Core support and strengthening of Utthan’s People’s Learning Centre for water and sanitation (Phase II)

Project Summary

In Phase I of this project, Utthan engaged in a collaborative capacity building at the state, district and Panchayat levels, to access water resources, facilitated linkages between banks and women federations for safe sanitation, and demonstrated model villages. The findings from this project and Utthan’s vast experience show that the changes in the lives of the most vulnerable communities cannot come about through isolated inputs on a single issue. Thus, this new phase of support is envisaged for the People’s Learning Centre in order to redefine the roles of stakeholders, from communities to civil society to government.

This project will enable these stakeholders to recognize their basic rights and responsibilities to have access to safe, adequate, equitable, and sustainable drinking water supplies and affordable sanitation facilities for hygiene promotion. It will lead them towards self-reliance through gender-equal, just, participatory, and community-owned systems.

Outputs

  1. Taking the Area Resource Groups (ARG) and District Resource Groups (DRG) forward in a systematic and logical manner through activities like training,  establishing a mechanism of coordination between ARGs and DRGs, and  connecting them with WASMO’s existing program in these districts.
  2. Capacity building (within Gujarat, regional, national and international level) with different stakeholders such as NGOs, Watsan samitis, as well as schools in other districts of Gujarat on the topics of accessing and sustaining water and sanitation efforts.
  3. Strengthening the existing PLC WATSAN Team by inducting more members and capacity building for better transfer of skills.
  4. Documentation and communication for disseminating of information, learning and knowledge-generation.
  5. Advocacy by contributing through action research, status/citizen’s report, through state and national workshops.
  6. Innovative demonstration and promotion of good practices, including eco-san (with all combinations), and micro finance.
Focus Area
Rural Sanitation
Duration
Nobember 2010 - October 2014
Location

300 villages, 20 districts

Grant Amount
INR 1.7 Crore
Direct Beneficiaries
3 Lakh
States
Gujarat
Partners
Utthan
*Grant amount & beneficiary figures are as per actuals for completed projects.