Sanitation and Hygiene

The author with an infant in village Sangod, Kota

As the sanitation and hygiene campaign (Nirmal Bharat Yatra) moved from Maharastra to Madhya Pradesh, our halt on the outskirts of Indore brought us face-to-face with grim realities. Two schools that I visited had structures that in some government file were passed off as toilets.

Our stay in Indore was for ten days but I personally didn’t get bored because there was so much to do. Whenever we got the time, we ran to Indore City which had a lot of amazing things to do.

Bappu's room in his Ashram at Wardha, Maharashtra

This film humorously depicts the day to day hurdles that the poor have to overcome  to meet their basic needs such as water and sanitation and the circumstances that force them to resort to poor sanitation related behaviour such as open defecation.

Amlan Kusum Ganguly started Prayasam  to touch lives and and make a difference. Troubled by the plight of children in brick kilns and slums  and the widespread indifference towards sanitation, clean drinking water and health,  Amlan Ganguly and his organization decided to target the young to educate slum –dwellers.

October 3 – Making our way into the ground, we saw an all-night effort of the workers on site. The venue was prepped-up, workers were busy putting finishing touches – wiping the chairs of excess water, laying carpets on the ground, hanging fluorescent balloons in bunches on poles, near stalls and game pens.

Teachers play a major role in the development of our society. They inspire, motivate and pass on knowledge. To gain knowledge they go for various trainings. It’s very difficult to find teachers who know that there is a place for tradition but there is also a place for new ways, new ideas, new systems, and new approaches. But the teachers in Indore proved us wrong.

September 30th - The skies poured out the day we were to leave for Nagpur. The morning shower felt like a blessing. Thankful, but sceptical of the weather, our biggest concern was whether the rains would follow us. In Nagpur, the moment we stepped out the heat hit us. Clear skies welcomed us and for that we were grateful.