Rural India-Installing Toilets

*International Partner for Global Project GC-1640142-  

Status: Approved and completed in 2018; Received $44,000 in funding  

Location: Villages in Karnataka State, India  

Project Description: Rotary Club of Bangalore South (D3190) and Rotary Club of Westlake  Village (D5240) partnered on this project to provide a hundred toilet units to villages in  Karnataka State. Our district clubs, Moorpark, Simi Valley, and Thousand Oaks also contributed  to the grants. 

Without safe toilets, women must relieve themselves outdoors at night, putting them at risk of  sexual harassment and assault. Studies by many organizations in India have shown that literacy  rates in India among female students drops due to the lack of access to safe toilets.  

Each unit was assembled in about 45 minutes. The necessary sanitary fixtures, plumbing works,  and soak pit connections are completed in 6 hours, and the unit is put into use after 24 hours of  construction.  

Our international partner (Rotary Bangalore South) provides cleaning liquid every year to make  sure that the toilets are well maintained, and the girls are still attending school. Rotary believes  in sustainability of projects and this project is a great example.  

Indirect beneficiaries include approximately 330 women living in the houses. Other greater  benefits included increased awareness in villages about the importance of hygiene and  sanitation.  

This project has enabled more than a hundred kids, mainly underprivileged girls to continue  their education and the owners of these toilets have maintained the toilets with pride.