Sanitation: Bihar schoolgirl becomes a role model for society

Class V student Rani Kumari, a resident of Bikramganj in central Bihar district of Rohtas, wakes up early in the morning and after getting freshened up, she hurriedly gets into the job—telling the villagers the ill-effects of defecating in the open.

Villagers and witnesses say the little girl dressed up in school uniform knocks the doors of the villagers and requests them with fold hand to get a toilet at home to ward off health-related troubles.

Her school colleagues and teachers also help her in this campaign, making Rani a house-hold name.

“Chhachi (auntie), please get a toilet at home. It will ward off all diseases,” she requests with both hands folded in respect.

Rani became a role model for the society after she forced parents to sell her anklets and arrange money for toilet construction at home, impressed at the benefits of sanitation.

“One day, the teachers at her school told the children the importance of sanitation. The advice impressed her so much so that she forced her parents to construct a toilet at home. When they expressed their inability to do so citing their financial problems, she handed out her anklets to her parents and asked them to sell it for money,” local villagers said.

According to an official report, around 16.5 million households out of over 110 million populations in Bihar currently do not have toilets in their homes, forcing the people to defecate in the open.

Right now, only 308 villages out of total over 44,000 in Bihar have been declared free from open defecation.

(thebiharpost.com)