Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

"Sanitation is more important than independence." - Mahatma Gandhi
There is a tremendous need to work on water, sanitation and hygiene issues in the Sundarbans where there is a lack of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities. Sabuj Sangha's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme aims at promoting positive hygiene behaviors, ensuring access to clean safe drinking water and providing household sanitation facilities. This is of huge importance in local communities and has a direct impact on the overall health of the community. Moreover, water, sanitation and hygiene issues can have other significant implications. For instance, the absence of separate gender toilets has been noted as one of the factors for adolescent girls discontinuing their school education. Sabuj Sangha has been working in partnership with Water for People, USA on a number of water, sanitation and hygiene programmes.
Key Activities

Installing hand pumps and tube wells
Hand pumps and tube wells have been installed in 12 Gram Panchayats spread across 2 blocks - Pathar Pratima and Mathurapur II in South 24 Parganas.





Constructing toilet blocks in homes, schools and elsewhere
Toilet block in homes and schools have been constructed in the areas mentioned above. Separate toilet blocks for boys and girls are built in local schools.
Conducting school sanitation and hygiene programme
School sanitation and hygiene programmes have been conducted in 7 schools in Pathar Pratima and Mathurapur II, South 24 Parganas. The programme focuses on promoting safe hygienic practices among children. It also aims at supporting the school administration, children and related stakeholders in maintaining the water and sanitation facilities developed.





Building capacities of communities on water, sanitation and hygiene issues and practices
Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) committees have been formed at each tubewell site. These committees are responsible for maintaining tubewells and consist of 4 men and 6 women each. They collect money for the local community to cover the cost of repairing and maintenance the tubewells. They also track hygienic behaviors among community members.

Several local youths have also been trained as Jalabandhus - volunteers who undertake basic repair jobs and help maintain the tubewells. Children and adolescent groups have also been formed to create awareness on water, sanitation and hygiene issues.


Conducting awareness activities
Various activities focusing on generating awareness about water borne and fly borne diseases, the importance of a clean environment and other important issues are conducted regularly. Community meetings, orientations, campaigns and health fairs are commonly used as platforms for highlighting these issues.

The table below shows the WASH targets and outputs of the Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation Programme between April 2009 and March 2010.



No Aspect Target Output
1 Constructing Household Toilets 500 509
2 Constructing Household Toilets (Amount Recoverable) 750 431
3 Constructing Toilet Blocks in High Schools 10 9
4 Constructing Toilet Blocks in Primary Schools 5 4
5 Sinking Tubewells 3 3
6 Upgrading Platforms 25 25
7 Repairing Platforms in Aila Affected Areas 17 17

To date, Sabuj Sangha has helped construct household toilets in 6200 homes. Another 3200 low cost toilets have been constructed as part of the government's Total Sanitation Campaign. Also, 105 school toilet blocks have been built. 82 tubewells have been installed while platforms have been raised for an existing 119 tubewells.