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Sector: Sanitation
Small houses and small plots of land are an all
too familiar site in the village of Hada of
Fatehpur Block. The village, with only 39
families, was experiencing many economic and
social hardships. Many of the villagers were of
the Scheduled Caste and as a result, they were
extremely poor. The surrounding town was
gradually encroaching upon the village and
occupying precious farm land. Because land was
so limited, toilets were unheard of in the
village. It was a common sight to see
individuals defecating on the very land they
would grow food on. Women in the village found
it difficult to use open areas because there was
no land where they could go and so they decided
it was time to take action. They summoned the
help of a contractor to build toilets in their
villages and handed over a significant portion
of their hard earned money. The women were
excited at the thought of having a designated
bathroom in their village so that they would not
have to go in the open.
However, their money would soon go to waste as
the contractor who promised to build toilets in
their village took their money and was never
seen again. The contractor had not only stolen
the women’s money, but had broken their trust.
This made it very difficult for CORD to come
into the village and help the women. However,
after some time, CORD workers were able to gain
the women’s trust because they promised to train
the women on how to build toilets and not touch
a single rupee of theirs. Although the women
were skeptical about the process they agreed to
attend the training.
CORD
workers conducted training for three evenings
since that was the ideal time when everyone was
available. Through these trainings, the
villagers realized that the importance of
toilets was not a matter inconvenience, but of
health and cleanliness. Their attitude about
sanitation was transformed and they felt the
urgency of building toilets.
 Ten families
contributed 200 rupees each for a total of 2000
rupees. When it came time to buy the materials,
the families did a bit of bargaining with the
proprietor by saying that if he gave them a
discount, they could assure him that many
toilets would be constructed in the future. From
loans obtained through the Self-Help Groups and
the funds gathered earlier, the families were
able to buy sufficient material for constructing
latrines. Vinod, a CORD worker and sanitation
expert, was called to facilitate the training
and build a demonstration toilet. The basic
toilet structure was constructed in 1350 rupees
by the hands of the beneficiaries themselves.
Within 15 days, 12 toilets were constructed.
Even more important than the construction of the
toilet was that the villagers were actually
using them. They convinced others who thought
they were not ready for a toilet to build them,
and they even started work on soakage pits to
conserve water.
One particular villager from Hada, Mahindar
Singh, came forward as a ‘Voluntary Village
Resource Volunteer’ and trained at CORD. He was
embarrassed about the sanitation condition of
his village; visitors would not be able to tell
whether animals or humans lived there. He was
determined to do something about the sad state
of his village and decided to attend training at
CORD. In the CORD training, he learned about why
sanitation was necessary and how he could
empower his fellow villagers to take sanitation
issues into their own hands. He was shown
different low-cost latrines and how to install
them into a home. Once trained, he went back to
the village and informed others on the benefits
and process of building a toilet.
However, Mahindar did not stop at just bringing
awareness to the villagers. Since Mahindar was a
mason, he decided that instead of building other
structures, he would dedicate his time to
building latrine structures. As he started doing
this work, he began to realize that many of the
people who wanted to build toilets were too poor
to afford his labor like single women and
handicapped people. Mahindar was determined to
give them the opportunity to build a latrine, so
he decided that in one month, he would dedicate
five days of labor free of cost to those in need
and build them a latrine. This selfless service
was done despite the fact that Mahindar himself
was poor. He had a vision and he would do what
was necessary to bring it to fruition. Since
Mahindar began building latrine structures, he
has completed 35 in two wards, an amazing feat.
He is determined to continue to build latrines
so that everyone in his village has one.
Mahindar is also planning on discussing with the
Pradhan (president) of his Panchayat (local
governing body) certain measures that can be
implemented at the local level such as the
denial of ration cards to those who do not have
a latrine in their households.
Through the inspiration of such people as
Mahindar, soon low-cost toilets were being built
in surrounding villages. People spread the word
that CORD would help them build a toilet without
cheating them; however, not with funds but with
knowledge. CORD helped the villagers make a
toilet feasible through Self-Help Group funds.
Women were able to take loans from the group to
buy supplies for a latrine and then repay them
as funds became available. The emphasis was not
placed on the type of toilet but rather on the
importance of a toilet.
The villagers of Hada started a sanitation
movement. They came to understand that just like
food, toilets are a necessity. This sanitation
movement also encouraged the villagers to think
of others ways to increase the socioeconomic
growth of the community. In a way, taking
control of their sanitation had empowered them
and encouraged them to do more for themselves to
improve their living conditions. In the end, the
villagers of Hada took the situation in their
own hands and despite difficulties, triumphed in
the end.
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