Mumbai Conference Tackles Sanitation

In rural India two people out of three lack basic sanitation facilities. Many women leave their homes at 4 am to find a place in an open field where they can defecate without being seen. Others may have access to latrines but these lack septic tanks or flush mechanisms. Bindeshwar Pathak, like all members of the Brahman caste, was taught early on to avoid the Dalits. In 1968, at the age of 25, he was invited to join a Gandhi Birth Centenary Celebration Committee. After learning about Mohandas Gandhi’s work to stop discrimination against the lowest caste, he decided to spend three months living with the Bhangis. Those three months made all the difference. In the decades since Pathak has invented and manufactured environmentally sound (and inexpensive) toilets. He makes low-interest bank loans to facilitate their construction and distribution. And, at the same time he is developing training programs to allow "scavengers" to take on new jobs. Over 1.2 million people now use toilets built by Pathak and Sulabh, the organization he founded. Read more: http://j.mp/tf6FoD

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• Public Health
• Human Rights