Photo: Children in the new WASH facilities at Ramajogihalli primary school.
Lakshmi, a ninth-grade student in the rural village of Ramajogihalli, India, has seen her school life dramatically transformed due to the efforts of the community development programme initiated by the Climate Investor One sponsored Ampyr Wind project.
Despite the importance of sanitation and clean drinking water, these basic facilities were previously lacking in Lakshmi's school. The absence of these facilities was a significant deterrent, often making parents uncomfortable about sending their daughters to school.
"Earlier we didn’t have toilets at school and girls used to hesitate to come," Lakshmi revealed during our conversation with her.
The arrival of the Project and the community development programme has thankfully changed this situation, with the construction of dedicated toilets for female students as part of a broader water and sanitation programme. This upgrade has already significantly increased the sense of comfort and security among the female students.
"Now even the parents are comfortable to send their daughters to school," Lakshmi noted.
Perhaps the most telling indicator of this intervention's success is the increase in school attendance among girls. Lakshmi shared, "About 10 to 20 additional girls now come to the school since the new toilets have become operational.”.
By addressing the basic needs of sanitation and clean drinking water, the project is playing a transformative role in promoting gender equality in education within the school. Through Lakshmi's personal account, it becomes clear how infrastructural investments as part of a needs-based community development programme can profoundly impact social progress.
