Ms Kaur and her family live in a rural village in India, she has two sisters and an elderly mother whose suffers with limited mobility. Ms Kaur has never married due to the dire level of poverty which plays on her mind daily. She explained that the people in the village talk amongst themselves about marriage which has an impact on my mental well-being.
Ms Kaur requested a safe toilet to be made in her house as she feels it has become more unsafe for her and her sisters to use the open field. She also explained that her mother can hardly walk now due to old age which has made the journey even harder. She expressed the fear for her little sister’s safety when using the open fields due to sexual harassment increasing.
In India, many women living in rural villages wait until nightfall to use the toilet so they are not seen. They will reduce their food and drink intake during the day, resulting in going hungry and thirsty in hot temperatures (some countries reach over 40 degrees) causing many health implications such as abdominal pain and infections.
As the team entered Ms Kaur’s house, the poverty was visible, the team not only felt passionate to deliver a safe toilet for Ms Kaur and her family but also provide some clothes and a new bed for Ms Kaur’s mother as the one she was laying on was completely broken.
“This is a necessity that all human beings should have, especially women. Under no circumstances should a woman’s dignity be compromised. Girls as young as 10 are reported to have been raped, this is unacceptable and we will not sit back and watch” Mani Kaur, Project Manager
The work started straight away and was completed within weeks, Ms Kaur and her sister were very thankful not only to the team but also to all those who donated to help protect the dignity of her sisters and mother.