Visits to the Villages
It's been 6 days since I left Houston and 4 since I landed in India. Those 4 days have been jam packed! I arrived in Bhubaneswar on Saturday May 4, rested on Sunday and took a train on Monday to the villages. It was a 7 hour train ride to a city called Deojhar. I got to see 7 hours of Indian scenery. The scenery is beautiful and i'm sorry that I could not take better pictures out the train window.
I was accompanied on the train by Gram Vikas engineers for most of the way. However, they got down at about 2 stops before mine. There was a a very sweet lady who helped me to ensure I got off at the right stop, so as is customary nowadays we took a selfie to commemorate the event! Everyone is so nice and most understand at least a little bit of English, enough that I can get around.
The villages I visited were ones that Gram Vikas is working in. They are currently working in 3 villages and I got to visit 2. They are 1 year into a project where they have installed toilets and showers in cinder block rooms. In rural India without these facilities villagers use the nearby ponds and water bodies for all their needs, toilet, washing, bathing and drinking water. This can lead to serious illness and death. The majority of those affected are the young and the elderly whose immune systems cannot battle illness or infection. Women are also disproportionately affected by lack of toilets and bathing areas as can be seen in the excerpt from the book "Water Supply and Sanitation Services for the Rural Poor: The Gram Vikas Experience"
Gram Vikas has completed the toilets and bathing rooms and is now working on water supply tanks to provide water 24/7 to these facilities. This is where AguaClara comes in. These water sources are of relatively good quality and currently do not need any additional purification besides chlorination. AguaClara is working on the chlorination systems that will provide the disinfection.
I had a wonderful time meeting the board members and visiting the villages. I also had some free time and was able to visit a market and hold baby goats! It has been an eventful first half of a first week. Now its back to Bhubaneswar for work and fabrication of the chlorinator!
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| Bhubaneswar Train Station |
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| Train stop along the route |
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| Train stop along the route |
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| Train Stop along the route |
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| Scenery along route |
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| Scenery along route |
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| Scenery along route |
I was accompanied on the train by Gram Vikas engineers for most of the way. However, they got down at about 2 stops before mine. There was a a very sweet lady who helped me to ensure I got off at the right stop, so as is customary nowadays we took a selfie to commemorate the event! Everyone is so nice and most understand at least a little bit of English, enough that I can get around.
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| Subhar who went an extra stop on the train to make sure I made it to by destination! |
The villages I visited were ones that Gram Vikas is working in. They are currently working in 3 villages and I got to visit 2. They are 1 year into a project where they have installed toilets and showers in cinder block rooms. In rural India without these facilities villagers use the nearby ponds and water bodies for all their needs, toilet, washing, bathing and drinking water. This can lead to serious illness and death. The majority of those affected are the young and the elderly whose immune systems cannot battle illness or infection. Women are also disproportionately affected by lack of toilets and bathing areas as can be seen in the excerpt from the book "Water Supply and Sanitation Services for the Rural Poor: The Gram Vikas Experience"
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| Excerpt from Gram Vikas Book |
Gram Vikas has completed the toilets and bathing rooms and is now working on water supply tanks to provide water 24/7 to these facilities. This is where AguaClara comes in. These water sources are of relatively good quality and currently do not need any additional purification besides chlorination. AguaClara is working on the chlorination systems that will provide the disinfection.
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| Board members of Jahonda Village |
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| Bathroom and bathing facilities at Jahonda |
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| Tank construction in Jahonda |
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| Board members and Bathing facilities at Kaliabeda |
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| Door to "rich family" house in Kaliabeda |
I had a wonderful time meeting the board members and visiting the villages. I also had some free time and was able to visit a market and hold baby goats! It has been an eventful first half of a first week. Now its back to Bhubaneswar for work and fabrication of the chlorinator!
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| Man cutting up Tala |
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| Me holding week old baby goats |
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| Sanjiv, my guide in the villages |
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