Bless works in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu on an innovative sanitation program owned and managed by communities.

BLESS is a secular, non-profitable voluntary organization working for a social and economic uplift of the rural community.&& The community development activities are taken deep into the villages of Keerapalayam, Parangipettai and Cuddalore Blocks in Cuddalore District inTamilnadu.

Targeting Children
Sanitation Parliament
In Periya Kattupalayam Village, Bless and its partners on this project the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) and ACTED, formed a Sanitation Parliament in a lower primary school. Children are the leaders as torchbearers of village health and sanitation. The parliament has five ministers in charge of Water, Sanitation, Garden, Food, and Waste Management. Their duties include:

> Weekly meetings with school authorities
> Monitoring water availability, toilet cleanliness, mid-day meal preparation and proper waste disposal
> Educating about personal hygiene
> Maintaining a kitchen garden to prevent water wastage

ECOSAN Toilets
An ecofriendly model

Bless is currently implementing a pilot project building ECOSAN toilets in selected villages. The best part is that they are child friendly. The toilets are raised above ground with two sealed receptacles that are alternately filled and emptied. This prevents effluent from human waste from seeping into the ground water, a burning issue in Tamil Nadu given the proximity of the water table from the soil. Once decomposed by bacteria, solid waste will provide organic manure for the soil. The liquid/urine flows to a small kitchen garden.

Thus far, ECOSAN toilets planned or built with the support of CARE, the European Commission/ACTED and Wherever The Need have met with a high level of community interest, especially from women. Bless is Now considering changing a number of the individual latrines to an ECOSAN design, an idea that is gaining momentum and support among donors and international NGOs.

To read BLESS "Tsunami Intervention" please click here..

TOP

|  Best Practices  |  Response  | First Person  |

|   Readings | Community Profile  |  News  |