July 4, 2008

People of Bharol Village Development Committee (VDC) of Sunsari district have brought many changes after they worked with the Nepal Red Cross Society Community Development Project (CDP). Among others, Ward No. 6 of the VDC has been declared open deification free. The other communities are campaigning for the same.

People were habituated for open defecating, traditional farming, and adopting traditional sources for other means of livelihood in the VDC.

“Red Cross was the first organization who brought a huge project to change social, economic and health status of the whole VDC through trainings and development activities,” said Kashi Ram Chaudari, president of Bharol subchapter.

The CDP project has provided trainings for improved cook stove, kitchen gardening, health and sanitation, mid-wife, microfinance, HIV and AIDS consciousness, safe motherhood, basic veterinary, tailoring, book keeping, peer education and adult education. Similarly, workshops have been organized for controlling drug abuse, increasing women’s literacy in legal affairs, and for providing clean drinking water.

The CDP project has been implemented in Bharol VDC since 2006 for five years to uplift the economic, health and social status of the community people. More than 25,000 people of the 4,251 households of all 9 Wards of the VDC are getting direct benefit through development, sanitation and training programmes. In the support of the project, so far 374 improved cook stove, 36 dug wells, 7 school toilets, 757 family toilets, 769 washing platform, 769 drying port and 68 tube wells are constructed in the community.

“There is a big change in the village after the implementation of the project in our VDC,” said Lal Bahadur Thapa, Headmaster of the Mili Juli Primary School, Bharol, Sunsari. “There is a better coordination between the community and the school for sanitation activities and for promoting sanitation activites, CDP has supported NRS 85,000 for the construction of our school toilet,” he added.

The community people of all Wards of the VDC meet once a week for cleaning roads and public places. They also make public aware of using toilets and not keeping cattle and dust in the roads.

Pregnant women are regularly taken to health centers for check up. After the dhami and jhakris (traditional healer) are given training, they also recommend the patients to go to heath centers for further treatment.

Farmers have started to grow both seasonal and off seasonal vegetables for the consumption and about half of the trained ones have taken it as a source of their livelihood.

The project has provided income generating trainings for village women. After the trainings, they have begun to work as professional and providing support for themselves and for their families for living. In this connection, Meena Nepali, 20, has become a role modal in Bharol. After taking the tailoring training, she manages money for her certificate level education and supports food and clothes to her family by sewing clothes of her community people. She got a tailoring training two years ago through a community development programme (CDP) run by the NRCS in her VDC.

“The most visible effect of the CDP project is the change of people’s awareness,” said Meena Nepali while talking about the total impact of the project in the community. “People have now started to use toilets, drink filtered water and wash hands before meal,” she added.

The attempt of the community people with the CDP to make the whole VDC open defecation free help contribute to the national sanitation goal and the development and income generating activities help reduce poverty.