Sachin is goodwill envoy for SAsia

MUMBAI, NOV 29 -
Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has become Unicef Ambassador for South Asia where he will support the UN organisation’s efforts to promote hygiene and sanitation. During his tenure, he will be travelling to different parts of South Asia, including Nepal, calling for personal cleanliness and sanitation.

“Post-cricket, the second innings of my life (as Unicef goodwill ambassador ) will be equally important and means a lot to me,” Tendulkar said here on Thursday, at a signing ceremony. “In the end we want to make our world a happier and healthier planet.” Karin Hulshof, Unicef regional director for South Asia, was present at the induction ceremony. Tendulkar retired from international cricket early this month after playing his final Test match in hometown Mumbai. He is the only batsman to score 100 international centuries.

“Hello to all my friends and children from Nepal. I would like to spread the message of hygiene and sanitation and why it’s important to wash hands with soap,” he told The Kathmandu Post on Thursday, on the sidelines of the ceremony. He also hailed the recent success of Nepal’s cricket team. “I congratulate the Nepal cricket team for qualifying for the T20 World Cup. Big, big congratulations to Nepal for the great achievement. I look forward to visiting Nepal and helping the children there,” he said.

Tendulkar said his two children didn’t have to worry about hygiene, as his wife Anjali is a doctor, adding that the challenge was to impart similar level of knowledge to every mother in South Asia so that their children could be safe.

“My wife being a doctor, I didn’t have to worry about the hygiene for our children. But when people don’t have access to knowledge, it is our responsibility to share our knowledge,” he said. Unicef ambassadors are celebrities with a demonstrated commitment to improving the lives of children and Tendulkar, said Unicef’s Hulshof, is an excellent role model. “We believe you can be as effective in reaching every village and community to change behaviours in relation to hygiene and sanitation,” she said.



South Asia is the region with the highest number of people without toilets, with 681 million people practising open defecation. Nepal started a sanitation movement in 2009 resulting in more than 1,000 VDCs and nine districts becoming free of open defecation. Every year, more than half a million South Asian children under the age of five die of diarrhoea, caused by unsafe drinking water, lack of sanitation and poor hygiene, according to Unicef. “My mother made sure I washed my hands with soap every time I came home,” Tendulkar said, empahsising on the role of mothers in keeping their children from harm’s way.

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