Our Work in the Sunderbans, India

Current Situation

The Sundarban region of West Bengal is one of the most impoverished regions of the entire Indian sub-continent. Here, 95% of the people live below the poverty line as subsistence fisherman. Many villagers must walk two miles to find water from unprotected ponds, canals, and marshes. The shallow wells are too saline for drinking. As a result, 65% of the children in the region suffer from diarrheal illnesses, permanently damaging their mental and physical development.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education

Water 1st provides grants to our Indian partner organization, APS, who works with beneficiary communities to implement water, sanitation, and health education projects. Projects supported by Water 1st in India consist of drilling new deep wells and installing locally-manufactured Mark II hand pumps. Each hand-pump serves about 100 families. Individual household pour-flush toilets are also constructed to help eliminate the spread of disease. Households participating in the project will participate in a hygiene education program to learn about how sanitation, hand-washing and other hygiene behaviors can improve health.

Women’s Self-Help Groups

Village water and sanitation committees are formed for each water point. These committee have about 10 female members, elected from the village self-help groups (SHGs). The water and sanitation committee works with the local panchayat (local government) to get consent for the water point. The water and sanitation committee collects, records and deposits in a bank a monthly water subscription fee, about 10 Rupees/month (about 25 cents), from each household. Committee members are also trained in hand-pump operation and maintenance and given a set of tools and an initial supply of spare parts.

Capital Cost Recovery

Capital cost recovery is a unique aspect of our India projects. Even though the villagers of the Sundarbans are poor, they are helping to pay 40% of the capital costs of their projects through monthly installments over four years. This financial investment on the part of our project participants tells us that they place a high value on improving their water supply and gives us a greater assurance that a project will be well-maintained. It also leaves them their dignity and makes them feel proud that they have not been given a hand-out. The loan program also helps Water 1st and APS reach more people in need of safe water and toilets; repaid loan funds are used to begin additional projects. People participating in the loan program are proud that their loan repayments will be used to help a neighbor finance a new toilet, or help a neighboring village construct a new water point.

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