Have you ever been camping? It is fun to be off the grid for a little while and be one with nature, isn’t it? Sometimes, we tend to miss the city while we are on these adventures, especially access to clean toilets or electricity. It is alright for us, as we know eventually in a day or two we will be back home to the comforts of civilization. Imagine what it would feel like if that never happened. Lonwadi, a small village that is located 50km from Nasik in Maharashtra has been living like that ever since the birth of civilization, until now.
The decade-long transformation
Just until a few years ago, Lonwadi was cut off from the real world and did not have access to water facilities, electricity, sanitation facilities, roads and even education. In 2005, the government created a makeshift school as Lonwadi was too far from actual education facilities. They stationed one teacher and slowly this facility grew into a real primary school. Another teacher, Parsharam Narwade, was placed here.
Nobody would like to visit a village that is living off the grid let alone live there. When Narwade heard about the state of Lonwadi, he requested to be transferred there and that is when the village began transforming to what it is today. He believed in teaching the children using practical methods and helping them understand nature so they would become responsible citizens of the country. Furthermore, he adopted the entire village and slowly began improving its plight.
The Adarsh Gram Mission
In 2012, Shivprabha Charitable Trust came to Lonwadi with the mission to provide water facilities, roads, and electricity which they had lacked for decades. Narwade became a member, pushed in all efforts to lay roads, create solar-powered water facilities, power up the village, and even helped in the construction of a bio-toilet.
Currently, this toilet is serving the senior citizens of the village, and there are still 40 households that are lacking toilets. The Better India in collaboration with Shivprabha Charitable Trust has managed to educate the tribal families on the health impacts of open defecation and lack of hygiene. Now, the residents want to build a toilet in each of their homes, fulfilling the Trust’s mission to make Lonwadi an Adarsh Gram (ideal village).
How Can I Help?
The estimated cost to reach this goal is INR 8,00,000 and we have just 30 days to raise the amount! Every Rs. 2,000 contributed by you will help get us 10% closer to laying the foundations of a Swachh Bharat starting from each household.
For a nation to grow, we have to lend a helping hand to those among us in need of basic amenities, even for something like toilets!
Click here to contribute or know more about this campaign
