Fiinovation, a global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability consultancy has entered into a partnership with People's Forum, along with a Public Limited Company in the business of manufacture of Calcined Petroleum Coke, for a social welfare intervention on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) components in Paradip.
People's Forum is a non-profit organisation that works in sectors including women and child development, health and sanitation, livelihood and agriculture.
The CSR programme will intend to benefit 700 households in the district, by sensitising the locals on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) practices. Evidently, the programme will ensure access to safe drinking water by installing community Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants in the locality. The activities will include installation of storage tanks for collection and storage of the purified water.
Through this initiative, each household will be able to collect 20 litres of safe drinking water each day in jerry cans.
The company claimed that people of Paradip face immense problems in fetching safe drinking water due to unavailability and through this project, Fiinovation intends to improve the quality of healthcare with access to clean water, which is vital in maintaining good health. In addition, the project also aims to create community-level awareness sessions on the prevention of waterborne disease and combating malnutrition by conducting frequent awareness drives and health camps.
To identify the key problem within the community, a rigorous need assessment study was also conducted by Fiinovation Team, which resulted in some important observations and essential requirements.
Dr Soumitro Chakraborty, CEO, Fiinovation while speaking about the partnership, stated that the project focuses on addressing the most essential problems in the area. "We are proud to partner with People's Forum and take this initiative ahead which largely focuses on improving day-to-day lives of the people from the marginalised sector, who lack basic facilities like clean drinking water, healthy environment, and most important primary healthcare facilities."
The villages witnessed some prime problems like insufficient, irregular and unsafe drinking water which leads to a number of water-borne diseases. Another problem that has been identified is air and water pollution prevalent due to the presence of many industries, resulting in respiratory and skin diseases. Adding to the burden, sadly enough, non-availability of primary healthcare services is a major challenge in the said area.
To ensure an efficient execution of the project, Fiinovation has thoroughly researched and identified People's Forum, which will sensitise and create awareness amongst people.
"Our team at Fiinovation and our partners including People's Forum realise the approach towards addressing social challenges with cost-effectiveness and time-orientation, and are certain that our consistent endeavours like these will bring a long-lasting change," added Chakraborty.
As a part of the project, the other essential activities include tree plantation in and around the colonies, school campus, playground and other suitable places, aimed to reduce the flow of pollutants and dust. To create a sense of ownership and responsibility, the existing Self Help Groups will also be capacitated to carry out the execution along with the NGO.
Nearly a year-long project, it aims to benefit around 3500 beneficiaries and contribute towards a better life by tapping on some key challenges witnessed in the area.
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