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The tribal dominated Thakurmunda block is one of the poorest in Odisha. For these isolated villages in the middle of the forest, access to any civic amenities is low. Over 2/3rds of the schools lacked adequate sanitation facilities and open defecation was the norm.
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The tribal dominated Thakurmunda block is one of the poorest in Odisha.
For these isolated villages in the middle of the forest, access to any civic amenities is low.
Over 2/3rds of the schools lacked adequate sanitation facilities and open defecation was the norm.
while school WASH Committees were formed and consulted on their specific needs.
Of these, 25 of the most needy were selected for toilet construction.
Mapping exercises and WASH plans were prepared; with buy-in fromthe schools themselves on where and how construction should occur.
Mason training on the proper construction of child-friendly toilets…
has even helped establish some known ‘toilet-men’ in the area!
Since there was little water access, a first step was to dig borewells in each school;run either by a submersible motor or a forced lift pump.
The participatory process gave overall responsibility for construction supervisionto the School WASH Committees; with a bank account opened in their name.
These child-friendly sanitation units were built separately for boys and girls…
The innovations also included a changing room and incinerator concept for the girls;making coming to school during menstruation time much easier.
Toilet maintenance is done by collecting Rs. 1 from each student every month and sometimes taking bits from the beautification fund given to the schools.
Since the iron content of the water in many schools is quite high,water filters have been provided to help promote ‘safe’ drinking water.
At the same time, newly formed Student Health Clubs supported by School WASH Champions across 176 schools are taking the initiative on awareness activities…
with 10 core mandates that included student hygiene, maintenance of the toilets and clean drinking water.
The impact on basic hygiene is clearly visible; especially in terms of hand washing….
Awareness generation is also done on a regular basis among the community at large.
These widespread efforts are supported by the ‘Little Star Federation’: a collectiveStudent Health Club with 2 representatives from each panchayat across the block.
These little stars not only look at holistic school WASH issues; but even go door-to-door generating awareness and are even beginning to advocate with the government during quarterly multi-stakeholder meetings.
In fact, the young block leadership has begun pushing WASH issues; and is launching toilet construction as an option under the National Guaranteed Rural Employment Scheme (NGRES).
The next stage will involve penetrating this awareness further down from theschool to the community; building a more sanitary Thakurmunda at all levels.
Produced for: Plan India Produced by: Safer World Communications, www.saferworld.in Photographs: SarikaGulati
