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“Being my Mom’s daughter has meant exposure to social causes, particularly, water and sanitation (Mom, Sahana Singh, is the editor of Asian Water Magazine). I was horrified to learn that rural Indian women, and girls like me, arise daily before dawn and walk to fields to relieve themselves. They get ill from controlling their urge to urinate all day. I had to help them.
For too long I have taken these possessions for granted. Most of all my toilet. I never had to ask “Can you please gift me a toilet?” I have known for a while that toilets and sanitation are taboo topics. But don’t we all wait to come back home to our own toilet?
So I setup my birthday fundraiser. I used the two weeks of winter break to call and email my family about my birthday wish. Mom posted on Facebook. Everyone was very supportive. We raised over $2600. And this year, on my special sixteenth birthday, I got the gift of giving 16 toilets to 16 families in rural India. It felt great! I know we didn’t solve India’s sanitation problems, but it feels good to know we helped at least some of those people. At the end of the day, it feels better to give than receiving gifts yourself. I thought I had to be grown-up, have years of experience in order to impact society. But this fundraiser helped me make a difference sitting right here in my room. It allowed me to reach out beyond my small world. I hope to do more: follow-up on the 16 toilets being built, visit them on my next trip to India, volunteer. I hope everyone who’s been a part of this with me gets more involved.”[gallery type="rectangular" ids="3921"] Milaap, through its partnership with GUARDIAN, a local non-profit, connected Sudha’s family to its community of champions like Samyukta and lenders like Sahana. They received a loan, and built a toilet. Sudha’s wish came true, for real. “We couldn’t go and relieve ourselves when it rained. We couldn’t relieve ourselves at night. Now, we can go whenever we need to,” she beams.Every day, Champions like Samyukta are making wishes come true for girls like Sudha. As rural women and girls get access to toilets at home, they are no longer exposed to the threat of molestation. Their sons and menfolk have begun to appreciate the importance of practicing this basic level of hygiene. No longer having to spend on doctors, they have better savings. They enjoy better health.[gallery type="rectangular" ids="3923,3924"][stag_button url="http://m-lp.co/16yearolds" style="red" size="large" type="stroke" target="_self" icon="" icon_order="before"]Inspired? Pledge Your Birthday[/stag_button]