Everyday in the morning, Meena Devi, a resident of Bihar would travel three hours to get water. She would carry at least 20 litres of water back to her village Chanandi, which would provide for daily requirements of the household – from drinking to washing. She wasn’t alone in this everyday walkathon. Her entire village would have to undergo the same arduous routine to meet their daily water needs. While the United Nations aims to ensure access to water and sanitation for all in India by the year 2030, under the Sustainable Development Goals, the local administration was least concerned in spite of the repeated pleas and applications for a hand-pump by the villagers.
Amit Kumar, a Video Volunteers Community Correspondent decided to take up this issue that affected the neighbouring village in his district. He made a video report on the issue and started gathering people for community screening, telling them about their rights. Amit has worked for the past two years in his region to bring awareness among the community about water related issues like getting access to safe drinking water; health and hygiene, etc.
Armed with the video, Amit held screening for the Gram Sarpanch, the village head and also went to the local administrators such as the Public Health Department, with the video. “They had said it will take time for the hand pump, but I was ready to wait. I followed up in the four years regularly, wrote over three applications and was persistent in getting this village its’ hand pump,” Amit admits. The community, educated about their rights, also accompanied Amit on various visits to the administration.
The joy of women, who are entrusted with providing the water in the house, was clearly visible.
Fighting for Change: The Story of Bihar-Based Journalist Amir Abbas
Inspiration can come from many sources, but one of the most powerful is seeing someone walk the path before you. Our Community Correspondent, Syed Amir Abbas found his inspiration in Stalin K., the founding director of Video Volunteers. “I met Stalin at VV’s national meet in 2017 and I...
Take Action
A bridge about to collapse in Bihar
The bridge that was built by the British is slowly chipping off, and fatal accidents are a regular occurrence there. The villagers along with our Community Correspondent are requesting the Government officials to repair this bridge. They are getting assurance that the repair work will start soon though it...