Among 300 districts in the country, Bihar is one such a state that doesn’t have a single defecation-free district. But one woman’s fight for the betterment of her state has contributed in her own towards Bihar’s Swachh dream.
An easygoing life is any day better than working hard selflessly for the betterment of your nation, many would have opted for it too- but one woman decided otherwise and went out of her way for the welfare of her state and its residents.
For last one year, 34-year-old Rinku Kumari from Bihar wakes up every day at 4 am in the morning to spot people defecating in the open and inform them about the harmful effects. To sensitize people, she travels from door to door to teach them about Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and makes them understand why a toilet is a must have in every home.
In two panchayats of Bihar, Rinku has helped in the construction of more than 2,000 toilets and has influenced thousands of lives, mentioned the report.
Watch her success story here:
Rinku Kumari from Nalanda district, Bihar brought about change not only to her village but also to 10 wards in the vicinity, by making them #ODF. Her determination and grit towards the #SBM is a motivation for all of us. #ChaloChamparan #चलो_चंपारण pic.twitter.com/4U3JkpIMtH
— Swachh Bharat (@swachhbharat) April 10, 2018
From being a social worker to a swachhagrahi, Rinku says to NDTV :
“The one thing I saw and never appreciated was how people were accustomed to defecating in the open. Apart from this, I saw how people were regularly falling sick because of infections like diarrhea, the one infection that can simply be avoided if a person starts using a toilet at home. I wanted to help them out, but didn’t know where to start.”
Last year in 2017, she attended Swachh Bharat Abhiyan workshops, which inspired her enough to learn different techniques and motivate people to construct a toilet.
Explaining in one of her favorite ways, she used to ask men to give her their mobile phones and asked them what they will do if they lose it forever? They used to say that if they can arrange money, they will buy it again. Through this, she explains that what if anything unfortunate happens to the women of your house while they defecate in the open. These conversations have proved to be useful in villages, Rinku said to NDTV.
Besides all this, she also trains villagers to build their own toilets at home, how to use it and keep it clean.
To make Bihar defecation free in her own way, she has also formed her own nigrani samiti (Watch Committee) to make sure that people are constructing toilets, using it properly and keeping it clean. Because of her determination and grit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recognized her efforts during the Chalo Champaran concluding ceremony in Bihar, which was held on April 10, this year.
In Bihar even though none of the districts have achieved open defecation free target, in the rural areas of the state, 49 toilets have been constructed and the sanitation coverage in the state has gone up from 21% in 2014 to 54%.
Felicitated with Rs 51,000 and a certificate, Rinku is among the 10 swachhgrahis who is working for the welfare of her state. She says to NDTV, “We need to come together and make India swachh by October 2, 2019.”