Gram Vikas is implementing MANTRA in 96 villages, with the support of ICCO-CA. The total number of families covered is 5468.
Narrative
Water and sanitation was identified as the one intervention that could address all of the problems for impoverished villages.
By insisting on 100% inclusion, combined with hygiene and sanitation education, not only does the community become united and able to work together, but also open defecation is eradicated, and people are able to drink safe, clean water. In MANTRA villages, the incidence of water-borne diseases has reduced by 80% on average.
With every household having a piped water supply, the daily burden of water collection is completely removed from women’s lives. They have more time to engage in income-generating activities, or simply have time for themselves. In addition, girl children are also spared this drudgery, and are therefore able to attend school, and obtain an education.
The high quality infrastructure established becomes a symbol of pride for the village, and works to unite the village and motivate them to improve the village in other ways too.
The water and sanitation activities, implemented under MANTRA follow a prescribed methodology;
1. Much work is done to motivate and raise awareness of the importance of good hygiene and sanitation to encourage everybody in the village to get involved and contribute. No construction work will begin until every household has agreed to participate.
2. Every male and female head of every household form a General Body, which is responsible for the general decision-making on village issues. They also elect 12 members; 6 female and 6 male who constitute the Village Executive Committee, which is responsible for the management of the water and sanitation programme. This committee is also registered as a legal society, in order for the village to be able to apply for government funds.
3. Gram Vikas works with the villagers to create and manage a ""village corpus"", a fund that draws cash and in-kind contributions from all families based on ability to pay. On average though Rs.1000 must be collected from every household.
4. Construction on the water supply does not start until every household has completed the brickwork of the toilets and bathing rooms. The water supply acts as a “carrot” for completing the sanitation facilities.
5. In addition to the physical infrastructure, much work is also carried out in terms of capacity building, and hygiene and sanitation education activities
- Impact Assessment (M&E) Phase Project completed on 31 Mar, 2012 Implementation Phase
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Chitra Chaudhuri of Gram VikasImplementation Status: in_progress Sat 16 Jan 2010, Over 14 Years ago
Field Trip
I went to Sindhiba Village to pick up household surveys. I interacted with the people and collected data. The visit went well. They are waiting for plaster work to begin. They are in the planning stages still.
- Implementation Phase Project started on 1 Apr, 2009 Preparation Phase
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Chitra Chaudhuri of Gram VikasImplementation Status: in_progress Sat 14 Mar 2009, About 15 Years ago
March 09 Report
Formation of the village General Body and Village Executive Committee
In each village, the villagers are mobilised to form a General Body, which comprises of every male and female head of household. Members of the General Body are encouraged to meet at least once a month and are responsible for general decision-making in the village. The General Body is also responsible for electing a Village Executive Committee (VEC). The VEC consists of usually 12 members, of which 6 are female and 6 are male. There must also be representation on the committee from every social class in the village. The VEC is responsible for managing the water and sanitation project, resolving any issues that arise, keeping the community motivated, as well as deciding on fines for dirty toilets, and taking responsibility for the collection of the maintenance fund. All of the VECs are registered as societies, which make them legal entities, and therefore able to independently leverage government funds.
Over the last year, there have been a total of 1219 village meetings, involving 24,420 participants. On average the male to female ratio of those present at meetings was 60% male and 40% female.
Formation of savings and credit, and self-help groups
To help women gain more confidence and enable them to be more independent as well as having their own sustainable livelihoods, women are encouraged to form self-help groups and savings and credit groups. These groups are not only for group savings, but also are used as a forum for discussing matters important to village life, from the women’s perspective. These discussions tend to include issues such as the immunisation of children and the quality of primary education in the village.
In addition, members from these groups often participate in training in various areas to enable them to more actively and confidently participate in village life, as well as engage in other income-generating activities. Trainings include bookkeeping trainings and skill-building training such as leaf-plate making.During 2008-2009 a total of 16 SHGs, involving a total of 220 females have been established. Over the past year these groups have collectively saved Rs.90,006.
Gram Vikas is implementing MANTRA in 96 villages, with the support of ICCO-CA. The total number of families covered is 5468.
Narrative
Water and sanitation was identified as the one intervention that could address all of the problems for impoverished villages.
By insisting on 100% inclusion, combined with hygiene and sanitation education, not only does the community become united and able to work together, but also open defecation is eradicated, and people are able to drink safe, clean water. In MANTRA villages, the incidence of water-borne diseases has reduced by 80% on average.
With every household having a piped water supply, the daily burden of water collection is completely removed from women’s lives. They have more time to engage in income-generating activities, or simply have time for themselves. In addition, girl children are also spared this drudgery, and are therefore able to attend school, and obtain an education.
The high quality infrastructure established becomes a symbol of pride for the village, and works to unite the village and motivate them to improve the village in other ways too.
The water and sanitation activities, implemented under MANTRA follow a prescribed methodology;
1. Much work is done to motivate and raise awareness of the importance of good hygiene and sanitation to encourage everybody in the village to get involved and contribute. No construction work will begin until every household has agreed to participate.
2. Every male and female head of every household form a General Body, which is responsible for the general decision-making on village issues. They also elect 12 members; 6 female and 6 male who constitute the Village Executive Committee, which is responsible for the management of the water and sanitation programme. This committee is also registered as a legal society, in order for the village to be able to apply for government funds.
3. Gram Vikas works with the villagers to create and manage a ""village corpus"", a fund that draws cash and in-kind contributions from all families based on ability to pay. On average though Rs.1000 must be collected from every household.
4. Construction on the water supply does not start until every household has completed the brickwork of the toilets and bathing rooms. The water supply acts as a “carrot” for completing the sanitation facilities.
5. In addition to the physical infrastructure, much work is also carried out in terms of capacity building, and hygiene and sanitation education activities
Other Issues
Unusual and unexpected issues faced during project execution
Challenges Gram Vikas have faced over the past year:
• In some parts of Orissa state, there was severe violence between Christian villages and non-Christian villages. This violence spread to Gajapati district, which resulted in many deaths and villages being burnt to the ground. Although none of Gram Vikas’ villages were badly affected, it made movement throughout the district very difficult for some considerable time
• High turnover of staff has proved to be a big challenge this year, and an issue Gram Vikas are trying to resolve
• The slow release of government funds for water projects has resulted in a large backlog of villages waiting for water supply work to be completed, or in many cases started. Gram Vikas have therefore decided to continue with the building of sanitation blocks only in villages where there is a prior commitment. Wherever possible, for this year the focus will be placed on working through the backlog of water supply projects. It is hoped this aim can be achieved with the recent release of large amounts of funding from the government for water supply projects.
Impact
People Getting Safe Drinking Water: 12600
96 villages, covering a total of 5468 households, of which 2479 are classed as Below Poverty Line (BPL) were supported by ICCO-CA in 2008-09. 51% of these households are Scheduled Tribe, and 12% are Scheduled Caste.
People Getting Sanitation: 12600
Funding
- funded:
- $1,416,717
- Final Cost:
- $1,416,717
- $708,358:
- Christian Aid
- $708,359:
- ICCO