This girl in the Flower Garden Slum is shown fetching water from the public stand post for her family.
In Bangalore, one of India’s fastest growing cities, almost 20 percent of its 6.5 million residents are packed into informal settlement areas, better known as slums. Most of the people living in these areas do not have access to safe drinking water or household toilets.
In Bangalore, people living in the slums typically collect water from a water tanker or from a polluted stream that can be as many as two miles from their homes. There are some public water connections, but the water is only available for a few hours each day. Often, the water collected is not enough to meet the most basic needs of the households. In order to get water from the water tanker, community members (mainly women and children) wait in long lines for a city water truck.
The toilet situation is no better. People without household toilets must use the public facilities or defecate in open areas. The public toilets are not well maintained and require a fee for each visit. The women’s public bathrooms often have three to four toilets that serve over 300 women and children. As a result, there is little privacy and long lines. Due to security issues at night, women are facing health issues because they try to hold going to the bathroom except for specific times of the day.
Unsanitary practices are rampant in Bhangi colony, contributing to filth and disease in the community.
Providing access to safe water and sanitation facilities in the home and providing health education will transform the daily lives of thousands of people, enhance security and reduce the causes of communicable diseases.
You Can Help
-
Install four community wells, serving an estimated 2,000 people
-
Connect 200 households to a safe water source, serving an estimated 1,200 people
-
Mobilize community members to assess water and sanitation conditions and identify priorities.
-
Install 600 household toilets with sewage connections, serving an estimated 3,250 people.
-
Provide health and hygiene education.
-
Facilitate a positive relationship between the communities and the local government to ensure the sustainability of the new water projects.
The women in Bangalore slums had to wait for two to three hours in front of the public stand post to get two to four pots of water.
Total project cost: $91,009
Funds left to raise: $0
This project has been fully funded.
Special thanks to the following donors to the Bangalore project.
Christina Dunbin
Vida Foubister
Jennifer Harris
Jim Johns
William Meckel
David Newton
Catherine Rowland
Debbie Vajda
