Who are you trying to help? What issue are you trying to address?

Dalit Community comprises of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Economically backward classes are marginalized of rural society.Over 90% of the Coastal villages don’t have access to individual sanitary latrines or community toilets. Huge patches of empty lands are in existence and therefore, people are habituated to open defecation. A tradition strictly prescribes dark hours for women to go for open defecation. Main reasons for unwillingness for not using individual sanitary latrines are:
•Illogical Religious sanctity perspective
•Poverty – living in thatched huts & semi permanent houses
•Migration, Illiteracy, ignorance &inertia
•Inability to use Public resources in the existing bureaucratic system
•Poor / improper understanding of problem arising from open defecation
•Problems associated with open defecation are:
•Shame for females as they have to stand at once as men pass by
•Given time during dark hours and specified space / location
•Forcible control of bowl and bladder leading to health hazards
•Eruption of communicable diseases
•Breeding Water-based helminths
•Excreta-related insect vectors
•Horrible situation during rainy season
•Incidence of Diarrhoea and existence of hook warms
•Bad smell and dirty environment
•Breeding of Mosquitoes and House flies
•Domestic animals and birds consuming human wastage
•Ground Water pollution
•Atrocities on Women and female youth.

What is your project and how will it help?

SFIRD as an NGO has good rapport and contacts with Villages located in the Coastal belt of the Bay of Bengal. There are, on papers & documents with Government departments that there are targeted allocations for the construction of low cost individual toilets during every financial year. Due to politicization & the existing hierarchical or bureaucratic systems only a few are getting benefited and the deserving poor are not making use of the Individual low cost sanitary latrines scheme. Their applications submitted by the Dalit & Tribal groups (which are exploited and excluded sections from the mainstream of society) are not even examined or looked into by the grassroots level functionaries and line departments. Even if a few poor are allotted with the scheme, material is provided & the beneficiary is expected to meet huge amounts and pay amounts to the concerned authorities at the village level for realization. Our target groups are not able to meet the requirements and are ignoring the very concept of usage of “Sanitary Latrines”. In these situations many people are requesting us to extend possible cooperation & assistance for the construction of low cost sanitary toilets. SFIRD also feel that it is a felt need. The following are the objectives laid down for the construction of 100 Low Cost Individual Sanitary Latrines (combined with additional place for bathing) in 07 Micro Villages (all these targeted Villages are at about less than 10 KMS of distance from the Coast and are prone to calamities)in which Eco development, Women Empowerment Programs & Disaster Preparedness activities are being implemented.
•Awareness building on usage of low cost sanitary latrines to village women through Self Help Groups – especially on social customs / traditions / superstitions.
•Organizing sensitization sessions on sanitation for school going children in villages capacity building sessions for appropriate usage of ground water management – water security.
•Training sessions on proper usage of latrines to all sections of the target villages through Information Education Communication Campaigns
•Constructing 100 low cost sanitary latrines to poor and deserving women from the identified Self Help Groups.
The intended outcomes of construction of Low Cost sanitary Latrines are:
1. Capacity building and people’s willingness to use Low Cost Sanitary Latrines
2. Replicable model for usage in the neighboring micro Villages
3. Arresting communicable diseases.

How can other people partner with you on your project?

SFIRD aims to extend benefits of the project to Dalits and Yanadi Tribes residing in the Coastal Village communities of the Bay of Bengal. The educated Youth from other social groups will be capacitated to empower our target groups on the benefits of using the Individual Sanitary Latrines. Like wise, the grassroots level functionaries of the local Government departments will be mobilized and motivated to empower our target groups on the better sanitation practices. The local panchayath members will be invited to our reference communities for motivating the Adults on proper usage patterns. The local Civil Society Organizations will be mobilized to partner with SFIRD towards the realization of the laid down aims and objectives.

Please detail the resources that you need.

1.Construction of 100 Toilets cum Bathrooms X Rs. 12000 = Rs.12,00,000/-
2.Beneficiary’s Share as Local Contribution = Rs.1,50,000/-
(Rs.1500 per family X 100 families)
3.Requested amount for 100 Toilets cum Bathrooms =Rs. 13,50,000
4.10% Administration cost =Rs. 1,35,000/-

5.Total amount requested : Rs. 14,85,000/- (USD 24,302.93)