WASH

• Rapid urbanization and concentration of people without adequate civic facilities has resulted as slum areas in Ranchi where safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene coverage are needed to fulfill essential requirements for inhabitants. NBJK took their cause and ensured access of such fundamental services for them in 32 slums of Ranchi district where there is no choice but to live anyhow.
• Under WASH project, it encouraged community participation through awareness, capacity building and advocacy. The people were provided low-cost technological tools and facilitated to learn improved hygienic behaviors like use of toilets, hand washing with soap, handling of drinking water and sanitary practices during menstruation.
• This intervention has helped slum dwellers to transform their lives qualitatively with a changed mindset. WASH reached to 2528 people in slums of Ranchi with support of Water Aid, UK.

What is the need?
Ranchi is the capital city of Jharkhand. Rapid urbanization and migration from other districts in search of work has resulted in slums. Most slums lack basic civic amenities like proper roads, drainage, safe drinking water supplies and toilet facilities. During the visits in slums it has been noticed that:

• Over 90% of hand-pumps of slums provide water with high fecal contain making it unfit for drinking, but people have no other choice
• 50% of the schools do not have proper toilets and drinking water facility. Girls have to face most problems for toilets
• 50% of households do not have toilets. Most of the people are practicing open defecation. Person with disabilities are not able to access the toilet.
• Practices of washing hand with ash or soil is popular in slums
• In absence of proper drainage system and soak-pits, the condition of slums becomes pathetic with drain water flowing all over roads.
• Awareness on menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is very poor among adolescent girls.

Due to these the slums are extremely affected with high incidence rate of disease like malaria, typhoid, diarrhoea, jaundice, etc.
There is a need community sensitization leading to a “demand driven “not “target oriented”, and a “community led” not “construction oriented” approaches.

Our Approach and Achievements
NBJK with is presence in Ranchi for over 20 years has very good rapport in the slums and cities. NBJK with the support of ICEF and Ranchi Municipal has earlier implemented Solid Waste Management Programme covering over 90,000 Households door to door every day. NBJK has helped Ranchi Municipal to design its first Solid Waste Management guideline.
With the kind support of WaterAid, NBJK with the aim of generating demand for services and facilities through community based organisations to mobilise investment in Water and Sanitation for Urban Poor, started Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.
Slum Development Committees are formed in slums and with whose assistance individual toilets soakage pits, vermin compost pits, doorstep waste collection system by containerized trolleys, drainage construction, placement of water containers, repairs of hand pumps, water testing, and new hand pumps have been created and made functional. Assistance of Ranchi Municipal Corporation to this noble cause has been significant.
Adolescent groups are formed in slums to educate them about Menstrual Hygiene Management. Empowerment of Urban Local Bodies, Slum Action Networks and Slum Development Committees are done on government schemes and services and for demand raising.
Last year with the kind support of WaterAid, 100ft drain, 2 school toilets, 3 water tanks at schools were constructed. 500 girls were informed about MHM in 50 groups and 3000 families were reached at explained about sanitation, safe water storing practices. 10 soakpits were constructed. All these activities were done in 32 slums of Ranchi, Jharkhand.

• Still much to do…
• About 34% of the total population of the Ranchi City lives in Slums
• Ranchi Municipality has reached only to 3% of the population of slums for some activities.