Toilets & Water for school children, rural India

Dear Friends,

In the last few months, the project has continued to support all the project schools for maintaining the hygiene and sanitation facilities in the schools.  Three more project schools were added to the list of schools supported for cleaning and maintaining the school toilets.  THree local women/ ayyahs were identified from each village and were appointed earlier this month. They are now going to the school each day and are cleaning the toilets and ensuring that hygienic conditions are maintained.

OTher than this the project is also taking up a semi-annual clearning (through acid washing) of the hygiene facilities in the large schools. Special contractors are hired for this pupose and they spend two days to clean the toilet and make them look new once again.  We have found that doing this twice a year helps in the upkeep and makes the toilets look good in the long run!

Kalanjiyam staff members are also conducting special awareness classes for the school children, on the issue of hygiene and sanitation.  Children are encouraged to come up with slogans and speak about the benefits of good hygiene.

We thank all of you for continuing to support this effort! Only your support is helping us to implement this program.

Dear Friends and Well wishers,

We thank you all once again for your continued support!

In the last three months project has been able to continue the support to maintain the hygiene premises in the 6+ schools in the project villages.   Since the schools had exams, holidays for the summer no new schools were taken up in this period.  However the project has been maintaining the hygiene and sanitation facilities by providing cleaning supplies, ensuring that the point person for the daily maintenance of the hygiene facilities is carrying out their responsibilities and troubleshooting/ taking care of any repairs in an ongoing basis.  

In this regard there were repairs the water filtration systems in two schools, and these were taken care of as needed, and drinking water was made available.  About 700 children continue to be benefited daily from the project; they don’t have to worry about not having a clean toilet in school or not having running water and can feel safe that they have clean drinking water.  We than to all of you for making this possible!  

Dear Friends and Well wishers,

In the last three months, the project has continued to support a number of rural schools for hygiene and sanitation. Five schools are being supported for upkeep of hygiene facilities, and in provision of clean drinking water in the school premises. 

In the last few months, the project has also supported Kalpat Primary school for setting up their toilet facility and also for bringing running water inside the toilets. Recently the Panchayat had provided the school additional land, and therefore a new school building was constructed in a different location from where it was originally in the village.  The new school required toilet facility and also considerable work for bringing running water supply in the toilets. So the project took the efforts to make arrangements for placing pipelines, (a distance of 1/4km) from the main road where the water supply was available.  Overhead tanks were placed on over the school and the toilets so that water supply could be brought into the school.  All this took considerable time and effort!  The nearly 50 children of this school are very happy for the support of the project which has brought them these benefits. If not, there were no resources available, and children and teachers would have been dependent on nearby neighbors for water supply. 

Two of the school class rooms have also been provided with RO water filtration system, so that clean drinking water is available for the children and teachers.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support of this project!

Dear Friends and Well wishers,

Thanks to you all for supporting this important effort!

In the last few months the project has been able to initiate support for another three schools and 120 children, with clean drinking water.   These schools have been provided with RO water filtration system, which provides safe drinking water.   While we have been working in the project villages for over 6 years now, we have been able to help each school where we work on a piece-meal basis.  Now with all your support, we have been able to help more schools that have had a dire need for renovation of the hygiene facility and ensure that each school has a proper drinking water facility. 

One of the schools the project has worked with recently is the Dharmapuram primary school.  Earlier, this school was using the ground water which was pumped into a tank to provide water supply for the children.  However since this was situated outside the school premises, there was considerable problems and adulteration of the water, making it unfit for drinking.   Now the project has fitted a new water tank on the school roof and a new RO water filtration unit inside the school with provides ample, clean drinking water for the 32+ children and the teacher who come to this school.  This is now a permanent solution for clean drinking water for all the upcoming school going children will come to this school in the future.

The project continues to maintain hygiene and sanitation facilities in six schools by providing cleaning supplies, appointing a person for the daily maintenance of the hygiene facilities and troubleshooting/ taking care of any repairs in an ongoing basis.   

Over 600 children are now benefiting daily from the project; they don’t have to worry about not having a clean toilet in school or not having running water and can feel safe that they have clean drinking water.  Thanks to all of you for making this possible!  

In July - September 2012, the school hygiene project has made considerable progress. 

Ariyanur Panchayat Union Primary School has about 24 students this year.  Previously the strength in the school ranged between 30 and 35 students.  The school had a hygiene facility but largely usable for a number of reasons.  The walls of the toilet were about 4.5 ft and there was no door.  Furthermore running water was not available inside the toilet and children had to pipe water from the village or neighbors and keep inside.  Since there was no door, and the school also had no compound wall, the local villagers would also use the toilet and it was always unhygienic and children had lots of difficulty.    Similarly, there was no drinking water source in the school and separate provisions had to be made to bring drinking water from the neighbors or community members for the children and the school teachers.

Since the condition of the toilet building was in reasonable shape, the project has now renovated the toilet facility by raising the walls by another two to three feet, ensuring ventilation and provided roofing,  The toilet has now been fitted with new doors that can be kept locked when the school is not in session which would prevent others from misusing the facility.  A local water source has been created and tank has been installed in the school and pipelines put into place so that water can be piped directly inside the toilet through tap.   For drinking water the school now has been provided with a Reverse Osmosis filtration system, so that clean drinking water is now available within the school.

Now the children do not have to run anywhere outside the school for running or drinking water or to use the toilet! They can stay in school the whole day and focus on their education!

Kizhakaandai Primary School, which had been supported last year with water tank and renovation of the hygiene and sanitation facilities, has now been provided with drinking water system, through Reverse Osmosis filtration system.  This would provide clean drinking water in the class room, while previously the children and teacher had to depend on the water source /taps in the hygiene facility or bring drinking water from the local community.   The school has also been encouraged and motivated to maintain the new hygiene facilities and the project is monitoring that this is happening.