In Suratganj Kasba of UP, the pradhan (village-head) Anil Nigam has initiated comprehensive changes in the village as a result of our sensitization program. In an area where very few homes had sanitary toilets and the open sewage system was a nuisance for public hygiene, he took up some strong measures to change the status quo.
Inspired by our program, he began by ensuring that all open sewage gutters were covered with square covers. He then inspired all the residents of the village to build toilets. Over 50 of the households complied and built toilets partially sourcing funds from the panchayat.
In a country that loses 1 child every thirty seconds due to diarrhea, the root cause, i.e, poor sanitation and hygiene has to be addressed. Our sensitization efforts in the districts of UP is just a start. A lot more needs to done to attain the dream of “Swachha Swastha Bharat” (Clean and Healthy India).
Through our comprehensive outreach program, we managed to sensitize over 900 people on the importance of better hygiene and sanitation in a short span of 8 months. The buy-in and participation of village heads was perhaps the most important change we brought.
How does the journey look so far?
Over 1000 adults and 900 children were sensitized through cleanliness and hygiene awareness camps
65 new toilets were constructed by the community utilizing personal and community funds
How did we work?
We conducted various programs across four villages of UP. These included:
Specially designed sanitation and hygiene awareness programs conducted across all villages
A session of 76 religious functionaries where they spoke about the importance of cleanliness in respective traditions
Several rallies in schools that helped the children to understand the value of hygiene in our daily lives
What did we learn?
There were a lot of constraints that we noticed that had to be worked through. Many villagers were not financially equipped to build sanitary lavatories and the fear of floods affecting the area was also holding them back from investing in the idea. We feel that a concerted approach of sensitization and creating a fund by sourcing funds from government, donors and community has a greater chance of attaining success.
How can you contribute?
Only through combined and sustained effort, we can reach out to more such areas in the country. We can work with you to initiate a similar program in an area of your choice.