dr Tara Lalvani, founder of beauty brand Beautifect.
The 21st Century Icon Awards were launched in 2017 by Squared Watermelon Ltd as a means to celebrate success and draw attention to the work of exceptional entrepreneurs, philanthropists, tech professionals, and sports and media personalities on a global stage.
Tag: Navjot Sawhney
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British Sikh entrepreneur Navjot Sawhney among winners of UK’s Icon Awards
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British-Sikh engineer wins PM Rishi Sunak’s Points of Light Award for low-cost invention
LONDON (TIP): A British Sikh engineer behind an energy-efficient manual washing machine for low-income groups around the world, inspired by his volunteering work in India, has won Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Points of Light Award.
Navjot Sawhney, who set up his Washing Machine Project around four years ago, was honored for his hand-cranked machine invention which can be operated in regions without electricity.
Sawhney described the experience of winning the award from Sunak, announced earlier this month, as “surreal” after the British Indian leader praised his “ingenuity and compassion”.
“You have used your professional skills as an engineer to help thousands of people around the world who don’t have access to electric washing machines,” Sunak wrote in a personal letter to Sawhney.
“Your innovative, hand-cranked washing machines are giving families the dignity of clean clothes and the time you are saving them is empowering many women who have been held back from education and employment,” he said.
“I know that your machines are also helping Ukrainian families who have been forced to flee their homes and are currently living in humanitarian aid centers. Your ingenuity, compassion and dedication to improving the lives of others is an inspiration to us all,” he added.
Previously employed by Dyson, the technology firm well known for vacuum cleaners, Sawhney wanted to use his skills to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged communities.
It was while volunteering in southern India with “Engineers Without Borders” that he saw the disproportionate burden placed on women to carry out handwashing, inspiring him to design a manual, off-grid and fully sustainable machine which saves 50 per cent on water compared to handwashing, and 75 per cent on time.
He named his first machines after his neighbor Divya and the Washing Machine Project was created to manufacture the “Divya” devices on a wider scale, with over 300 machines so far distributed worldwide to places including refugee camps, schools and orphanages.
“Winning the Points of Light award and getting recognized by the Prime Minister is a phenomenal privilege,” said London-born Sawhney.
“The Washing Machine Project’s mission is to alleviate the burden of unpaid labor, mainly on women and children. I’m so proud that giving back the dignity of clean clothes to those who hand wash them is getting the recognition it deserves.
“Thank you to our team, volunteers, partners and beneficiaries who work tirelessly daily to make our mission a success,” he said.
According to Downing Street, his hand-cranked washing machines have benefitted over 1,000 families without access to an electric machine in underdeveloped countries or refugee camps, including humanitarian aid centers in Poland for Ukrainian refugees.
The Washing Machine Project’s Go Fund Me crowdfunding campaign has raised over 91,000 pounds since July 2021.
Points of Light are outstanding individual volunteers and people seen as making a change in their community and are regularly honored by the British Prime Minister to recognize their inspirational work.
(Source: PTI)
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Indian-origin Sikh engineer’s low-cost washing machines to head to India
LONDON (TIP): A London-born Indian-origin engineer’s project to supply low-cost washing machines to countries such as India, where hand washing of clothes remains a time-consuming exercise, has got off to a good start following field research in camps in Iraq.
Navjot Sawhney, who set up his Washing Machine Project three years ago to provide energy efficient manual washing machines to low-income regions, has been working with volunteers and partners to conduct research ahead of supplies. The organization has also launched a crowd funding appeal on Just Giving to raise 10,000 pounds to aid the delivery process.
“At the Washing Machine Project, we believe in the power of innovation to empower lives. That is why we have developed an off-grid, manual washing machine, which saves 60-70 per cent of time and 50 per cent of water, for people in low-income and displaced communities,” notes the charity’s fundraising drive.
“This idea was born out of a friendship. Nav, our founder, was on a sabbatical in rural South India, making clean cook stoves when he met his neighbor, Divya. It was through their conversations at the end of each day that Nav came to realize the significant burden unpaid labor places on women,” it notes.
Sawhney was on a sabbatical from his engineering career in the UK when the idea of a hand-cranked washing machine struck him.
“While in Tamil Nadu, I lived in a small village called Kuilapalayam. The community had limited access to continuous electricity, and water was switched on twice a day,” recalls Sawhney.
“My next-door neighbor Divya and I became excellent friends. While we talked, she would hand wash her clothes. I was always so shocked at how long and how much effort it would take to conduct the relatively unproductive task,” he said.
This led to him coming up with the “Divya 1.5” model of his manual washing machine, inspired by a simple salad spinner. Now 30 of the Divya 1.5 will be used at Mamrashan Refugee Camp in Iraq with the help of the charity Care International. It is expected to positively impact 300 people and save up to 750 hours annually per household, equivalent to two months of daylight hours. Sawhney plans to head to Iraq at the beginning of September to help distribute the machines.
Later this year, the Washing Machine Project aims to fulfill orders to refugee camps in Jordan. Eventually, the plan is for these machines to be shipped to other parts of the world, including India and Africa.
“It is not just Divya who bears this burden. We have spoken to women and communities in 11 different countries around the world, including Lebanon, the Philippines and Cameroon. In those communities we have met children as young as 6 who have begun helping with this task. This is detrimental not just to their education but also to their childhoods; to being children,” notes the project.
“There are many health risks associated with hand-washing clothes, notably contracting infections and water-borne diseases from direct contact with contaminated water sources,” it adds.