Umed’s initiatives for Swachha Bharat Abhiyaan Umed – Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission is working with the poorest of the poor in rural Maharashtra for poverty eradication and to enable them to improve their quality of life. The dashasutras have been adopted as a means to ensure this. Under the dashasutras, health is an important topic. It is important to sensitize the women in self help groups on importance of personal hygiene and community sanitation practices as one of the most necessary components of ensuring good individual and family health. Personal hygiene practices include; a) Prevention of open defecation b) Use of toilet c) Hand washing with Soap d) Safe disposal of child fecal matter e) Safe and hygienic storage and use of drinking. Community sanitation practices include a) Ensuring general cleanliness near the house and in public places and b) safe disposal of solid and liquid waste. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, from 21st September to 31st October, provided to be a good opportunity to promote personal hygiene and community sanitation practices. Umed –MSRLM prepared to a one month plan to create awareness about the abhiyan in which discussions on personal hygien and community sanitation will be initiated in at least five SHGs or village organizations. WASH awareness and capacitation to build individual toilet will be initial agenda in the campaign. The activities planned were as follows: Schedule of activities Activities Objectives 28 September to 1st -Getting information To prepare October of SBA activities in SBA -Joint meetings with DWSM (District water and sanitation mission) 2nd October Participation for SMMU,DMMU BMMU and -Selection of at least five SHGs or a VO in SBA and -Swachata Shapath Awareness creation SMMU (Co-Felicitation of for WASH ordination) SHGs members interventions DMMU,BMMU using toilets and not practicing OD -Collect information of SHG members not having toilets - Cleaning of one community place -WASH house programme for SHG 3rd October to 7th Discussion in October SHGs for the support to members for construction of toilets which do not have IHHL. - Information of Solid and liquid waste management 7th October to 20th -Campaigning for October WASH house. -Visit of SHG members to WASH house st st 21 October to 31 - Felicitation of October members whose house is WASH house. - Felicitation of SHG in which all members have WASH house SMMU (Coordination) DMMU,BMMU SMMU (Coordination) DMMU,BMMU SMMU DMMU,BMMU participation The one month long activities under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan activities of Umed were formally initiated on 2nd October in which the pledge of cleanliness was taken by SHG and VO members and Umed team initiated discussions and cleaning drives in the villages. In Osmanabad district, our team reached out to 1631 women in 22 villages and spoke to them about the importance of personal hygiene, community sanitation and motivated them to take the Sawchhata Shapath. 28 SHGs were selected in 22 villages to be motivated to adopt WASH practices. In Solapur our team interacted with 1233 women across 21 villages and 150 SHGs and sensitized them about the importance of personal hygiene and community cleaning and facilitates cleanliness campaigns in the villages. Similar activities were carried out across the 10 intensive districts. PHOTOGRAPHS OF SWACHHATA SHAPATH BEING TAKEN BY SHG MEMBERS Nimgaon village in Gondia district Wardha district Swachhata Shapat being taken by members of Nav Nirman Gram Sangathan in Jalna District SHG members and gram Panchayat officials taking the Swachhata Shapath in Ratnagiri district Photographs of WASH meetings conducted with SHG/VO members Ratnagiri district Awareness of hand washing in VO meeting , Dist.Jalna Dist. Nandurbar Dist. Solapur  Community sanitation Cleanliness drive by Jeevika Gram Seva Sangh at Wahitpur in Wardha district Press coverage in Jalna District