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INDIA / SANITATION
STORY: INDIA / SANITATION
TRT: 4.54
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: HINDI / NATS
DATELINE: 23 AUGUST 2012, MIRZAPUR, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA
1. Various shots, Sharda, a 14 year old boy from village Lalapur, along with his band going door to door spreading awareness on sanitation
2. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Om Prakash, Class 5 Student:
“When we go out to defecate, there are flies around. These flies sit on our excreta. When we come back home and eat food, the same flies sit on our food. This can cause us illnesses.”
3. Various shots, children in a village
4. Close up, Sharada along with his band talking about problems faced by open defecation
5. Zoom out, child standing along with his mother in their hut
6. Various shots, villager carrying bucket to go for a bath
7. Various shots, boys and girls in a classroom
8. Various shots, girl using a child friendly toilet in her school
9. Various shots, school children washing their hands with soap
10. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Ram Narayan Maurya, Headmaster Government School Lalapur:
“For centuries, people here had been defecating in the open. But, now that the children have begun using toilets in schools, the habit is breaking. And, hopefully this will change the practice in future.”
11. Wide shot, child with goats in the village
12. Wide shot, women fetching water from hand-pump outside her house
13. Various shots, villagers going for open defecation outside their village
14. Various shots, village girl carrying water in bucket to use in the toilet
15. Various shots, lady who has trouble walking uses toilet and feels happy about having a toilet in her house
16. Various shots, Rishikesh Singh, a village head man who has supported the successful campaign to ensure every house has a toilet, talking to villagers
17. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Rishikesh Singh, Village Head Man:
“People from upper castes used to threaten them for defecating in their fields, because these people belong to a socially excluded caste. Now that they have toilets at home, nobody can harass them.”
18. Various shots, villagers using hand pump in their village.
19. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Rishikesh Singh, Village Head Man:
“Now all houses have toilets and they all use it. However, there are some village elders who prefer defecating in the open. Their mindset is difficult to change.”
20. Wide shot, Sharda and his band walking around in the village
21. Zoom out, family and their house which has a toilet
22. Various shots, Sharda and his band talking to a lady in the village and asking her about the hygiene practices and spreading awareness about the same
23. Over the shoulder shot, Sharda and his band
Sharda and his group of friends beat on their drums and chant their slogans. As they go down the narrow lanes, meeting families, they make a cacophony of noise, ensuring that their voices are heard. They have a message and a purpose - to make their village free from open defecation.
SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Om Prakash, Class 5 Student:
“When we go out to defecate, there are flies around. These flies sit on our excreta. When we come back home and eat food, the same flies sit on our food. This can cause us illnesses.”
Sharda and his band live in a remote village of Uttar Pradesh - a state where less than 36 percent of households have toilets. In others words, six out of ten people do not have access to a toilet in a state with a population of almost 200 million people.
Sharda studies in class four, in a local government primary school, where many good practices of hygiene can be seen taught and practiced.
From an early age, children coming to the pre-school centre are introduced to a baby-friendly toilet. There is an emphasis on cleanliness. The children now understand the importance of clean hands, and washing with soap. The next step is for their families to inculcate this change.
SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Ram Narayan Maurya, Headmaster Government School Lalapur:
“For centuries, people here had been defecating in the open. But, now that the children have begun using toilets in schools, the habit is breaking. And, hopefully this will change the practice in future.”
Lalapur is a hamlet of about 760 people belonging to a socially excluded and marginalized caste. A campaign to make this village free from open defecation was not easy. Changing mind-sets takes more than beating drums. But, eventually people saw reason and their own welfare in constructing toilets and in finally using them. Today, Lalapur is free from open defecation.
Squatting with dignity at home is a blessing for this village lady, who has trouble walking. She dreaded the thought of walking long distances to answer the call of nature. She now has a toilet at home and can go whenever she wants.
Supporting this successful campaign is the village headman Rishikesh Singh, who has worked passionately to ensure that every house in this village has a toilet.
SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Rishikesh Singh, Village Head Man:
“People from upper castes used to threaten them for defecating in their fields, because these people belong to a socially excluded caste. Now that they have toilets at home, nobody can harass them.”
What’s striking in Lalapur is not merely the construction of toilets but a change of attitudes. The change has come from within the community. They asked for it, they worked for it, and now they monitor its use, thereby ensuring a healthier future.
SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Rishikesh Singh, Village Head Man:
“Now all houses have toilets and they all use it. However, there are some village elders who prefer defecating in the open. Their mindset is difficult to change.”
One can feel a great sense of achievement in this community. Women no longer have to wait for dark to defecate out in the open. They feel safe, secure and dignified, as they have all time access to a toilet at home.
Today, Lalapur has emerged as a model village on the map of a state where almost 130 million people do not have toilets, and have to defecate in the open.
As for Sharda and his band, they have pledged to keep their village free of open defecation. The band is on song.
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