User Post Position: A full-time volunteer for Manzil, a youth empowerment and learning center in Khan Market, New Delhi Duration: Minimum of a six-month commitment. Prefer one year or longer. Start Date: The start date is flexible, but we would prefer the volunteer to start in July 2009 so that the outgoing full-time volunteer may [...]
Sanitation hasn’t probably got as much a face-lift earlier as it has seeming got with Sulabh International Social Service Organization. Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder, won Stockholm Water Prize 2009 for his innovation in sanitation. He has designed a “flush compost toilet” and a treatment system around it that treats the human excreta to extract [...]
In the town of Musiri, located in Tamil Nadu, the government has decided to compensate residents for using a new public toilet. The novelty of this effort does not stop there, as both the urine and feces of the people will be utilized for fertilizer research. Finally, by having the residents use the toilet, officials [...]
Earlier this month, I attended the inaugural ceremony of the “Nandini Mobile Van” at the Safai Vidyalaya (Environmental Sanitation Institute (ESI)), Sughad, an organization which is considered a pioneer in the sanitation sector, largely due to the principled and passionate leadership of its founder, Ishwarbhai Patel (affectionately referred to as “Ishwarkaka”). Before I elaborate further [...]
Education’s Woes and Pros: A new study conducted by UNESCO reveals that less than 30% of schools have access to electricity and only half of them have toilets for girls. In order to address such woeful capacity, the Rajasthan’s state government has signed a public private partnership with UNICEF to expand education across the state [...]
Weekend headlines for your leisurely perusal: Inflation rates in India rose to a 13 month high of 6.7% for the week ending on March 15th. Economists predict a sharp rise in prices of food and energy following. In response, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told a press conference on Saturday that “it is in the interest of [...]
According to international NGO WaterAid, India has the second worst sanitation access in the world, accounting for 43% of the world’s unserved sanitation population. Moreover, as per a UNICEF country survey from 2004, rural areas of India are particularly lacking in sanitation infrastructure, with only 33% of villages using “adequate sanitation facilities.” The effect of inadequate sanitation facilities and [...]
Today I’d like to introduce you to one of my heroes, Baba Amte. He died a few weeks ago on February 8th at the opus of his life, Anandavan. I was fortunate to visit him several times during my work in India, and have this short piece to share with you all. Anandavan, meaning forest [...]
