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HYDERABAD, India — The ALS ice bucket challenge went viral with Facebook, celebrities and news stations all talking up the good cause. Now, a spinoff is being born.
When the ALS ice bucket challenge hit India, the people reacted in a unique way due to the country's shortage of water. Instead of buckets of water, India is using rice — but it is not poured on the heads of participants, according to National Public Radio.
A 38-year-old journalist, Manju Kalanidhi, initiated the challenge. She reports on the global rice market and felt donating rice would make more sense in India. "I personally think the [ice bucket challenge] is ideal for the American demographic," she says. "But in India, we have loads of other causes to promote," NPR reported.
The rice bucket challenge works the same way as the ALS ice bucket challenge. Kalanidhi urges donors to take a picture of the bucket they donate and post it on social media to get the word out.
Kalanidhi donated the first bucket of almost 50 pounds of rice to her 55-year-old neighbor. She snapped a picture and posted it to her own Facebook page. The post received a hundred likes in the first five hours and numerous responses urged Kalanidhi to make a page solely for the campaign, according to NPR.
Kalanidhi created the Facebook page and included a cover photo of the words, "How to participate? Pick up a bowl of rice. Go to the nearest needy person, and give it to them. Click a picture, and post it on Facebook with #RiceBucketChallenge. Tag all your friends, and ask them to take up the challenge. It is important to post back on Facebook as it will inspire all your friends to come forward. Small drops make an ocean."
For those who are concerned about posting a picture of themselves to social media, Kalanidhi says it's only necessary to include the rice bucket in the picture, according to NPR. The rice bucket challenge has already reached California, Canada and Hong Kong and continues to spread.
