13-year-old Nirama lives in Movaiya village, Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh where 500 people have no access to basic sanitation facilities. For Nirama, having to relieve herself in the open is an added challenge as she is visually impaired. She is afraid of being teased and more seriously, of being sexually or physically harmed. The Indian government’s Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) provides funds for constructing basic sanitation facilities for people just like Nirama.
We need your help to put pressure on the Village Head to get residents of Movaiya these funds and to start work on building these toilets now:
Call to Action:
Please call the Village Head, Atma Patel on 9554650600.
VV-PACS Correspondent Shabanam Begum interviews Nirama who tells her that she has to rely on her on mother or sister to assist her to a safe place outside to relieve herself. Nirama worries for her safety. She tells us the dangers— recently a girl from the village was raped whilst going to the toilet outside.
Sangeeta Devi, another resident of the village explains how the womenfear going to anyone’s field as they are verbally abused and thus go near a road when it’s dark.
“What if when we go out to urinate and a boy comes and rapes us, what will we do?” she tells Shabanam.
After further enquiry with Correspondent Shabanam,we discover that the residents have informed the Village Head many times about the matter. However the Village Head seems to be unaware of what is actually happening to his people. He doesn’t really know what he should do about it. That is why we need your help to ask the Village Head to take this matter seriously and provide toilets for the people living there.
You can make a change. Help Nirama get access to a safe and clean toilet NOW!
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More information on the status of Uttar Pradesh’s sanitation standards can be found in this article.