This morning we received notification from The Rotary Foundation that our Final Report for GG#1640728 – India Sanitation Project in Indra Village – has been officially accepted and all project activities now successfully completed.
Conditions in the community
People in the village live in the most deprived conditions of ignorance and poverty, completely unaware of their potential. In spite of being very near the capital of the country and having high potential for spiritual tourism, the village lags behind in almost every stream of development. Most of the people are still living below the poverty line and their education level is very low. It was found that open defecation is very high and overall sanitation conditions in the area is poor. Toilets are seldom found in the houses. Healthcare is not easily accessible because doctors seldom visit the community. There is urgent need for hygiene promotion. Health and hygiene promotion are required to enhance the health standards especially those of the women and female children.
Intervention
The objective of the project was to build 65 toilets for residents and conduct hygiene training and awareness in the surrounding community. We actually were able to construct 67 toilets – see attached photo. During the community celebration of the completion of the 50th toilet, members of the Delhi Midwest were moved to personally donate another 55 toilets for a total of 120. This directly affected over 800 people and influenced many times that number. It has been found that once families have toilets, others in the community are determined to get one of their own. This multiplier effect is difficult to quantify.
Many thanks to the Rotary Club of Delhi Midwest for all their hard work to bring the project to a successful conclusion, especially Ashok Jain and Sunil Kapoor. We also appreciate the generous funding from your club to make this happen. We appreciate it as do the people from the village of Indra, India.