GAIBANDHA, June 9, 2021 (BSS)- A development project namely Strengthening Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Wash in Bangladesh (SHOMOTA) is being run at four unions of the district, creating positive impacts to the project beneficiaries.
SKS Foundation, a local reputed non-government organisation, in partnership with World Vision Bangladesh is implementing the SHOMOTA project at Gidari and Mollarchar unions under Sadar upazila and Kanchipara and Urya unions under Fulchhari upazila in the district from September, 2018 for the welfare of the women, children, and the persons with disabilities of the unions with the financial support of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia while Centre for Disability Development, Bangladesh is providing technical assistance.
To improve gender and disability inclusive wash in schools and communities is the goal of the project, said an official.
The purposes of the project are to Change agents at community, school and UP level have the drive and ability to support inclusive MHM and ODF behavior change in schools and communities, he also said.
Besides this, to ensure improved equitable access to and use of WASH facilities and services in schools and communities and increased leadership and participation of women and people with disabilities in household, community and school decision making are other purposes of the project, the official added.
A press briefing, organised by the project, was held at Uttar Gidari under Gidari union of Sadar upazila after a group of journalists of national dailies including the national news agency visited the project command areas.
In the function, Hasina Parvin, district Coordinator of the project briefed the journalists about the development works of the project.
She said a total of 68956 peoples– 26,946 females, 26,675 males, 7521 girls and 7814 boys– of the project command areas have been targeted to bring under the project as its beneficiaries.
Many welfare activities had already been done for the targeted people in the project command areas, the district coordinator mentioned.
A number of hand washing stations had been set up for the people of all ages at important places of the project areas side by side with distributing 4,700 units of hand sanitizers to the people to halt the spread of corona at the initiative of the project during the ongoing corona pandemic, she continued.
Apart from this, 479 sanitary latrines and 580 tube wells had been set up at the project areas to ensure a good hygienic environment and supply pure drinking water to the people of the project command areas to save them from various diseases, she mentioned.
The inhabitants of a ward of Mollarchar union had been brought under cent per cent coverage of hand washing after conducting the motivational activity or campaign to people of the ward by the project officials and the staff, she termed.
“As many as 109 families have prepared monthly health management and they are also inspiring the other families,” Hasina Parvin said, adding that the disable well-protection committee was also formed in the upazilas each through advocacy by the project and bases on its recommendations a number of persons with disabilities are getting disability allowance per month to live without economic crisis.
The adolescent girls of the project areas are being aware about their reproductive health by the female staff of the project so that they could keep fit clean physically during their periodical time, she concluded.
All the project officials and field level staff of the project, local public representatives and civil society members were present on the occasion.