Sanitation First India

22/11/2024

19/11/2024

🌍🚽 Jal Utsav and World Toilet Day 2024: Evening Environmental Sessions in JJM UNOPS Villages 🚽🌍

As part of Jal Utsav and World Toilet Day 2024, Sanitation First hosted evening environmental sessions in JJM UNOPS villages of Virudhunagar & Ramnad District, Tamil Nadu, engaging children, VWSC members, and communities in:

Awareness on safe water supply (FHTC) & sanitation.
Discussions on the water cycle, conservation, and greywater recycling.
Quizzes on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) topics.
A Water Pledge and tying Bandhan Bands as a commitment to protect water resources.

Thank you to everyone who participated in these sessions to promote sustainable practices and sanitation awareness! Together, we are building a healthier, cleaner future.

19/11/2024

20/10/2024

🌸 Empowering Women with Menstrual Education and Sustainable Solutions 🌸

At Sanitation First India, we remain committed to reaching hard-to-reach beneficiaries, providing essential menstrual education and sustainable, antimicrobial reusable menstruation products. This weekend, our dedicated trainers traveled to Thanjavur and Trichy to deliver training at the Sri Lankan Rehabilitation Camp in Vazhavandhankottai and the Sacred Heart Home for Children.

Thanks to the generous support from EA Foundation and Rat & Boa, we were able to address these crucial needs, ensuring women and young girls have access to both knowledge and sustainable menstrual hygiene products. Together, we are working towards breaking the stigma and creating a more equitable future for all.

20/10/2024

🌿 Empowering Women for Water Sustainability in Ramanathapuram! 💧

As part of our capacity building and mentorship project under Jal Jeevan Mission, Sanitation First India is working with JJM UNOPS to enhance water quality management in Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram.

After successfully completing training in Virudhunagar, we’ve now shifted focus to Ramanathapuram, a district facing longstanding water availability and quality challenges. Despite multiple water schemes introduced by TWAD Board since the 1970s, factors like the rapid spread of Prosopis, poor water body management, and declining agriculture due to scant rainfall have exacerbated the situation.

With FHTC coverage at just 30% and blocks we work in still under 6%, the need for source sustainability is clear. The key to addressing this is at the local level: through water body regeneration, rainwater harvesting, and strengthening institutions for effective water management.

To achieve this, we’ve conducted training in four blocks—Kamuthi, Kadaladi, Mudukulathur, and Bogalur—sensitizing FTK-women groups on the importance of source sustainability and water quality management. Utilizing the TWAD Board FTK and an illustrated guide we developed, these incredible women are now equipped to take charge of water quality in their villages.💪💧

This journey continues, but with strong ownership at the local level, we’re optimistic about the future of water sustainability in Ramanathapuram!

14/10/2024

Work commences in the upgradation and renovation of yet another anganwadi in Tiruvallur, this time at Movur, in Poondi block with funding support from Aptus Value Housing Finance India Ltd

10/10/2024

A Wonderful Morning at Peraiyur Government Higher Secondary School!

This morning, we had the privilege of inaugurating new sanitation facilities at the Government Higher Secondary School in Peraiyur, in Ramanathapuram, one of Tamil Nadu's aspirational districts. Thanks to the generous support from Savills investment management through The Cycle, Sanitation First India has provided the school with safe and adequate sanitation blocks for boys and girls, along with hand wash units.

To meet the additional water needs for toilet use and handwashing, a rooftop rainwater harvesting system was also created —a great step toward sustainable water management. The teachers were so thrilled the tank was full with last night's rains.

Heartfelt thanks to our donors, Namma School Namma Ooru Palli, the District Administration and block level officials, the school’s Headmaster, teachers, the Sanitation First team and of course, our engineer Chandrasekhar for making this project a reality!

Special gratitude to Kumar Mohanasundaram, Finance Director of Sanitation First, for inaugurating the units.

Together, we are fostering better sanitation and embracing a approach to make a lasting impact 🌍💧

13/09/2024

🌍💧 At Sanitation First India, we are proud to support the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) UNOPS project in the aspirational districts of Ramnad and Virudhunagar by empowering women at the grassroots level. One of the areas is training them to monitor water quality using TWAD Board's Field Testing Kits (FTKs). In Tamil Nadu, the turnover in FTK women's groups, mainly due to migration, led to challenges in retaining technical skills.
To address this, we reconstituted and re-trained the FTK women’s groups in our project villages. A key component of this training was the development of an easy-to-use, pictorial user guide for water testing, designed for simple reference, regardless of educational background. The guide was reviewed and launched by TWAD Board's Managing Director and the JJM Mission Director during a State-Level Rapid Action Learning Workshop last December.
Our subsequent study on the ground revealed a positive impact on the skills and capabilities of the women trained using the handbook. We're thrilled that this initiative has been recognized and will be presented at the International WASH Conference in New Delhi next week! 🙌
Based on the success and feedback of the project, the District Administrations of Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram have requested to scale up the training across the districts. Today, we successfully trained 120 very enthusiastic and committed FTK women in Narikudi block, marking an important step toward water security and community empowerment