Here are some startling statistics to ponder upon: 2.6 billion of the world’s population  live without access to a toilet and 600 million are in India alone. It is a heartrending statistic and may cause a lot of concern to many of us living here. 

Dr. Sunil Bhatia, a professor in Connecticut College had a similar reaction. As a young boy of ten in Pune, Sunil Bhatia would take a bike to school every day crossing through areas of slums and witnessing poverty and deprivation. But what really bothered him was the open defecation in public of the children and adults. How does one address human waste was a question that stayed in his mind. While teaching at Connecticut College on a course on globalization and equity he thought back to the problem again and assigned a case study with his students in class. Looking further into hard data on the topic he discovered an organization in Pune called Shelter Associates, an NGO run by Pratima Joshi that was leading the effort on solving the issue.

After visiting the center and talking to Pratima Joshi, Dr. Bhatia founded Friends of Shelter Associates (FSA), a local chapter of the Indian nonprofit organization, Shelter Associates in 2005. The idea behind the nonprofit was to raise funds and bring awareness to the lack of sanitation in India and the group chose to focus on Pune. “Toilets give the most vulnerable members of the society dignity, health, privacy, and prevents sexual assaults and rape of women” says Dr Bhatia.“We believe that access to sanitation is a fundamental human right and an important tool against global poverty”.  

Last month on May 10, the group held  an event for 110 people,  from various diverse backgrounds and regions of New England,to raise funds at the Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington for providing individual toilets to slums in Pune.  Dr. Sunil Bhatia, the director and founder of FSA, gave a key note presentation titled: The Power of Toilets: Improving Health and Dignity in Slum Communities in India. FSA raised $23,000 and these funds will be used to support the building of 90 individual toilets in slums of Pune. Friends of Shelter Associates have funded toilets and sanitation projects benefiting over 475 families living in Western India slums since 2005.

While the cost of a concrete toilet is $200, says Bhatia, the money is also used to make sure that the surrounding infrastructure needs like sewerage, water supply etc  is also provided.  Shelter Associates take care of building the toilets but are also involved in poverty mapping studies, providing data and conducting surveys. Thanks to their efforts 13 wards have now been mapped and the  model  has been so successfully implemented, to mobilize the community that the  Rajiv Awas  Yojana, the government program on Urban poverty alleviation and a slum free India used it in their documentation to  advocate on social policy.

Since 2006, the group here has raised $120,000 and Dr. Bhatia has a threefold mission for the future. He would like to involve more philanthropists to the cause, gather key leaders to get involved and partner with more communities in Boston.

The FSA board includes Dr. Gyan Pareek, Dr. Apurv Gupta, Karin Wetheril, Dr. Kamille Gentles-Peart, and Dr. Anjali Ram. For more information please go to http://www.friendsofsa.org/

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Sunil Bhatia is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Director of the Holleran Center for Community Action and Public Policy at Connecticut College.In 2009, Sunil Bhatia received the Martin Luther King Jr. Faculty Service Award given to a faculty who upholds the legacy of Dr. King’s work with their demonstrated commitment to social justice and serving underrepresented communities either on campus and/or the New London community. 

Supporters comment

“We believe that access to sanitation is a fundamental human right and an important tool against global poverty”. “The FSA event was very moving. I have worked in hospitals and rural areas of India and  the pictures and stories Dr. Bhatia presented brought me right back to the indignities and ill health sufferedneedlessly by so many children and families.  We are so removed fromthese realities in our day to day lives and the FSA event was a welcome opportunity to provide direct help and  real solutions ;

Andrea (Andrea Arena, Barrington RI)

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