Small Steps, Big Cause

New Delhi-based Devika Chhabra is not just another teenager. At 17, she is turning plastic bottles into clothes for the poor.

- Nikshubha Garg

While most students her age are engrossed in ensuring they follow the path to a great career, Devika Chhabra, 17, is tackling one of the most pertinent issues plaguing the world—plastic pollution. The germ of the idea was planted when Chhabra, during bus rides to and from her school in New Delhi, saw animals munching on garbage on an everyday basis. “Has it ever happened to you that certain sights and sounds, which are part of your mundane life, unexpectedly give you a new direction? I went through that sentiment. I saw animals eat litter regularly, but despite the restlessness I experienced at the sight, I chose to ignore it. Until one day, in July 2018, I decided.not to.”