By Laurel Groh | Sr. Communications Manager
Collaborating with a neighboring village, Aynapatti elected community memebers to a Village Water & Sanitation Committee, which will play a fundamental role in the success of the project. In the beginning, its primary purpose is to motivate the community to participate fully. As the project progresses, the influence of the committee will continue to increase and eventually it will assume full responsibility for the new water system. Trainings are fundamental in this maturing process. In the beginning, the trainings are primarily educational. During this quarter, members of the VWSC were shown how to use kitchen waste water to grow “kitchen gardens” and basic hygiene education.
This quarter, members of the VSWCs and local Self Help Groups (SHGs) toured two model villages. Each of these villages has a successful water and sanitation project. The tour allowed the VSWCs and SHGs members to see the difference a project makes in a village. They are able to see the quality of the project and the results. The project moves from being just an idea to something they can see and touch. Further, they are asked to notice the difference in the cleanliness of the model village as compared to their own village. At the end of the tour, they are given ways to help motivate their neighbors to participate in the project.
In addition, since the start of the project, there have been remarkable changes in Ayinapatti. On August 15, 2005, Ayinapatti was declared “100% sanitized”. Because of the condition of the existing household latrines, each household constructed its own low-cost latrine. Families were able to chose the type of latrine they preferred and to obtain loan funds from their local Women’s Self-Help Group. As a result, all houses have a toilet, and a sanitation block has been built at the local primary school. This, in turn, has been a great community motivator. In fact, Ayinapatti has instituted a policy that will fine anyone caught practicing open defecation in their villages. Human waste no longer threatens the water supply, thereby reducing the incidence of water and food contamination.
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