“Grrrrrrrr ” came the sound from Babli’s belly as she sat clutching it hard with both her hands .” Maa,mujhe phir jungle nana padega ,“( Mom , I will have to go to defecate again) she cried .They did not have a Latrine at home.Nobody in their village did .People made do with defaecating in nearby fields and grasslands .
Babli’s Mother made temporary arrangements for her to relieve herself on mounds of ash in a cast iron pot which would later be dumped in the fields .
Every morning , Babli’s Mother had to wake up at four a.m. before sunrise to answer the call of nature .The village women usually went in small groups for the sake of safety as cases of harassment and even rape were not uncommon in these belts .
So our eight year old little Babli had to miss her school today and she missed it every time she came down with diarrhoea or dysentery which are very common in areas where people defecate in the open .Her parents had already decided to take her out of school once she achieved puberty as without toilets , a menstruating young girl would really have a very hard time in school .
Babli will be cursed to lead a life of shame and suppression for something that comes naturally to all of us , unless we pledge to take action .
This was just one case out of the 597 million people of India , who are forced to defaecate in the open for lack of proper sanitation facilities .
Did you know that …
Half of us Indians do not have access to toilets and so defecate in the open , and that includes the urban areas too .
That women are the most affected as it affects their health , safety and dignity too.
That 443 million school days are missed every year by children due to dangerous diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery .
That India has the highest number of under five deaths in the world .
That 28% of under fourteen deaths in India are caused by lack of proper sanitation and hygiene .
That seven states in India ( Odisha ,Meghalaya,Chhatisgarh,Jharkhand , Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar ) have more than 50 % of children deprived of toilets .
Uttar Pradesh has more than 7700 schools without a single toilet .
We can go on and on with statistics … But the need of the hour is to do something about it .
The initiative by Domex India
Domex is HUL’s flagship sanitation brand, it is currently running the Domex Toilet Academy (DTA) Programmes . It aims to provide sanitation solutions which can benefit the local communities and their economies too .
They aim to build 24000 toilets by the year 2015 .
The government is also striving to achieve sanitation for all , let us also join hands and contribute in any possible way towards “Toilet for Babli ” campaign .
You CLICK ,Domex CONTRIBUTES
You can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on www.domex.in and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.
I have done my bit by blogging about it and also by “clicking ” on the “Contribute Tab” on the website www.domex.in .
Now it is your turn to do something for Babli and millions of other such children….
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