What does it take to bring a real change, a real difference in the lives of the people? I have been asking this question to myself, to many political, environmental, social authorities around for a long time. In a way I have my answer and in a way, I don?t have it as well. Is it a person, a leader that can bring a change or is one person?s endeavor futile in what has to be a network of system for change?

I would like to link this article here entirely to the environmental issues of my country Nepal and basically the region where I am studying which is Rampur, Chitwan. I am a young environmentalist working for many national and international environmental organizations. And on behalf of those organizations, I have given my efforts to make small children and youths aware of the environmental issues. But at times, I look back and wonder if any of those activities have bore any good fruits.

I was just arranging my curriculum vitae for a position as a volunteer in a local environmental organization when I got startled a while. By the few works I have done plus the numerous works done by several youths in my community plus the governmental actions plus the international interventions, it is a simple mathematical calculation that Chitwan, where I am currently living in had to be cleaner and greener by many folds. But no!  Results show otherwise. Then, where are we lacking?

If you tell a child not to throw garbage everywhere but in dustbins, he/she might do that. It is not a great challenge. The garbage when thrown in the dustbins when dumped properly in sanitary landfills and properly designed dumping sites, it is not a challenge either. But when you teach a child to throw the wastes in dustbins, he/she does that but unfortunately, the garbage doesn?t find a decent disposal then, it is a challenge now.

Getting back to my previous question, is a person enough for change? In this case, I must say all the environmental teachings are going in vain because of improper system. Here, in my place, it won?t be an exaggeration to say that no actions of awareness will be fruitful in long run if the whole system doesn?t function properly. In a country like ours, a child will soon forget that wastes have their places in dustbins and not on the streets if he/she sees no results.