Project Dignity: Sanitation for All “The toilet is at the heart of

everything!”

PRESENTATION at December 7, 2012 Fundraiser

By

Manish Mehta (Director), manishm@comcast.net, +1 (734) 604-7989

& Laura Van Steenis (Club President), lvansteenis30@yahoo.com

Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North (RCAAN), D6380, Michigan, USA

In Partnership with

Rotary Club of Calcutta-Midtown, D3291, India

Inner Wheel Club of Calcutta-Midtown, India

Ramakrishna Ashram – Nimpith (Sundarbans, 24 Parganas, West Bengal)

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About Rotary (www.Rotary.org)

Our Motto: “Service Above Self”

Our 2012-13 Theme: “Peace Through Service”

• Oldest service organization (since 1905, Chicago) • A trusted global network of ~1.2M professional men & women in

~31,000 Rotary Clubs in over 150 countries

• Common goal of promoting peace and international

understanding thru’ fellowship & service projects • The Gates Foundation funded $355M in polio eradication (India, Pakistan,

Afghanistan, Nigeria)

• Many Other Programs: Youth Development, Literacy, Healthcare, Water &

Sanitation,

• D6380 in SE Michigan & Ontario has 52 Clubs • Kent, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw County

Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North

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RCAAN was chartered in 1967 and has ~37 Members who are

engaged in many local, regional and international service projects. It meets every Thursday at noon at the Holiday Inn North Campus.

Socio-Ecological Consequences of

Open Defecation…!

Fecal Food Chain = Human Waste Flies Frog/Scorpion Snake Mongoose Tiger Poachers

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Visit to Sundarbans, E. India (May 14-16, 2012)

The lack of sanitation and water-centric lifestyle in a typical Sundarbans embankment poses

many different health risks to women and children – e.g., diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, schistosomiasis, etc.

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How Project Dignity Works • Gifts in-home composting-type pit toilets to families

• Dignifies women & girls with in-home sanitation

• Mentors women to train their families on routine

use and maintenance of toilets

• Promotes literacy of children & adults

– Fewer illnesses & missed school days free up mothers

• Advances women’s independence via jobs, crafts,

vocational training as a means of self-subsistence

• Enables sustainable rural development

• Sources locally the materials for building toilets

• Breaks the cycle of generational poverty M. Mehta, Project Dignity

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The Sundarbans, Near Calcutta, E. India

Sunderbans is the

World’s Most Densely

Populated River Delta

Some Challenges…

• Biodiversity Extinction

• UN-Protection of Tigers and

Tidal Mangrove Forests

• Threat of Climate Change

• Poor Infrastructure

• High Incidence of Poverty

• Diseases & Contamination

• Sex Trafficking of Girls

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Project Dignity Goals (2013-15) • 4 million in Sundarbans Need ~50,000 Toilets!

• Ph 1: Michigan Rotary Clubs Funded 110 toilets

– Cost: ~$150/pit toilet, $200/bio-gas toilet (made in batches)

• Ph 2: 500 Toilets in 2013-15 at Total Cost: ~$90k

– 4:1 Leverage via a Rotary Int’l Foundation Global Grant

• Longer-term Plan: Social Entrepreneurship Pilot

– E.g., World Toilet Organization’s Sani-Shop model

• GOAL: $25,000 in private donations as seed $s

– Mail Tax-Deductible Donations to “RCAAN Foundation”

• Administrative Cost is ZERO – Funds directly benefit the project;

Rotarians monitor project implementation and impact at own cost

• Sanitation is RCAAN’s Signature Project! M. Mehta, Project Dignity

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Visited 20+ Families, May 15, 2012

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A new toilet (left) in the home of a seamstress benefits health and productivity of 4 women & kids

High multiplier effect of installed toilets benefits multi-generational families in the Sundarbans

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Women’s Vocational Training

NGO Ramakrishna Ashram’s

Programs include:

• Azola Ferns

• Vermi Culture

• Fungi Culture

• Tissue Culture

• Crafts & Pottery Making

• Animal Husbandry

• Social Entrepreneurship? M. Mehta, Project Dignity

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Moslem and Hindu school girls escorted to school

A happy mother and her family! In-home composting toilet

Dedicated Volunteers & Teamwork! • Dedicated Rotarians &

Inner Wheel Club Members

• ZERO Administrative costs

• Critical infrastructure &

supply-chains are in place

• Strong partnership with

Ramakrishna Ashram

Nimpith (Sundarbans)

• India was declared polio-free by

World Health Organization (2012)

• Sustained efforts in sanitation are

key to the eradication of polio

• Innovative partnerships needed

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We Can Make A Difference -Together!

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“I slept and dreamt that life was joy.

I awoke and saw that life was service.

I acted and behold, service was joy.”

~ Rabindranath Tagore (& Albert Einstein)

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A BIG THANK YOU!! • Dr. Amitav Ghosh (Award-winning writer)

• Univ of Michigan Creative Writing Program

• Nicola’s Books (Ann Arbor) – for donation

• Bichitra, Swajan, Mitali members

– Bengali cultural associations in Greater Detroit

• Rotary Clubs in Michigan & India

– Ann Arbor North, Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Ferndale,

Milan, Saline, Calcutta-Midtown

• Donors, Supporters, Friends of Rotary

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