Ensuring Safe Water and Sanitation for Embankment Communities in Lakshmipur

Project Title:
The People’s Voice: 24 – Ensuring Safe Water and Sanitation for Embankment Communities in Lakshmipur
Organization:
ALO (Animation Liberate for Organize)
Location:
Charbati Union, Kamalnagar Upazila, Lakshmipur District, Coastal Bangladesh
Duration:
Ongoing Project (initial phase: 12 months, scalable thereafter)
Project Lead:
Kazi Altaf Mahmood (Project Manager, ALO NGO)

1. Background and Problem Statement
Bangladesh has made significant progress in sanitation nationally, yet its coastal regions remain left behind. In Lakshmipur, particularly in Charbati Union, around 200–300 people live along canal embankments in makeshift housing. These families face multiple vulnerabilities:

• No toilets or shared sanitation facilities. Families resort to open defecation in canals, creating serious health risks.
• Unsafe drinking water. Salinity intrusion and contamination leave residents without reliable water sources.
• Public health threats. Outbreaks of diarrhea, cholera, and dysentery are recurrent.
• Socioeconomic precarity. Residents rely on daily wage labor—rickshaw pulling, brickfield work, or bidi rolling—making it impossible to invest in basic infrastructure.

While families occasionally receive food aid during floods, no sustained WASH interventions have been implemented. This project seeks to fill that critical gap.

2. Project Goal and Objectives

Overall Goal:
To ensure access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities for vulnerable embankment communities in Lakshmipur, reducing disease, improving dignity, and enhancing resilience.

Specific Objectives:

1. Install flood-resilient, shared toilets (1 unit per 2–3 families).
2. Provide deep tube wells to secure safe drinking water for clusters of households.
3. Conduct hygiene and sanitation education campaigns to prevent waterborne disease.
4. Build community ownership by engaging local committees in maintenance.

3. Target Group

• Direct Beneficiaries: 200–300 people (approx. 50–60 households).
• Indirect Beneficiaries: Surrounding communities who gain access to improved WASH practices and reduced health risks.
• Special Focus: Women, children, and elderly who are disproportionately affected by unsafe sanitation and lack of safe water.

4. Planned Activities

1. Needs Confirmation & Mobilization
   ○ Conduct household mapping and finalize locations for toilets/tube wells.
   ○ Establish local WASH committees for monitoring and maintenance.
2. Infrastructure Installation
   ○ Build 10 shared toilets (one per 2–3 families).
   ○ Install 5 deep tube wells on elevated ground.
   ○ Ensure disaster-resilient design (raised platforms, flood-proof structures).
3. Community Training & Hygiene Promotion
   ○ Train WASH committees on maintenance and water management.
   ○ Conduct health workshops on hygiene, safe water use, and sanitation practices.
4. Monitoring & Evaluation
   ○ Monthly monitoring by ALO field staff.
   ○ Quarterly reporting with feedback from community and stakeholders.

5. Logical Framework

6. Resource Requirements & Budget
Unit Costs (as identified):

• One shared toilet (sanitization unit): 35,478 BDT ≈ $302 USD
• One deep tube well: 18,225 BDT ≈ $155 USD

Phase 1 (covering ~50–60 households):

• 10 toilets x $302 = $3,020 USD
• 5 tube wells x $155 = $775 USD
• Hygiene workshops, training & monitoring = $1,200 USD
• Project management & logistics = $1,000 USD

Total Phase 1 Budget = $5,995 USD (≈ 705,000 BDT)

7. Sustainability and Exit Strategy

• Community Ownership: WASH committees will oversee maintenance.
• Capacity Building: Training provided on repairs, cleaning, and hygiene.
• Partnerships: Collaboration with local government and NGOs for scale-up.
• Scalability: Model can be replicated in other coastal embankment areas of Bangladesh.

8. Fundraising Appeal
This project is not charity—it is an investment in dignity, survival, and resilience. For less than $300, a toilet unit can transform sanitation for 2–3 families. For $155, a deep tube well can provide safe drinking water for dozens.

Ways to Support:

• $155 → Provides a tube well for 10+ families.
• $302 → Builds a shared toilet for 2–3 families.
• $600 → Supports sanitation & water for 10 families.
• $5,995 → Fully funds Phase 1 for 60 households.

9. References

• WHO/UNICEF JMP, Progress on Household Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 2023.
• Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022.
• World Bank, Bangladesh WASH Poverty Diagnostic (2021).
• UNICEF Bangladesh, WASH Data and Country Program 2024.
• Government of Bangladesh, National Strategy for Water Supply and Sanitation 2014–2025