National Stock Exchange Foundation series 1

This proposed project in partnership with NSE Foundation plans to intervene in 172 Ashramshala in Nashik, Thane and Nagpur/ Amravati ATC jurisdiction of Maharashtra State. In 3 years, the program aims at making the 172 Ashramshalas WASH compliant and reaching to approximately 70,000 children. The project would ensure that the children in these schools have access to basic WASH facilities such as functional school toilets, safe drinking water, clean surroundings and basic information and adaptation of critical hygiene practices including Menstrual Hygiene Management and strengthening institutional to ensure operations and maintenance and continuous development.

The project is expected to run from 15th June 2017 to 15th June 2020.

The project will work toward strengthening existing government mechanisms and reinforce importance of WASH in the institutions to ensure required funding provision is made to implement extension of WASH facilities.

It will include both- the technical and human development components that are necessary for sustainable WASH practices in Ashramshala. These include toilets, urinals, creation of group hand washing stations, augmentation of drinking water points, water quality management, solid and liquid waste management, setting up cloth washing stations, arranging for disposal of menstrual hygiene management, kitchen waste management and food hygiene. Along with the creation / augmentation of WASH infrastructure, the project would also be undertaking training and capacity building of functionariesofficials and institutional building to ensure sustainability of WASH compliant status of the Ashramshala.

The intervention is in line with the Clean Maharashtra- Clean Ashramshala campaign implemented by the Government of Maharashtra and will lead to developing sustainable and WASH compliant Ashramshala in the state. The project will be implemented in three phases and will cover around 172 Ashramshala over a period of 3 years.

The main objectives of the program are the following:

Improved Knowledge, Attitude and Practices among Ashramshala students and teachers on various aspects of WASH.

Support Tribal Development Department (TDD) in augmenting and / retrofitting WASH infrastructure to make the Ashramshala WASH compliant.

Develop systems for Operation and Maintenance of WASH infrastructure in the Ashramshala.

The project would reach an approximate 70,000 children through different interventions that would be undertaken in three years. The project would strengthen student cabinets by reaching approximately 3440 student members in these cabinets. The capacity building sessions with 344 teaching staff will result in teachers realizing the importance of WASH and playing a critical role in ensuring sustainable WASH facilities in the Ashramshala and behavior change among children and teachers. Strengthening of SMCs in operation and maintenance of the school WASH infrastructure will lead to greater sustainability of the infrastructure that has been restored under the project.

Overall, the project aims to reach 860 SMC members and 860 non-teaching staff by the end of three years as SMC’s need to reconstitute after a period of 2 years. The awareness raising sessions on Menstrual Hygiene Management will result in 1500 girls understanding hygiene practices during menstruation.