Renovation of existing bathrooms in government schools in Roorkee

Chanana Welfare Foundation is working in tandem with the government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. CWF is funding the renovation of existing bathrooms in government schools in small villages on the outskirts of Roorkee. Presence of bathrooms on school premises is an important factor for young girls to attend school. It also helps eradicate infectious disease and promote hygienic practices. The ground reality reveals that the existing bathrooms in government schools in Roorkee have not been used. There is no running water and the bathrooms are in a dilapidated condition. There is lack of electricity to run pumps to supply water. Hence, these schools witness high dropout rates. The girls have to go back home to use the toilets as they cannot use the existing ones and often, they do not return back to school. They also stop attending school after a certain age.

Seeing the existing conditions of the bathrooms, we decided to make sure that all the renovations undertaken are not cosmetic in nature. The original plan of renovating 10 government school bathrooms has been scaled down to two. This decision has been taken as the Chanana Welfare Foundation believes in doing long term work. These two renovated bathrooms will be seen a prototype to see how they are used and maintained. For the renovation work, CWF is working on the ground with Youthreach and Disha. Chanana Welfare Foundation is constructing cemented wash basins, installing taps, layering the pipes for water connectivity, purchasing flushes, toilet sheets, tiles and other material. CWF is providing drilling and boring material for the submersible pump and a water tank has also been provided. The renovations will start by the end of August at Latherdeva Hoon-Government Primary School and Gadarjudda-Government Primary School.