Sachin named UNICEF ambassador

Mumbai: Having carried the burden of a billion during his distinguished cricketing career, Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar has taken a fresh guard, that of shouldering social responsibility. He seems determined to accomplish a few feats in the societal field too.

“This is the second innings of my life that is really, really important to me. I will serve to the best of my ability,“ Sachin vowed, drawing thunderous applause at a function held to announce him as Unicef 's brand ambassador for South Asia here on Thursday .

The cricketing legend has already featured in videos aimed at promoting hygiene, along with Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan for Unicef.

About 10 days after delivering his touching farewell speech in this same city, Sachin stuck an emotional chord again. This time it was about more than a game, life.

“As many as 1,600 children die everyday due to diseases. I just want to help Unicef make more people aware of this initiative that I am part of -it's as simple as washing our hands with soap. I demonstrated that to some of the schoolchildren during my shoots for advertisements and it felt nice to convey the message in a subtle way... to lead life the way it’s meant to be,” the Little Master said.

When it comes to hygiene, India is listed as the worst among south Asian countries, with Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan being relatively better off. After sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia has the highest number of under-five deaths.

Also, 39 per cent of the children under five are stunted. It is also the region with the highest number of people without toilets — more than 680 million! “I was surprised to know that 36 per cent of the world population don’t have access to safe and clean toilets. To think that this basic facility is not available to common people in today’s age is difficult to digest. If we could bring down those astronomical numbers down as low as possible, it would be quite an achievement for me post my cricketing years,” a resolute Sachin said.

The Master spoke of instances in his own life to stress the importance of sanitation and hygiene. “As a child I would play cricket with my friends and occasionally wouldn’t wash my hands before rushing to eat at home. But my mother ensured that I washed my hands properly and had food with clean hands.

“My wife being a doctor, I have seen my children get the best treatment when ill. But not all are fortunate enough, so it becomes our responsibility to share our thoughts and knowledge with them and make them understand how important hygiene is. Talking about the hygiene and washing hands with soap is like a vaccine which can prevent lot of diseases... we need to pass on the message,” Sachin said.

Finally, the big bat set the ball rolling to rally people.

“It’s all about creating a healthier and cleaner place to live in… to ensure many happy faces on the planet.”