The accomplishments of the Swachh Bharat Mission are indeed astounding. We’ve constructed over 11 crore toilets, making toilets available to each and every Indian. According to the Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Shekhawat, only 38% of rural families had access to toilets in 2014. Today that number is 100%. Families save roughly Rs 50,000 per year in medical costs, and we have been able to prevent the deaths of 3,00,000 children so far. Moreover, over 6 lakh villages are now Open Defecation Free and 100% of our Smart Cities have achieved 100% waste collection and processing.
And this is just the beginning. The changes we’re seeing so far are, by and large, thanks to a huge push in infrastructure creation – we’ve constructed toilets, upgraded sanitation systems, improved access to water, etc. However, as the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Swachh Bharat Mission recognised that access is just half the solution. The other half lies in changing behaviours.
For millions of Indians, toilets are new. They don’t know how to use and maintain them, and they don’t know who to ask because there is so much shame tied into not knowing. These are topics too intimate to be talked about in polite company. Parents teach children how to use the toilet, but if the parents didn’t have a toilet, then who teaches who?
Filling in these gaps is crucial to the success of the Swachh Bharat Mission, and standing shoulder to shoulder with it are brands like Harpic, India’s leading brand in the lavatory care segment. For decades now, Harpic has been using thought provoking campaigns to teach us how to care for each other, by caring for our toilets. Moreover, for the past 3 years now, Harpic has joined hands with News18 to create Mission Swachhta aur Paani – a movement that upholds the cause of inclusive sanitation where everyone has access to clean toilets. It advocates equality for all genders, abilities, castes and classes and strongly believes that clean toilets are a shared responsibility.
Through its many partnerships, Mission Swachhta aur Paani has targeted children of all ages with key messages about sanitation and safe toilet hygiene, empowering them to champion change in their own families. Sesame Workshop India is one of Mission Swachhta aur Paani’s key collaborators in this endeavour. Under the aegis of Mission Swachhta aur Paani, Harpic partnered with Sesame Workshop India to promote positive sanitation, hygiene knowledge and behaviours among children and families through schools and communities, engaging with 17.5 million children across India.
The partnership between Sesame Workshop India also resulting in a brand new Sanitation for Good Health curriculum aimed at children at the preschool level that educates, entertains and engages children with the topic of sanitation and toilet hygiene, and the role it plays in their own health and the health of their families. It uses age appropriate communication in the form of two characters: KK Kitanu and Neela Jaadugar whose adventures serve to teach children.
At the event celebrating the culmination of Mission Swachhta aur Paani Season 3, Campaign ambassador Akshay Kumar partnered with Sesame Workshop India in a live skit with the Sesame characters. Between Akshay’s impeccable comic timing and endearing dialogue and puppetry, this short skit managed to communicate the 4 key tenets of the Swachhta checklist, while thoroughly entertaining the audience.
Sesame Street’s Sonali Khan also participated in a panel discussion on charting the way forward. “At Sesame we believe in catching them young. You can build good habits when children are small and they can grow into responsible adults. That is the responsibility of the adults, the parents. My message is this: stop cleaning up after your children. Get them to clean themselves. If you teach hygienic habits, the child will learn.”
Actress Soha Ali Khan also spoke about modelling the right behaviours for children as parents. “The best way to build strong toilet hygiene is to start at a young age. The right habits formed during childhood go a long way. Also, children emulate their elders, so it is very important that we model these behaviours ourselves, consistently.”
Akshay Kumar also talked about the need to popularise these behaviours. “To get youngsters excited about cleanliness, we have to make sanitation cool. There’s no point in forcing it. We can explain the criticality of sanitation using many modalities, like social media, for example. Everyone has a phone and are very active on it. The speed of social media is immense, as is its reach. We need drum up campaigns, tie up with celebrities because they have a following, and we need to engage with young influencers who can talk to their peer group more relatably.”
Malhar Kalambe, founder of Beach Please, is exactly the kind of influencer Akshay is talking about. Malhar spends his weekends cleaning Mumbai’s beaches, and so far, has had 4,00,000 volunteers join him in his cleaning drives. “Over the last 6.5 years I’ve seen that most of the young people want to do something for the environment. We’re giving them a platform to be a part of this movement. If you’re alone, you may feel sceptical about cleaning a beach. But if there are 100 people cleaning with you, you’ll have less hesitation in joining them. I truly believe this is an all stakeholders job – we need corporates, the govt, the authorities, young people being a part of the movement. If we want to bring some ground level change, everyone needs to be a part of the change.”
The road ahead is long, but if we walk it together, it’ll go by much faster. As Malhar says, it is important that we’re all part of this change. Join us here, to learn how you can be a part of the solution, and help bring about a Swasth and Swachh Bharat.