Sanitation

Poor sanitation not only affects people's quality of life, it also compromises their health in many ways.

The hill villages of Kalimpong have traditionally had poor sanitation, with rough, poorly-built toilets that have polluted the land and nearby water sources. The steep hillsides on which these villages are built have exacerbated the problem, as villages lower down are adversely affected by the poor sanitation systems which exist further up in the hills.

The Glenn Family Foundation is addressing these problems through its Model Village Programme, working with local villages to improve latrines and waste disposal systems.

The GFF committee on the ground works with locals, using their manpower and local materials to help build new, sanitary facilities which dispose of waste safely. The GFF provides additional materials and the extra skills needed to complete the projects to a good standard.

During 2011, villagers, with the support of the GFF, began building new toilets in the villages of Borbot, Nongsong, Chalumthung, Purbong and Tari Goan among others (above).

The aim is for five new villages to be added to the Programme annually - benefiting the lives of a growing number of families and communities in these poor hillside areas.   

Since the beginning of this initiative in 2007, to the end of 2011, approximately 942 toilets have been installed. 186 were built in 2011 alone.

A child stands before a set of toilets built with the assistance of the GFF in West Bengal State.