15. The Washing Machine Project - Navjot Sawhney Welcome to the last episode of The Sikh Coach Podcast for 2020, wishing you are all keeping safe and well. In this episode I catch up with Navjot Sawhney who is the founder of The Washing Machine Project. Navjot is a living example of how you can take an idea and make it a reality. If the idea is for a true social purpose, it can change people’s lives for the better, forever. The Washing Machine Project’s mission is “to alleviate the burden of hand-washing clothes for everyone, everywhere”. They are a charitable organisation so are dependent on donations and corporate funding so do support this great initiative. The project is set out to create a single, standalone, off the grid washing solution that will be affordable, portable and accessible for everyone, everywhere. Did you know * 70% of the world’s population do not have access to a washing machine * Women constitute the majority of the world’s poor population and often carry the burden of washing * Some people spend up to 20 hours per week hand washing clothes * Hand washing clothes increases the likelihood of skin irritation and chronic back pain Nav Sawhney is the founder of The Washing Machine Project. Nav was born and brought up in London but his family are from unpartitioned India. During the 1947 Indian Independence, Nav’s father and his family fled their home from what now is Pakistan with only the clothes on their backs. This has always been the foundations of why he wants to help people fleeing conflict. Whether it’s building lifesaving cookstoves in rural India, being a trustee of an international development charity, Engineers Without Borders UK (EWB-UK), building clean water systems for an orphanage in Namibia or volunteering my time at a local homeless shelter for migrants in London. He has always been passionate about helping others, with a particular interest in International Development. “The Washing Machine Project’s mission propels me every waking hour: to help women and children who are hand-washing the clothes of 70% of the global population. The idea for “Divya”, the innovative hand-cranked washing machine, was born out of compassion for my neighbour Divya in India, who spent 20 hours a week suffering joint pains and skin irritation from hand-washing clothes on her hands and knees during my humanitarian work with Engineers Without Borders UK (EWB-UK) in 2017” Links and how to support The Washing Machine Project: Website: https://thewashingmachineproject.org/our-team To Donate: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/the-washing-machine-project?utm_term=GqwpADbBr Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewashingmachineproject/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thewashorg YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd00giDffeywdLxQCbeul4g/ FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/thewashingmachineproject/ Email: thewashingmachineproject@gmail.com Navjot Sawhney LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/navsawhney Wishing you find this episode adds value to your perspective about innovation and how you can take your ideas and make them a reality. Peace out for 2020, see you in 2021 for another great line up of guests and topics. Thank you for all your support. Avtar Singh The Sikh Coach #innovation #socialpurpose #socialinnovation #philanthropy #sikh #sikhs #sikhism #givingback