Sometimes a problem can be so large that it feels paralysing. Our actions feel insignificant, we feel ill prepared to take action, or we may not even know where to start from. However, irrespective of the size of the problem, it is always solved by individuals. Someone comes up with a solution, someone advocates for it, someone funds it, someone executes it. All solutions involve some form of individual action – be it for global warming, water conservation, and even ensuring sanitation access for all.
We all know how our actions can help lower our carbon footprint and water use, but how can we support sanitation? Turns out, there are several ways we can contribute our time, talents, and of course, money, to the cause. The Swachh Bharat Mission even came up with a Swachhta Volunteering ready reckoner for that express purpose. It is, after all, a jan andolan that requires participation from all of us.
Volunteering can take several forms. We can volunteer our time and effort, as we do when we join cleanliness drives, educational drives, and even when we passionately campaign online to build support for a cause. Organisations like WaterAid India and Gramalaya have volunteer programs that allow individuals to get involved in various capacities, from fieldwork to advocacy and education.
Sulabh International, a social service organisation that has been working to improve sanitation in India since 1970. They have been instrumental in building low-cost toilets and introducing toilet-linked biogas plants. Volunteers with Sulabh International help in constructing these facilities and in educating the public about their use and benefits.
If building toilets in rural areas is too great a commitment of your time and resources, consider joining a local cleanliness drive. Ugly Indian, a volunteer group in Bangalore that focuses on cleaning up the streets. They believe in the philosophy of ‘Kaam Chalu Mooh Bandh’ (Stop Talking, Start Doing) and have transformed many filthy public spaces into clean and usable areas. Their work extends to maintaining the cleanliness of public toilets, which is just as important as building them.
For those of us who can help monetarily, the Swachh Volunteer ready reckoner makes several suggestions: we can donate to the Swachh Bharat Kosh, help fund our city’s Swachh Bharat Mission project, contribute towards building or maintaining public toilets in our vicinity, or even adopt a slum, and help get the word out.
Even for those of us whose lives don’t allow for a regular volunteering commitment, there are a number of ways we can contribute towards the cause of sanitation. Whether we realise it or not, each of us has influence over certain areas.
Sanitation Advocacy: Inside Our Homes, Building Societies and Workplaces
There are a number of actions we can each take within our immediate circle of influence. At home, we can start with our own toilets – are we practising safe sanitation? Do we walk the talk when it comes to washing our hands? Are our own toilets well maintained and clean? Are we teaching our children the right toilet habits?
In our building societies and at our workplaces, we can advocate for ourselves and the sanitation workers employed: is the communal toilet clean? Does it have safe disposal bins for sanitary waste? Is it always stocked with soap? Is it well maintained? Do the sanitation workers use PPE while cleaning? Are they given the right protections? Do the security guards and various staff have access to clean and safe toilets?
Sanitation Advocacy: Voting With Our Wallets
This is perhaps the easiest thing we can do: withdraw our patronage from gyms, parks, restaurants, malls, theatres that do not maintain clean toilets. We could also use our voices effectively by making complaints, and by reviewing these spaces online, and clearly mentioning the state of the toilet.
When it comes to our children’s education, toilet sanitation isn’t just about doing our civic duty, it’s about keeping our families safe. Ask your child about the toilet in school. Be vigilant for complaints about the toilet at school being dirty. If your daughter doesn’t want to attend school during her menses, probe further – is it because the toilet isn’t clean enough, safe enough, or private enough? Adopt a zero tolerance policy to dirty toilets, and complain every single time. The more regularly this happens, the more likely it is that the school will solve the systemic problems it has and create a safe space for all children to practise toilet hygiene.
This goes doubly so for hospitals and clinics. Medical establishments have a duty of care. If you find dirty toilets there, it is incumbent on you to complain because a dirty toilet in a hospital can pose additional risks to people who are already struggling with their health.
Sanitation Advocacy: Broadening the Scope
If we live in a city, suburb or locality that is unsanitary, it is a failure of accountability. For a systemic fix, the municipality needs to be involved. Fortunately, we have the greatest resource at our fingertips: the internet. Find local grassroots organisations, and NGOs involved in sanitation and reach out for help. Write to your local municipality. Build support on social media. You could even involve local businesses big and small, and with their help, give more heft to your complaints.
For instance, Harpic, India’s leading brand in the lavatory care segment, has been hard at work in advocating for toilet hygiene and sanitation for decades now through thought provoking campaigns and outreach programs. It has also joined hands with News18 to create Mission Swacchta aur Paani, a movement that upholds the cause of inclusive sanitation where everyone has access to clean toilets. Mission Swachhta aur Paani advocates equality for all genders, abilities, castes and classes and strongly believes that clean toilets are a shared responsibility.
For 3 years now, Mission Swachhta aur Paani has brought together the right stakeholders on a common platform, so that issues of importance can be discussed, and solutions found. These stakeholders include govt officials, municipalities, NGOs, activists, grassroots organisations, sanitation workers and affected communities. It also functions as a repository for information on a vast variety of topics surrounding toilet access, toilet hygiene, and how to help improve toilet access and toilet habits across the board.
This means that it also empowers you with all the information you need to understand which aspect of sanitation is most relevant in your locality and what kind of work speaks most to your skill set and time commitment. Once you’ve narrowed the field, this repository also helps you navigate the ecosystem by helping you understand the ins and outs of these projects. There are 3 years worth of articles, panel discussions, interviews and videos to learn from!
Join us here, and make your time and effort count towards building a Swasth and Swachh Bharat.