Team:IISER-Kolkata/Human Practices

Ubuntu

“I am what I am because of who we all are”
                              - African Proverb

Team IISER Kolkata right from the start wanted to transcend its reach and understanding of the problem it is trying to tackle beyond the four walls of the lab. Only after you deeply realize what the evil is and connect on a personal scale with its sufferers, can you effectively work hard to resolve it.
Human Practices gave the team this very opportunity to venture out with our BacMan.

As a part of the Human Practices we conducted the following activities:

  1. Surveyed the localities of Dalaipur and 16 number settlement : Field Surveys
  2. Interviewed expert researchers working on this field and physicians seeing and treating patients with these symptoms : Expert Interactions
  3. Conduct social awareness and communication camps in local villages

Interacting with experts and conducting pilot rounds of surveys revealed the following shocking facts:

  • Local people are unaware of the exact cause of their symptoms such as lesions, hairfall and still births, etc.
  • People are still under the shadow of superstitions safely assuming that the victims are in possession of the evil hence such dreadful symptoms.
  • People follow unsafe practices to obtain water for drinking and cooking food etc exposing them to higher concentrations of arsenic which can be mitigated.
  • Economically and socially backward classes are more likely to suffer arsenicosis due to associated undernourished state of health.

Hence Team IISER Kolkata decided to organize awareness camps with the following motives:

  • Inform people about arsenic contamination and its origin in ground water of West Bengal.
  • Educate them about the connection of unsafe drinking water and symptoms of arsenic.
  • Eradicate superstitious beliefs regarding development of symptoms and inculcate a scientific perspective to look at the issue.
  • Communicate about our project “BacMan” and how it would shield the people from arsenicosis.
  • Wonderstruck them with achievements of synthetic biology in simple vernacular dialect of Bengali through form of posters, demonstrations, etc.

Team posing with their poster after an eye-opening human practices visit

Our poster used for spreading social awareness and educating people about Arsenic contamination, safe water use practices, synthetic biology and Project BacMan

1st Camp in Dalaipur

One to one counselling of people

Home to home communication of safe water usage measures

“Kya aapke paani mein arsenic hai? (Does your water have Arsenic?)”

Human Practices helped us “realize” the problem

2nd Camp in 16 number settlement

Presenting Poster on a fine evening to explain Arsenic contamination and Project BacMan

And we could see the high hopes in eyes of people for their savior, BacMan

3rd Camp in Dalaipur

Setting up arrangements for the On Road Poster Session in Bangla

Pallab explaining the Poster in Bangla

Team IISER Kolkata posing for a photo after successful awareness camp in Dalaipur

Team’s Experience after HP

Buddha reached enlightenment not in a school, not in a lab but under the Bodhi tree. Our team reached realization of the problem and the responsibility on them to take solid steps in helping solve the problem not in the lab, not in a classroom, but on their HP visits to underdeveloped poor localities dependent upon a contaminated water resource for all daily chores. We are thankful to the iGEM Foundation for ensuring that teams also participate in HP to expand their horizons of perception not only as good researchers but also as good human beings.

The links to the other Human Practices pages are given below.