Water For People cannot hope to fully address the water and sanitation needs of a country of India’s magnitude, but it has made a commitment to make a difference in one of the country’s poorest regions, the state of West Bengal.

Access to water and sanitation varies across West Bengal, with wide disparities between districts. Water in 8 of 19 districts within West Bengal are arsenic-ridden, making it unsafe for more than 5 million people, who often turn to nearby ponds shared with livestock. As a result, West Bengal has one of the world’s highest levels of water-related illness.

The sanitation situation in West Bengal is equally alarming. The few facilities that do exist are poorly maintained, offer no privacy, and are under severe strain from overuse. Responsibility for maintenance of public toilets is often ambiguous, leading to unclean facilities that are rife with disease. Most people simply defecate in fields, rivers, or ponds, creating even greater health risks. The absence of sanitation facilities in schools contributes significantly to the dropout of female students when they reach puberty.

Water For People focuseson four of West Bengal’s administrative districts: South 24 Parganas, East Medinipur, North 24 Parganas, and Nadia, each with its own unique challenges. Tube wells are the sole source of safe water in East Medinipur District. But there are far too few functioning wells for the more than four million residents. In addition to supporting safe drinking water in this district, Water For People works with children in schools to educate about the importance of hygiene. In South 24 Parganas District, the water points are widely separated, and almost 80% of the village homes are without toilets. Water For People and its local partners worked with the districts’ villages and schools to support the installation of borehole wells, drinking water tap stations, latrines, and hand washing stations.

High levels of arsenic have been found in 20 of North 24 Parganas District’s 22 blocks and put 20% of the Nadia District’s population at risk from long-term exposure. In 2008, the organization
supported the installation of arsenic filters, completed sanitary blocks, and introduced hygiene
education in several of each districts’ schools.

Water For People works to build a world where all people have access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and where no one suffers or dies from a water- or sanitation-related disease. This is our vision.

We’re on a mission. We work with people and partners to develop innovative and long-lasting solutions to the water, sanitation, and hygiene problems in the developing world. We strive to continually improve, to experiment with promising new ideas, and to leverage resources to multiply our impact.

In 2009, Water For People–India supported improved access to safe water for 158,236 people and improved access to sanitation for 84,367 people.

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