As a part of Holistic Rural Development Program of HDFC CSR in Khargone District of Madhya Pradesh, it was seen that one of the most persistent problems amongst all was the lack of proper sanitation and water facilities in the schools which hampered the education of the children overall and especially the girls. Girls faced a major issue due to which the dropout rates were higher as well and after one point they stopped going to the schools. It could be seen that lack of proper infrastructure was hindering the development of the future generations which was posing a big threat.
Hence, School Sanitation and Water Program was a part of the intervention. The main objective of this initiative was to increase the school enrolment and to improve the girl education via providing proper infrastructure which could facilitate the process. As it’s said that “Small step taken today is bigger than big plans for tomorrow”, Navrachna Trust has provided support in total six villages namely Sarwardewala, Gujari, Muradabad, Uttawad, Umariya and Satwadi. The following table depicts the number of toilets and water posts created in the schools village and gender wise.
| State | District | Village | Name of School | School Code | No of Boys | No of Girls | Total Students | Boys ULs | Boys WCs | Girls ULs | Girls WCs | Total | Water Post |
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Gujari | Govt Primary School | 23271205601 | 26 | 15 | 41 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Muradabad | Govt Girl Primary School | 23271203204 | 0 | 64 | 64 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Muradabad | Govt Middle School | 23271203203 | 101 | 100 | 201 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Umariya | Govt Boys Primary School | 23271204701 | 31 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Umariya | Govt Girl Primary School | 23271204702 | 0 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Sarwardewala | Govt Boys Primary School | 23271218902 | 41 | 0 | 41 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Sarwardewala | Govt Girl Primary School | 23271218901 | 0 | 52 | 52 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Sarwardewala | Govt Middle School | 23271218903 | 65 | 77 | 142 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Satwadi | Govt Primary School | 23270809501 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Satwadi | Govt Middle School | 23270809502 | 32 | 36 | 68 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Umariya | Govt Primary School | 23270800803 | 28 | 31 | 59 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Utawad | Govt Primary School | 23271210802 | 22 | 33 | 55 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Utawad | Govt. Primary School | 23271210802 | 21 | 33 | 54 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||
| Madhya Pradesh | Khargone | Utawad | Govt. Middle School | 23271210801 | 89 | 90 | 179 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
The impact of the intervention was remarkable and very clearly visible. With the proper infrastructure in the schools and the mobilisation of the community, the participation of the girl children increased to a great extent. The enrolment rate was visibly higher in the schools. The students who were not coming even after enrolment, started coming back to the schools.
The intervention successfully broke government school’s stereotypical set up of schools and promoted healthy learning environment in schools. The students were given proper training on the usage of the water posts and the sanitation units and detailed discussion was done on the cleanliness and the importance of health and hygiene. The satisfaction level increased amongst the communities and the teachers as well. The teachers have also got new zeal to educate the children and come regularly. The School Management is happy with the initiative taken and have expressed their gratitude towards it.
