Warghadpada
September 2020
Palghar district
Households: 108
People: 547
Intervention
Integrated Village Development
Lives Impacted
0
Homes Illuminated
0
Donor
Rotary Club of Bombay and Sumitomo Chemicals
Grassroot Partner
Diganta Swaraj Foundation
Assessment
Warghadpada had inadequate facilities for electricity in homes and schools, as well as poor health indicators due to a lack of adequate nutrition and safe drinking water. We planned an initiative that brought water to the villagers’ lives, as well as consistent income and enhanced health indicators, in order to make a long-term improvement and fix the root cause of their poverty.
Intervention
Implementing our 5-point transformation model, we began by providing all homes with solar lighting solutions and providing the Government Zilla Parishad school with solar packs consisting of two lights, one ceiling fan and one projector. In addition to this, the school was also provided with an e-learning curriculum to improve classroom engagement and student learning.
The home lighting system enabled women to complete their chores post sunset, children to study for longer hours and also allowed farmers to put in additional hours on the field thereby increasing productivity. In the school too, the ceiling fan and lights provide for a comfortable learning environment. The projector and e-learning modules lead to more engaged classrooms where children are comfortable and more engrossed in learning.
The home lighting system enabled women to complete their chores post sunset, children to study for longer hours and also allowed farmers to put in additional hours on the field thereby increasing productivity. In the school too, the ceiling fan and lights provide for a comfortable learning environment. The projector and e-learning modules lead to more engaged classrooms where children are comfortable and more engrossed in learning.
Impact
Time, energy and good health are safeguarded due to the availability of pure water which also aids in preventing waterborne diseases. Warghadpada is on its way to become an ODF (open defecation free) village with the renovation and construction of its existing and new toilets. Continuous water supply made available through tanks and hounds will aid in income generation through horticulture and floriculture.
Reduced reliance on kerosene resulted in lower carbon emissions and their consequences for health and the atmosphere, as well as cost savings. With a negligible dependency on kerosene, villagers are able to save as much as Rs. 16500 per month. With charging points made available, they no longer need to walk long distances and pay for charging their phones thereby increasing their savings. Villagers no longer need to finish their outdoor work before sunset, women are able to cook in the dark and children are able to put in more hours of study post sunset, thus ensuring optimum use of everyone’s time. While the villagers used to spend 3-4 hours a day collecting water for drinking and domestic use, they now complete the same as an early morning chore and save more than 75% of the time they used earlier.
Reduced reliance on kerosene resulted in lower carbon emissions and their consequences for health and the atmosphere, as well as cost savings. With a negligible dependency on kerosene, villagers are able to save as much as Rs. 16500 per month. With charging points made available, they no longer need to walk long distances and pay for charging their phones thereby increasing their savings. Villagers no longer need to finish their outdoor work before sunset, women are able to cook in the dark and children are able to put in more hours of study post sunset, thus ensuring optimum use of everyone’s time. While the villagers used to spend 3-4 hours a day collecting water for drinking and domestic use, they now complete the same as an early morning chore and save more than 75% of the time they used earlier.
