The water crisis in our country goes way back. There are over 600 million people who face acute water crises on a regular basis. While we may have the privilege to take 30 min long showers, people in the rural parts of our country have to walk tens of kilometers just to fetch water to meet their daily requirements. This cumbersome chore not only causes physical strain but also keeps women from devoting their time elsewhere and contributing to the family financially. The problem lies in the accessibility of clean water.
Beacon High School Students Crowdfund on Ketto
The young minds of Beacon High School Mumbai, understand that access to clean water is a basic necessity for an individual to lead a healthy life. The students under the aegis The Alpha Urbane Project came forth and took it upon themselves to raise funds on Ketto.org to enable and empower rural communities to get access to water.
In rural India, a woman walks 7 to 20 km every day just to fetch water. They carry an average of 9 liters of headload multiple times a day. With the onset of summer, as drought sets in, many of the families in the village will struggle for access to clean drinking water. The crowdfunding campaign will support marginalized families with access to water through waterwheels and reduce the burden of head loading. The beneficiaries will be selected based on selection criteria to reach out to the most marginalized.
Commenting on the student’s effort to empower the rural communities by getting access to water K.S. Jamali, Principal, Beacon High School Mumbai, said, “We chose to raise funds as a school to help alleviate the strain of water collection on these families. While installing taps might seem like the logical and conventional way to go about helping them out, the scale of impact might not be as much due to it being a lengthy procedure. Collectively we decided to associate with Habitat for Humanity as they have come up with the distribution of a simple device known as the waterwheel. With the help of which even young children can push around as much as 45 liters of water with ease and in a short duration of time and maximum families can be impacted and in short time duration.”
Habitat for Humanity India has addressed this dire need of families by providing a waterwheel. This activity has not only brought relief to the women’s lives but also has achieved a paradigm shift in the villager’s mindset in fetching water. It is observed that in rural villages the fetching of water is the primary responsibility of women folks, they start fetching water early in the morning along with their other routine day-to-day work. But now there is a change as men and young boys are willing to carry water with the help of a water wheel from long distances.
The students of Beacon High School have proved that through persistence and determination, anything can be achieved. Lakshya Rohit Vasandani (Head Boy Grade 9), Sana Rohira (Grade 9), and Presha Prakkash Sharoff (Grade 9) started a crowdfunding campaign on Ketto.org and raised INR 5.53 lakh from over 250 donors. The amount raised from the public will be used by the renowned NGO Habitat for Humanity India to ensure the transparent distribution of water wheels in rural areas.
Commenting on the initiative, Lakshya Rohit Vasandani (Head Boy Grade 9), Sana Rohira (Grade 9), and Presha Prakkash Sharoff (Grade 9), Beacon High School said, “We feel as concerned individuals it is our responsibility to help the vulnerable. While we are all locked away in the comfort of our homes, there are countless people out there facing numerous issues beyond our imagination. This got us thinking about how we could do our bit and reach out to them without having to leave my home during the pandemic. That is when TAUP reached out to us and introduced us to crowdfunding. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to create an impact of this magnitude, as a student.”
The funds collected on Ketto.org will enable Habitat for Humanity India to distribute water wheels in selected villages of Karjat Block in Raigad District, Maharashtra, Nandgaon, Khandeswar block of Amravati district in Maharashtra. Bharatpur district in Rajasthan. Sindhoni, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, supporting over 900 families.
