Five people had died due to dengue in village Kukusvada located near Chorwad in Mangrol Taluka of Janugadh district in Gujarat in 2013. Before that, in 2011, many people in several villages of this Taluka had suffered from fever.
Mosquitoes would breed in open spaces where villagers used to defecate as there were no toilets in the entire village. The problem was so grave that it had given birth to several diseases like cholera, malaria and dengue.
The lack of awareness towards sanitation and hygiene had led to this situation where villagers were clueless on how to deal with it.
At that time, intervention by non-profit organizations proved to be life changing for them as initiatives taken helped them get rid of the unhygienic practices and move towards a healthy lifestyle. Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell (CSPC) and Aga Khan Rural Support Programs, India (AKRSPI) undertook the work of changing the situation by spreading awareness on cleanliness.
The first task was to educate people on importance of having toilets and why is it necessary to curb the practice of open-defecation. To construct one toilet, a total sum of Rupees 15-17 thousand is required of which Rupees 4600 were paid by the government under the Total Sanitation Project and a thousand rupees was contributed by 'CSPC'.
Remaining expenditure had to be borne by the beneficiaries. "Those belonging to economically weaker sections took up the responsibility of constructing the toilets themselves and proceeded with the work as and when the money was arranged," Kirit Bhai, Program Assistant, AKRSPI.
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They helped people of twenty villages of Mangrol, Maliya Hati and Varavel to set up toilets in their houses. Sangavad Village situated in Mangrol Takula of Junagarh district has a population of 2200 consisting of communities like Koli Patel, Rabari, and Dalit et al. This village now has toilets in majority of its houses.
However, it was not an easy task to convince the villagers. They were so habitual of defecating in open that they had refused to adopt the idea of constructing toilets in their houses initially. Various modes of communication were then adopted to propagate the message of cleanliness amongst them.
Street plays, school programmes, counseling sessions etc. helped change the mindset. Then one day a family took the initiative of constructing a toilet in their house and soon others too got inspired to build toilets in their houses as well.
"The older generation of the village was not ready to accept the idea of having a toilet inside their houses. But the awareness and willingness of the younger generation helped overcome their hesitation and here they are benefitting from the newly constructed toilets," said Merubhai Bachubhai Ram, member of Water Committee of Chhatroda.
Ninety to ninety-five percent families of eight villages have built toilets under the Coastal Area Development Program. This has made life of womenfolk in these villages much easier. "Earlier, we had to wait for the dark to go and relieve ourselves. It was very difficult to hold it for long as it gave us pain and other problems but we just couldn't go out of shame," rued a local woman who is now happy to have a toilet in her own house.
Physically disabled and senior citizens too got some relief after the construction of toilets. Harigarbhai Aparnath whose left hand and leg is paralyzed for the last twenty years was dependent on his wife Pushpaben who would always accompany him to the open ground. But now life is not as difficult.
Renowned storyteller of Gujarat, Shri Morari bapu also stated, "If there is one less temple built, it will do, but construction of toilets is inevitable." The Charkha Development Communication Network feels that this set up has not only helped eradicate diseases, fear and hesitation from the lives of villagers but has helped increase self-respect amongst them.
The views expressed in the article are that of the author Sanjay Dave.