The Global Village   here

Sustainable Sanitation in Mumbai  here

 

SELAVIP News
from
Fr Jorge Anzorena's
Newsletter Oct  2002

The Global Village

 Why we bother

Here is some food for thought: If we could compress the earth's population to a village of just 100 people, Village 100, with all the existing human rations remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

There would be:

·       57 Asians /  21 Europeans / 8 African

·       52 would be female /   48 would be male

·       70 would be non-white / 30 would be white

·       70 would be non-Christian /  30 would be

·       89 would be heterosexual  /  11 would be homosexual

·       6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the USA

·       80 would live in substandard housing

·       70 would be unable to read

·       50 would suffer from malnutrition

·       1 would be near death

·       1 would be near birth

·       1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education

·       1 would own a computer.

 

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes in your closet, a roof over your head, and/or a place to sleep, consider yourself richer than 75% of the inhabitants of our planet.

If you have money in the bank, money in your wallet, or even just a few coins anywhere, consider yourself among 8% of all people enjoying the best quality of life in this world!

 

The info to the left  is in a flash presentation with other info on

http: randomplace.com/village100

 

 

Now Available!!!

 

In interactive CD, 
Word 2000/xp in color  

Selavip Newsletter, 
October 15, 2002

 First Draft -  “Housing the Poor in the New Millennium”

Selavip Newsletter – April 15, 2002

Selavip Book -  
“Housing the Poor, the Asian Experience” 
(Black & White only)

 

At PhP50.00 (US$1.00) per CD plus postage

For further information: pagtamba@mozcom.com

 

Sustainable Sanitation in Mumbai 

By Rupa Chinai

Mumbai slum community's commitment to sustainable sanitation can be gauged from the fact that it has raised Rs 1 crore (1 crore=10 million, August 2002: 1US $=49 rupees) to manage 320 toilet blocks coming up across the city.

Costing Rs 44 crore, these blocks are part of a Rs 200-crore World Bank project being executed by the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and local NGOs in partnership with slum societies. According to BMC officials, 8,000 toilet seats will be constructed at 400 locations across the city as part of the project's first phase.

In every slum, the community is responsible for the toilet's maintenance, which is being managed by their society. Residents are charged a one-time deposit of Rs 100 towards the maintenance fund. If a family consists of more than five adults, it has to pay a maximum of Rs 500. This money provides cooperative membership for the residents and is placed in a bank account, which is jointly managed by a BMC official and the society.

At many of the sites, users are being charged Rs 10 to 15 per month per person to support day-to-day operation. Some societies plan to raise money by renting the block's terrace for community functions.

Members of two community societies, Andhra Association and United Association, in Bangalipura, a slum in Wadala, are pleased with the new toilet blocks they own. Their minds are now racing ahead to see how other slum problems can be similarly tackled.

According to a society member, ``Initially, people did not believe that such a big project could take off in our slum. Now we are planning to directly meet BMC officials to tackle our garbage problem, without going through middlemen.''

NGOs with a strong base in the community were, for the first time, made equal partners with the BMC in implementing the project. The partnership approach skirts the notorious nexus between corporators, contractors and BMC staff, which has for years been responsible for shoddy constructions and pilferage of public money.

Civic officials admit that some corporators, contractors and BMC staff have resisted this new approach.

The Society for Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC), along with the National Slum Dwellers Federation, is one of the city NGOs that won the Rs 44 crore tender in the World Bank project to build 320 toilet blocks. Working closely with women slum groups through a pilot project in Pune, they have evolved a toilet prototype that widely meets the community's aspirations.

``Not a single rupee has been paid in bribes or kickbacks, and I challenge anyone to prove me wrong',” said A. Jockin, president of the Federation and Magsaysay Award winner for his work in the rehabilitation of slum communities.

BMC municipal commissioner Gautam Chatterjee said, ``This toilet project is casting a new role for NGOs and the BMC. Rather than doers and representatives of the community, NGOs are helping them to develop learning capacities, advocacy and negotiating skills. As community-based organizations get activated, the true worth of the NGO will be measured in its fade-out. Meanwhile, BMC officials are learning to directly deal with community leaders and tackle their problems''.

If this approach works, it could make a big difference in public hygiene. The regular outbreaks of malaria, leptospirosis, diarrhea, hepatitis are some of the diseases attributed to poor water and sanitation facilities in Mumbai.

Officials said this ``demand-led participatory approach'' for sanitation improvement is new in Mumbai's slums. Seeing its success, the government and corporation recently issued a resolution stating that hereafter all toilet constructions in the city will follow this model of community management.

However, the city still has a long way to go before the sanitation revolution is complete. A corporation survey last year revealed that Mumbai needs an investment of Rs 750 crore to provide all slum-dwellers with reasonable access to sanitation.