Lives Touched
2014 - 2015
Nadia District, West Bengal
The Story
As per the 2011 Census, nearly 51% population in rural areas continue to defecate in open. The state of West Bengal was making significant progress in stopping open defecation. Nadia district, among all the districts of West Bengal, was a forerunner and had been able to nearly achieve the targets set for installation of sanitary toilets at the household and institutional level.
Despite such commendable statistics, achieving the last mile remained a challenge. This established the need for public awareness towards stopping open defecation, the need for promoting improved sanitation and hygiene practice among the rural population and providing quality sanitary toilets at a home-and-community level.
UNICEF in consultation with the Government of West Bengal commissioned a study with its development partner Hijli INSPIRATION, with the following sub-objectives :
- To review the status of toilet coverage in the district and to identify the enabling factors.
- To understand the challenges and community will.
- To suggest strategies that will help Nadia attend Open Defecation Status.
“Sabar Souchagar” Initiative aimed to achieve the targets set for toilet construction and to develop community will in stopping open defecation.
Impact
Highlights
- People keen to construct new toilets
- Remarkable change in toilet using behaviour in the villages
Champions of Change
Supriya Biswas sets her Priorities
Supriya Biswas, wife of Shankar Biswas of Tarpur Gram Panchayat – Jhaumahal Village of Ranaghat I Block hails from a very poor family and works as a daily labour. She has two sons one of whom is handicapped. After a lot of economic struggle, they were able to buy couple of cows. They had nourished those two cows for long and had developed an affection for them. But when it came to mobilizing resources to construct a toilet, she prioritized dignity over supplementary nutrition and sold off the cows in exchange for money. It was indeed very painful for her but she considered it shameful to go for open defecation.
Case of Sarjina Bibi
Sarjina Bibi, a marginal worker, had worked under MGNREGA scheme to earn a livelihood. Her income level was very low as she did not have regular work. She was making arrangements for her daughter’s marriage in Nandighat village of Anulia Gram Panchayat with Dilwar Mondol. They demanded dowry which Sarjina Bibi accepted. However, a few days later the groom’s family expressed their desire to call off the marriage proposal because the girl’s family does not have a toilet at home indicating a low status. The negativity charged up Sarjina Bibi and she became desperate to collect money for constructing a toilet after managing the dowry and other related expenditure. Knowing this fact the groom came forward and said he would not take any dowry instead the bride’s family should construct a toilet at their residence.