Helping 94.000 schoolchildren in Rajasthan, India
In India, more people have mobile phones than toilets. Approximately half of India’s 1.2 billion people live without a toilet of any kind.
For 10 years, we have been one of the main supporters of UNICEF’s WASH project (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) in India. With the help of this valuable long-term partnership, we have been able to improve water, sanitation and hygiene conditions in the poorest areas of India. A WASH project is currently underway in Rajasthan, India’s most populous region, focusing on the tribal areas with the poorest conditions.
In India, 110 million children eat at school every day – using their hands. Washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet reduces the spread of diarrhoea infections by more than 40 per cent. It is considered particularly important that girls have access to safe, clean toilets at home. UNICEF’s work shows that change is possible and when it occurs in India, which has a huge population, the change is significant in global terms.
Reaching over 94.000 school children in Rajasthan
The WASH project has changed the hygiene conditions in over 750 schools in rural areas of Rajasthan. Together with UNICEF, we have been able to reach over 94.000 school children, giving them access to child-friendly toilets, clean drinking water and better hygiene practices. The work that we have done ensures now a healthy, joyful and safe learning environment for tens of thousands of school children.
With UNICEF’s help, schools have begun using different toilets for boys and girls, paid attention to the availability of clean drinking water and built hand-washing stations where up to 12 children at a time can wash their hands before meals.
In addition, 32,000 household toilets were built during the WASH project. These toilets are now in regular use by all family members.
Today, children act as ‘brand ambassadors’ for sanitation and cleanliness with a goal to maintain the accomplished level of hygiene and sanitation in their families and communities. Having access to safe drinking water, proper sanitation and hygiene facilities is every child’s right.
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