Making Sanitation Accessible

Fighting open-defecation with one  toilet at a time.

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Challenge

626 million people affected by open defecation in India resulting in serious diseases and pollution

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Strategy

Ensuring communities have access to toilets and sensitizing them to use them

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Impact

62,000+ toilets built across 9 states of India

Overview

In 2010, the United Nations estimated that based on Indian statistics, 626 million people practice open defecation. India’s share of open defecation in the world is 60%. The practice creates pollution and has an adverse impact on the health of communities. It has been found to contribute to the incidence of diarrhea especially, which in turn causes malnutrition. Studies also showed that open defecation promotes poor health in women with long-term negative effects on their psycho-social well-being.

The Art of Living, in association with its sister concern, the International Association for Human Values (IAHV), began tackling the issue of inadequate sanitation in 1999 under the 5H Program, which aims to eradicate poverty, misery, and disease across rural areas worldwide (the 5H program later evolved into the model village program). Since then, we have continued to construct toilets with our CSR partners.

We are also assisting the government to make villages free of open defecation under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Our youth leaders carry out the field-work involved in these projects and ensure its sustainability

Rural Development

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Bring solar lighting, sanitation facilities, strong local governance and much more in rural India

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People need to focus on toilets for the sake of healthy life and wardoff  diseases.

 ~  Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi shankar

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Strategy

Our strategy includes:

Building a team: We build youth leaders through the Karma Yog (formerly YLTP), who work along with rural managers to drive the project. They work at various stages of the project, including conducting surveys, motivating families to get toilets constructed, and ensuring villages stay open defecation-free.

Need assessment survey: The youth leaders conduct surveys to understand villagers’ socio-economic status. It helps to understand the kind of hygiene and sanitation programs needed in the area. The surveying activity also helps us to shortlist the beneficiaries for whom toilets would be constructed.

Awareness campaigns: Our next step is to educate the rural community on topics related to hygiene and sanitation and share the importance of using toilets. We do this through street plays, pada yatra (street marches), and yoga and meditation programs. We also engage with community members through cleanliness drives. The youth leaders work closely with various stakeholders in a village, like the Panchayat, local youth, and the elderly in order to ensure that all participate in making their village open defecation-free.

Toilet construction activity: Under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the government sponsors construction of toilets. In some cases, we directly contribute to their construction. We have constructed prefabricated toilets requiring less water for households with no direct supply of water, brick, and mortar toilets for households where water is not a limitation.

Four Steps to Success

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Building a team

via Karma Yog

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Need assessment survey

to understand villagers status

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Awareness campaigns

education in hygiene and sanitation

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Toilet construction activity

also for households with no water supply

Impact

62,000+

toilets

     Toilets constructed
 
 
 
 
 

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