A total of 790 families from the marginalised community residing in Vallam village, Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu were provided with new sanitation amenities and other essential facilities to improve their standard of living. These holistic community development initiatives were undertaken by housing non-profit organisation Habitat for Humanity India, in partnership with Eicher Group Foundation.
The completion of the project was marked by an official handover ceremony on 30th July 2021 wherein one individual household latrine and an RO drinking water facility, along with the school sanitation and rebuilt school kitchen in RCM Primary School, Vallam were symbolically handed over to the beneficiaries.
The handover ceremony was attended by Mr. Arun, Human Resources – Vallam Plant, Royal Enfield (Chennai), Fr. Vinod Kumar, Correspondent – RCM Primary School and Mr. Aditya Ratnasabapathy, Director – Corporate Partnerships, Habitat India.
“People are at the centre of every Habitat for Humanity intervention. It has been our constant endeavour to reach out to vulnerable populations and help them build self-reliance and resilience through holistic community-centric interventions. We are glad to have like-minded partners like Eicher Group Foundation, to bring about a lifestyle change for low-income, vulnerable households and help create a safe and secure future for them,” stated Dr. Rajan Samuel, Managing Director, Habitat for Humanity India.
With a view to ensure hygiene and healthy sustainable living for the local communities, Habitat for Humanity India developed 4 hamlets under Vallam village comprising Vallam, Kandigai, Vadakkal and Theresapuram in Tamil Nadu. 52 individual household latrines have been built and 3 individual household latrines have been repaired. A community sanitation unit has been built along with the construction of a shed. An RO safe water drinking facility has been installed and a clean water distribution system has been created through a Women’s Self-Help Group (SHG) in Kandigai.
Rooftop rainwater harvesting systems have been set up in 328 houses to improve groundwater storage capacity. 18 solar street lights have been installed for the community. With a view to help local populations adopt positive hygiene and sanitation practices, behaviour change communication training sessions were also held for the community.
To encourage healthy sanitary practices among school students, a sanitation unit has been built at the RCM Primary School in Vallam. The school kitchen was demolished and reconstructed with the laying of paver blocks for the walkway and compound wall. The walls of the school were painted in an artistic manner. Behaviour change communication training was also held for the students to aid them in imbibing essential hygiene practices.
