Tuesday 18 November 2014

For Babli

There is no subtle way to put it, so I am just going to lay it out there - We need to stop open defacation in our villages!

And when I say this I do not mean to blame people who are doing it must stop, but that we should help contribute a solution to them - give them alternatives and options and better facilities.  No one chooses to defacate in the open.  It is not anyone's preference - not even the poorest's!  We who have access to better amenities should try and understand and empathise with that.

Travelling by trains so often I have seen the villagers heading off to the fields with their Lota in hand, heading off to do what they should have been doing in the confines of the walled toilets.  Old men, young men, little girls, infirm and senile men - all go to the fields, or even by the side of the road - subjecting themselves to a lot of vulnerability - exposing themselves to a lot risks.

It is not only unhygenic, but also so frightfully unhealthy to do this in the open. There are reasons why toilets have been built.  There is a reason why we have sewage systems, and there is a reason why we do not wade around in filth.

Women too are not subject to any exceptions or better treatments when it comes to open defacation in the villages.  Deprived of proper toilets, they too have to head to the hills in the early hours of dawn, and who knows, on a bad day, even during the wee hours of the night - head into the jungle where visibility is close to zero, and all there is t be seen or heard are the swish of a leopard's tail or the sound of the rat and snake preying on each other.  And if luckily, on a good day, the woman or the girl escapes these threats, there are the male predators, waiting for the women to get up from their haunches and ready to pounce on these unsuspecting preys - looking for fun and hunting for dignity!

It is very important today, especially for our women folk and little girls like the neighbouhood Babli to have access to a good toilet.  We need to restore some order, some hygine, and most importantly some dignity in our fellow humans.

Domex has come up with this most needed initiative of helping make villages "open defacation" free. Let us all join in their attempt and try to contribute in every small way possible to make this happen.  The Domex Toilet Academy (DTA) programme, launched on 19th November 2013, aims at creating a sustainable solution to this problem.  DTA is striving towards making toilets accessible and affordable with the final aim to achive cleanliness and hygine while at the same time help stimulate the local economy.

In fact at the "You Click Domex Contributes" initiative at http://www.domex.in/ we all can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on www.domex.in and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.

For more information click on http://www.domex.in/.



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