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coconut and aarti) are testimony to sanitation infrastructure with a in this regard. Before Swades by grey water from household taps
the special place they hold in the separate toilet for girls and boys launched the Drinking Water – fetched close to Rs 4,00,000. The
lives of rural the communities. after high school, can help girls Scheme in Angrekond in 2017, produce has enriched the nutritional
pursue education after hitting the women here spent 2-3 hours value of their own meals too.
Education: puberty. Swades has built school each day fetching water. When the
A 2020 Comptroller and Auditor watsan facilities in 248 schools so water scheme installed a tap in each Clean water and sanitation are
General of India (CAG) survey far to address this problem. home, the women found the time corner stones to public health.
suggested that out of 1,967 and energy to engage in economic Collectively they also hold the key
coeducational government Livelihoods: activities. They received training in to uplifting all areas of life and
schools that they surveyed, 40% A Water Aid study suggests that 73 financial literacy from Swades, apart empowering communities to take
did not have a functional toilet. million working days are lost due to from support to set up SHGs – this charge of the change they wish
A whopping 72 per cent had no waterborne diseases in India each included SHG registration, branding, to see. If we want to see our rural
running water either. Lack of a year. Spending long hours to fetch labelling etc. communities flourish, we must as
sanitation infrastructure directly water too leads to loss of work governments, corporates and civil
impacts attendance of children, hours for communities that rely on Today, a group of 30 women in institutions invest in their access
especially girls. A 2019 report by daily wage labour. Angrekond run three Self-Help to clean drinking water and a
Dasra suggested that 23 million groups - Asha Mahila, Samriddhi functional toilet.
girls drop out of school annually Access to water has real economic and Pragati - that are engaged in
due to lack of sanitation facilities or monetary implications. The story kitchen garden, dairy, poultry and
and no awareness around menstrual of Angrekond, a ‘Swades Dream papad-making.In 2021, collective All pictures featured in this article are
hygiene. A functional water and Village’ is particularly heart-warming sales from kitchen gardens-enabled credited to the Swades Foundation.

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