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Archive for the 'India' Category
Sanitation initiative for Indian slums
We have developed a brilliantly simple solution to help mitigate the horrendous problems caused by a lack of sanitation in India's slum areas. Using our unique waste management system, the content from the toilets is routinely collected by our own operatives and taken back to our central processing plant where it's quickly composted down for agricultural use. The primary purpose of the project is, of course, to reduce disease and poverty but in addition, there is significant commercial potential to sell the compost and produce revenue for the project. This will make it self-sustaining as well as improve the overall welfare of the community. [caption id="attachment_8763" align="aligncenter" width="608"] Our composting facility[/caption] The current pilot project is scalable and consists of 40 toilets across three slum areas in Pondicherry. Research surveys identify around 2,000 people across three slum areas (400 families) that will be able to use the facilities, equating to 50 people (or 10 families) per toilet. [caption id="attachment_8765" align="aligncenter" width="608"] We have designed a lightweight ecosan toilet for slum areas[/caption] The provision of sanitation has historically always been a huge cost for governments, NGOs and private individuals. We ...
Too ill to work or learn
As part of our urban ecosan project currently in progress in Pondicherry (a bustling city on the south-east coast of India), we conducted a major health and wellbeing survey in each of the three slums in which we are going to be working. Our research in one of the slums uncovered two startling facts: 1 96% of working people have lost a minimum of ten working days in the past six months due to diarrhoea 2 44% of children have missed school in the past six months also due to diarrhoea Imagine a normal school class here in the UK. That's about 25 children. Now imagine 16 of the children too ill to come in and learn - nearly half the class! It's clear to see the terrible impact this will have on so many children's education. If 44% of children are absent from a class of 25... (grey = absent) That's some pretty shocking figures - even more so when you realise that something as simple as a toilet will keep people healthy. Almost half the people living in Pondicherry do not have ...
A whole village transformed in rural India
More than 200 people helped with sanitation, clean water and housing in rural India thanks to the staff at Allsop In the summer of 2011, we were introduced to a rural village in south-east India called Sengal Odai. The 39 families (more than 200 people) of this community were living in some of the poorest conditions we had ever come across. One of the worst things we witnessed was the water they had to drink, which resembled a thin mud. Many people we spoke to in the village complained of persistent stomach upsets from drinking the infected water, and this ill health was compounded by the fact that the village contained no toilets whatsoever. The houses people lived in were mostly tiny mud huts with thatched roofs that leaked during the rainy season, there was little work in the area and the nearest school was five kilometres away. Whilst the villagers needed toilets and clean water to drink, they also needed a means of earning a living and, if possible, new homes. Throughout 2012, the staff at Allsop set about raising funds to help the people of Sengal Odai. From skydiving to cycling ...
Bath Half raises over £1,000
A dedicated team of ten ran the Bath Half marathon with us on the 2 March, raising £1,048 for sanitation in India. The money raised will enable us to build four more urgently-needed ecosan (composting) toilets for families in the village of Nathamedu in southern India, where the vast majority of people do not have any sanitation facilities and open defecation is commonplace. We would like to say a huge thank you to Rocco Richards, Sarah and Nathan Dittum, Paul and David Osben, Alex Morris, James Teale, Olumese Okoeguale, Vanden Bowen and Louise Kirby-Garton. Thanks to their efforts, four more families will have safe, clean and private toilets. [caption id="attachment_8313" align="aligncenter" width="318"] Thanks to the Bath Half runners, we are able to build four more family ecosan like this one[/caption]
Hosting our first conference in India
In August, Wherever the Need India organised a conference in Pondicherry. The conference centred on The Sunley Foundation funded research project that we have been undertaking for the past two years. The research project, a collaboration with Annamalai University, one of the largest Universities in SE Aasia, is a three year programme monitoring the agricultural benefits of 'human' compost and fertiliser – something of which our ecosan toilets give us plenty! Initially the conference was planned for an expected 150 attendees, but after invitations were dispatched over 450 senior scientists from across India applied to attend, and over 260 research papers submitted. The final decision on numbers maintained the 150 attendees, and these were based on the quality of the papers they wanted to present. The event was opened by Smt Sheela Shanta Nair, one of India's leading civil servants who is now Deputy Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Planning Commission. WTN UK's scientific representative was Professor Stephen Northcliff of Reading University. The three day meeting was closed by Dr Ramamourti, the Pondicherry Government's Minister of Agriculture.
Stories from the field – living with poverty
In another instalment of 'Stories from the field', Jane Bond looks a bit closer at what it means to live in poverty in India... Poverty is everywhere in India. We know this intellectually but the emotional reality is somewhat different. It is impossible to walk down a street in any town or city without witnessing people who are scraping a living one way or another. People live wherever they can, on pavements, in the middle of traffic circles and under overpasses. Poverty is not socially distinct as in the west, it exists cheek by jowel with wealth. My street here in Pondicherry is like the one I lived on in Calcutta. There are some nicer houses and there are some people who live in 1 room or a shack and cook on the street. Everyone knows everyone and much of daily life is conducted out in the open to get the benefit of fresh air. Child care is shared amongst an extended family and everyone knows everything. [caption id="attachment_7501" align="alignleft" width="296"] Millions of people in India live on the streets and in slums[/caption] [caption id="attachment_7502" align="alignright" width="225"]
Stories from the field – Marudor school
Wherever the Need's Arumugaum and I stop at Marudor Middle School so I can see our newly installed toilet block there. We walk into the schoolyard - sandy earth with basic buildings around it. The windows have shutters and bars but no glass – shutters keep the heat out in the hot months and bars are for security or stopping children from escaping, I'm not sure which! Primary schools have alphabet window bars which I like. It's quiet apart from repetitive chanting drifting through the air as children learn by rote – India's key teaching method. A very smiley friendly lady in a purple sari and barefoot comes out of one of the classrooms. This is the headmistress - Thenmoshi. She takes me to her classroom to meet her students who are sitting on the floor reading English from the blackboard at the front. The sight of me means a break from lessons and they crowd around me. They are reluctant to say much and need a bit of prodding from Thenmoshi to speak English but they smile when I take their picture. They chant good morning to me and I ask them how they are; we practice English and they are ...
Spotlight on our work – Kumudimoolai, India
450 more people now with ecosan, thanks to support from the ACT Foundation Thanks to support from the ACT Foundation, the people of Kumudimmolai now have 90 more ecosan, clean water and livelihoods. Tamil Nadu in the south of India is considered to be one of the wealthiest states in the country, but behind the statistics of economic growth and development lies another story – one of acute poverty. The rural population of Tamil Nadu ranks among the poorest in the world, with an estimated 12 million people living on or below the poverty line. Kumudimoolai is a rural village in Tamil Nadu, 30 miles south of the bustling city of Cuddalore. The 1,973 people living here belong to one the poorest and most excluded social groups in India, and when we first visited the community, poverty was rife. There were no working toilets in the village, which meant people were forced to find somewhere to go out in the open, which was spreading illness and disease. On top of this, the area is prone to flooding, and is always water logged. Human waste and in-organic fertilisers had contaminated the ground and water supply, making it hazardous to drink. Maintaining work was also ...
Stories from the field – a daily reality
On a visit to a rural Indian village, Jane Bond contemplates the daily reality of living without a toilet I spend a day with one of our field staff, Arumugam to help me better understand our project work and life in rural Tamil Nadu. He takes me to some villages we are planning on working in as soon as we have funds. I know the facts - 7 million+ rural households here in Tamil Nadu don't have access to toilets – 76% of the rural population. Water quality is worsening, largely due to human fecal waste in drinking water; 91% of water tested in one study was contaminated. Over the last five years incidences of acute diarrheal diseases have increased from about 116,000/year to 523,000/year. Today I'm going to be meeting just a few of the people who live with these conditions on a daily basis. We go to a village called Boothampedi; the road doesn't reach the village so we walk along a small dyke; on either side goats and young cows are gazing in recently harvested paddy fields. It's very hot and it's quiet in the midday heat. The houses are small ...
Stories from the field – organic compost
In her third story, Jane Bond finds out more about our organic compost One of the fundamental benefits of Wherever the Needs approach to Sanitation and water is our compost toilets which mean that human waste is safely and effectively recycled. Human waste is very hazardous to health and can easily enter the water system if not properly managed. Here in India only 30% of the country has a sewage system and much of that is leaking or incomplete, common opinion being that around 20% of the system is approaching effective; mostly waste is dumped into water systems or into pits which often leak, leaching waste through the soil. Each person's faecal waste is about 127kg/per year; every gram contains: 10 million pathogens, 1 million protozoa, 100,000 helminths (intestinal worms) and 10,000 worms and viruses. It makes my stomach turn and I feel pretty nauseous when I think of India's 1.2 billion people and the incredibly huge amount of human waste they generate annually, most of it slowly creeping into the water system. So, David (Wherever the Need CEO) and Paramasivan (head of our Indian office) take me to ...
Stories from the field – Rice
In the second of her stories from the field, Jane Bond gets to know India and discovers the world of rice... I'm adjusting to rural India and as we travel out to look at projects I am fascinated. Main roads are filled with cows, buses, motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians sharing the same space – pavements don't exist and traffic lights are often ignored. The river of humanity is chaotic and noisy, everyone honks musical horns, fails to use indicators and drives where they like. Only cows placidly move along, serene in the knowledge they are the rulers of the road! Roads become smaller, emptier and windier deeper into the rural areas. Its harvest time, paddy fields are being hand scythed by groups of people, haystacks are common, we slow down for herds of bullocks and goats walking along the roads and grain are being spread across the road. This is for threshing rice; as vehicles drive over the rice the outer husk is separated from the grain. I think this is an ingenious labour saving solution. We stop to see the rice grown on Wherever the Need's research ...
Stories from the field – living with dirty water
Jane Bond is volunteer Project Officer for Wherever the Need India. She has been living and volunteering in India since November 2011, based in Tamil Nadu since February 2013. Read her stories from the field... Yesterday it rained heavily and unexpectedly in Tamil Nadu. For some areas it was the first rain in over a year, so I'm going to talk about the realities of living with India's water supply. You'd think the rain would be a good thing, but it came at the wrong time and many farmers had seedlings damaged. Water here is a health risk we are lucky enough not to be familiar with in the west. When I first came to live in India water became a mild obsession as I adjusted – every drop I needed had to be pumped and was available only at certain times. For cooking and drinking my water had to be filtered and sometimes boiled - all of this took a lot of planning and time. At the time I lived in Calcutta which has terrible sanitation and water issues. Despite my care I was sick with water related illness regularly – sometimes as often as once a month. I ...
Bath Half Marathon 2013
Almost 40 runners completed the Bath Half Marathon for Wherever the Need on Sunday 3rd March. This was a brilliant turnout considering that this year was the first year that we have officially participated in the Bath Half Marathon. Whilst the weather was slightly chilly, our team weren't disheartened, and dove enthusiastically into the challenge. Together, the team has raised over £5,000 to provide Krishnapuram High School with much-needed sanitation. This is an incredible achievement for a small group of people who have had to train through ice and snow. Their commitment can be seen in their individual stories. The Hart Family raised over £1,000 to help Wherever the Need provide sanitation to those who need it most. Not only did the Hart Family do a fantastic job of raising funds, they encouraged friends to run the Bath Half too. Each member of the family finished in an impressive time, securing an extra £400 in sponsorship. Despite being hampered by a foot injury, Will finished the race just 5 minutes later than Nick and Chris. Emma Davey and Laura James documented their Bath Half journeys by blogging about their experience running for Wherever ...
How two determined school girls in India are helping us bring eco-toilets to their community
Anaivari is a small rural village in Tamil Nadu, India, and its story is very familiar to us. Home to 171 families the community is extremely poor – there is no sanitation, which means that the local environment and water sources are polluted, spreading illness and disease. [caption id="attachment_6863" align="alignright" width="280"] Without sanitation, water and the environment becomes polluted[/caption] Two teenage girls from Anaivari attend the nearby girls' secondary school in the town of Chandra – a school where we worked to build eco-sanitation facilities for its 1200 pupils. Before the toilets were built girls attending the school had no option but to use nearby wasteland, which was a breeding ground for disease and where they risked being attacked. A lack of safe, private sanitation facilities meant that pupils were often kept away from school (especially once they reached adolescence) missing out on vital education. The new school facilities have been in use for almost a year now and in that short time there has been a reduction in sanitation-related sickness such as diarrhoea and, because parents know their children can go to the toilet in privacy and safety, there has been a reduction in ...
Introducing an innovative sanitation project
Tamil Nadu, on the south east coast of India, is considered to be one of the wealthiest states in the country, but behind the economic and industrial growth lies another story – one of acute poverty. We have started to work with six of the poorest villages in rural Tamil Nadu. Not a single family in these communities have access to a toilet, which means that the local environment and water sources are polluted, spreading illness and disease - diarrhoea remains one of the biggest killers of children in the region. So what are we doing? We are putting Sanitation First, and working to make sure every person in all six villages has access to good sanitation facilities. We are building ecosan (composting) toilets for each and every family within the villages. Why is this innovative? What's new and exciting is that we are providing a sanitation service to maintain the programme. We are employing a care-taking team to empty the toilets and make sure the facilities are well-maintained and clean. How do we pay for this? This is the great bit - there ...
Sanitation facilities improving school attendance in rural India
At Wherever the Need we have always made it clear that sanitation should come first, because the only sustainable way to address issues of poverty is to tackle them at the point at which they originate. Whilst education is of critical importance to improving lives and alleviating poverty, effective learning can only take place when students are well enough to attend school and concentrate in lessons. But it is now widely accepted that illness created by inadequate sanitation damages school attendance and education levels. A month ago, we conducted a survey of attendance at girls' schools in rural India, following the introduction of our new eco-sanitation facilities. The increased attendance figures proved that providing schools with sanitation facilities results in better health and better attendance. On average, there has been an increase of almost 15% in girls' school attendance since sanitation facilities were available. [caption id="attachment_6209" align="alignright" width="608" caption="Attendance at Vadalur Girls' School has increased by 7% since Wherever the Need installed eco-sanitation facilities."][/caption] A notable example is the Orathur School, in Tamil Nadu. Since we installed new toilets in 2010, we have seen an incredible 30% increase in attendance. This ...
Sohail Rahman Reports on India's Sanitation Problems
Reporting for Al Jazeera, Sohail Rahman covers the sanitation problems facing India, which become increasingly pressing as population growth and urbanisation continue apace. Broadcasting from New Delhi he exposes the shocking statistics, including the fact that over 50% of Indians do not have access to a clean, constructed toilet and how 60% of all defecation in the world occurs in India. It is also demonstrated how this is not just an individual issue, as the World Bank reported last year that poor sanitation cost the country $54 billion as a result of the related health issues, decreased productivity and reduced tourists. You can now watch the short clip below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI_Q0ejCd7Y
WTN ecosan featured in Nature journal
This is an exciting week for us, as our work has been published in Nature - the global journal of science. The article, credited to Shunmuga Paramasivan from our Indian office, is a good introduction to our work and how we use education/schools as a method to teach good hygiene practices through our ecological sanitation systems. Read the article in full here
Charity Winter Ball Update
Winter Ball raises £85,000 for project in India In December 2011, over 460 people gathered for the Just Need Ball at The Dorchester Hotel in London, to support the work we are doing in India. Organised by an experienced committee made up of well known figures in the commercial property field, the evening, at which Michael Portillo was the guest speaker, was a great success and raised a total of £85,000 to spend on projects. The money raised will be going to create much needed infrastructure in several slums on the periphery of Pondicherry in the State of Tamil Nadu, in the south-east of India. Our major focus is the provision of sanitation and clean water as the foundation to helping people work their own way out of poverty; after all, who is able to work hard to improve their lives (be it in education or employment) if they are constantly ill? This particular area was chosen as it is an extension to an earlier successful project run in the same district. Not only will more than 1,300 people have access to sustainable sanitation and 2,500 people be provided with ...
Emergency Cyclone Appeal
India Cyclone - Emergency Appeal You may have heard on the news about the cyclone that recently devastated south-east India. Tamil Nadu, the region in which many of Wherever the Need's projects are based, has been badly hit - the cyclone has devastated the lives of the people and communities with whom we work so closely. Infrastructure, services and facilities are severely impaired and damaged; towns and villages are without electricity and clean water; many people have been left homeless. Water supplies are polluted and there is a genuine concern that there will be an outbreak of diseases such as diarrhoea or cholera We want to use our expertise and knowledge of the region to get sanitation and water facilities to where they are most needed and we need your help. Please donate now. Please donate... Yes No Are you a UK taxpayer and can we claim gift aid? Would you like to receive our occasional newsletter?
A message from India
Following a recent visit to some of our projects in India, Hardeep Sandher writes of her experiences during her time there. Read the full Property Week article here (PDF 2.1mb) <strong>or click to enlarge:</strong>
2011 Summer Newsletter
Read our Summer Newsletter for a run-down on our recent work in India. Click the newsletter to enlarge Read the full newsletter here (PDF 1.4mb)
Urine fertilising crops and saving money in India
"Consider these facts about urine: Adults produce about four to eight cups (one to two liters) per day, it's a reservoir of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, the same elements that nourish crops; and it's cheap to make. That's the kind of information that Sridevi Govindaraj, an Indian agriculture expert, had in mind when she proposed that dousing fields with urine could improve sanitation and boost farmers' incomes. "Human urine is indeed not an unwanted waste, but it is a useful resource," Sridevi wrote to E4C. Urine, it turns out, is a huge and mostly untapped reserve of crop fertilizer. If Indians collected and applied 40 percent of their urine, the country could save $26.7 million (1.2 billion rupees) in fertilizer costs, Sridevi calculates. A unique field Those figures are from her doctoral thesis at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore in 2009, with research funded by the Arghym foundation. Sridevi may be the only person in India with a doctorate in ecological sanitation. The urine proposal She proposes using urine in conjunction with regular fertilizers. People would collect it in specially rigged toilets, like EcoSan latrines. Or, in lieu of a commercial product, DIY attachments to toilets in the men's room ...
Ecosan toilets for 2,000 people in India
In November 2010, we held a large fundraising event which raised £40,000, enabling us to build individual ecosan (composting) toilets for 2,000 people in the village of Kanur, Tamil Nadu, India. The Doorway to Dignity charity auction was a great success, auctioning off unique pieces of artwork from artists, musicians, celebrities, fashion designers and politicians; we had contributions from Annie Lennox, Kenneth Branagh, Ralph Steadman, Maggie Hambling and world-renowned shoe designer Manolo Blahnik, to name but a few. Visit the project page and see more pictures
Cleaning Delhi through Facebook
"When 22-year-old Piyush Goyal posted his complaint of garbage spilling over from the dump in his area, on the Facebook page of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), little had he expected the civic agency to take action within 24 hours. But it did, pleasantly surprising Goyal. MCD launched its Facebook page earlier this month to ensure effective monitoring of garbage lifting at areas under its jurisdiction. The civic agency has started off on the surest of footing, Goyal feels. "When I heard about this initiative, I thought I should also post pictures of unclean dhalao (standalone garbage warehouse) in my area. I was expecting the action but never thought it will be so quick," he says. On January 8, he clicked pictures of the seven dirty ones in South Delhi's R K Puram area and posted them on Facebook. And the next day, he says, he saw the pictures of clean dhalaos uploaded by the MCD. "There is lot of transparency through this way. The man who actually cleans it asked me why I uploaded the pictures. So the information is going from top to the bottom," says Goyal. It's a not even a month, and the civic agency has already received close to ...
1,500 teenage girls now with sanitation
Our recently completed sanitation project in Vadalore Girls Secondary School has provided 1,500 teenage girls with much needed sanitation facilities. The girls will benefit hugely from increased privacy the units provide and hygiene training, improving their health and ensuring they can stay in school even during menstruation. This will enable them to gain a full education and increase their future employment prospects. See the project photos here
Battle over Mumbai's slums
"Developers hope to raze the slums and make vast profits from commercial projects, but slum residents have other ideas. Ganesh Krupa Society is part of Golibar, Mumbai's second largest slum, spanning 140 acres. The site is at the centre of a fierce battle between its residents and a developer that wants to raze the area to make way for a commercial project. Already concrete homes across this narrow maze of more than 300 dwellings have been demolished. In January, violence erupted when the developer tried to evict 45 families following a high court order. None of the families moved, claiming their signatures consenting to the project had been forged. Devasandhan Nair, 47, a resident, says: "The basis of redevelopment is consent but our consent was forged. Even a dead woman's signature was forged. How can the court instruct the builder to evict us when a forgery case has been lodged by us with the police?" Conflicts between developers and slum dwellers have been unfolding across the city for more than a decade, stalling slum redevelopment projects designed to pull 60% of Mumbai's population out of harsh living conditions. Under a controversial slum rehabilitation policy, developers can snap up land for commercial development in exchange ...
Indian brides inspire a toilet revolution
"Young women are part of a campaign to bring much-needed social change and improve sanitation facilities If you don't have a toilet at home, you might not get a bride in India. In a silent revolution of sorts, Indian women across the country, especially in rural and semi-urban areas, have a single condition before they agree to a match – the groom must have a toilet in his home. The "No Toilet, No Bride" campaign, initiated by the government, is co-opting young women to bring in much-needed social change. Across the country, more people have access to mobile phones than to toilets..." Read the full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/feb/28/indian-brides-toilet-revolution
Lack of sanitation draining GDP in India
"In 2006, every tenth death in India was caused by diseases linked to inadequate sanitation. Of these deaths, numbering 7,68,000 approximately, around 3,95,000 were children who died of diarrhoea. The figures, thrown up by World Bank, stand in direct contrast with the 9% economic growth the country celebrates at all given opportunities. The World Bank (WB) report in fact says that not only are precious lives being lost, but the unsanitary living conditions are causing huge losses to the country's economy too. This loss figure for 2006 has been put at Rs 2.4 trillion ($53.8 billion), equivalent to 6.4% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), in the report, 'Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation', released on Monday. All the findings are based on 2006 figures, but the report does foresee a similar magnitude of losses in later years. "It shows children and poor households bear the brunt of poor sanitation," Christopher Juan Costain, WB Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) Regional Team Leader for South Asia, told HT. The study devised the figures after evaluating costs associated with death and disease, accessing and treating water, and losses in education, productivity, time, and tourism. While premature mortality and other health-related impacts of inadequate sanitation ...
If it were my home
Oh we do like our interactive media. You can use this website to compare your country to any other in the world. Did you know that you would use 91.42% less electricity if you lived in India? Have a play: http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/
A Christmas success
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed towards our Christmas Appeal, which aimed to raise £7,300 to feed 200 street children in Bangalore for a year. Thanks to your generosity we have raised over £10,000 for this cause! The extra £2,700 raised beyond our target will be used to provide school equipment and books for the children, which will greatly enhance their education and future prospects. We are currently discussing with an organisation in India the possibility of them matching all the money we have raised; this would improve the childrens' lives more than we had hoped for. Watch this space for updates in the coming months... To find out more about our Christmas Appeal, visit this page: www.wherevertheneed.org.uk/donate/christmas-appeal-2010
For £20 you can give a child Christmas dinner for a year
Christmas. It is that time of year when we ask you to think of others less fortunate than ourselves. Here at Wherever the Need we are very focussed on our core work of sanitation, water and livelihoods. These are the foundations from which we can help people help themselves out of poverty. At Christmas, however, we try and do something a little different and for the past few years we have been seeking donations for a range of items that we felt could positively affect the lives of the people among whom we are working. This Christmas we thought we would change the idea slightly. We are trying to raise at least £7,600 to provide 200 street children in Bangalore with a nutritious meal every day for a year. To find out more about our Christmas Appeal and to donate, follow this link: http://wherevertheneed.org.uk/donate/christmas-appeal-2010
India, Bihar: 'Dirty, horrible job' of manual scavengers
A manual scavenger carries a tin of human waste from a dry latrine. Photo: BBC "The worst thing is that the baskets we carry the waste in, often leak and drips down over your clothes", manual scavenger Lakshmi Devi from rural Bihar tells BBC correspondent Mike Thomson. All her seven children are boys who clean out sewage tanks for their work. Manual removal of excreta (night soil) from "dry toilets" is the job of 'dalit' (low caste) women in India. "If I had a daughter I would rather that we all die of hunger than allow her to do the work we do", Lakshmi said. Listen to Laksmi Devi's interview (10 Nov 2010), which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4, and read a background article (17 Nov 2010) by Mike Thomson on scavengers from the serie on "India's forgotten people".
India: "We need a sanitation revolution"
India: 'We need a sanitation revolution here', says adviser to Urban Affairs minister Speaking at a workshop on the 'City Sanitation Plan' in Bangalore, the Adviser to Karnataka state Chief Minister on Urban Affairs A. Ravindra said: "We need a sanitation revolution in the country. There is a need to create public awareness and use innovative and low-cost technologies for better sanitation". Adding to this, at the inauguration if the workshop, the Karnataka state Minister for Urban Development S. Suresh Kumar stated: "It is unfortunate that we have not made sanitation our priority. This is evident as according to a recent report, there are more mobile users than toilet users in the country. Sanitation does not only mean using toilets; it also includes efficient solid waste management, underground drainage network, and keeping our cities and towns clean". Karnataka is looking to rank first in the second round of the National City Rating under the National Urban Sanitation Policy to be announced on 8 December 2010. In the first round in May 2010, Mysore secured the second place, while the eighth, 12th, 15th and 22nd positions went to Bangalore, Mangalore, Mandya and Bidar respectively. "We must strive to secure the first position next year. We must work ...
Reading between poverty lines
Are poverty levels in rural India higher than has been previously thought? Find out more here: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/361
other news...
Update: Ebola and our work in Sierra Leone
As you may be aware, there is a major outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In Sierra Leone, this deadly virus ...
A very Scilly swim
Sponsor a fundraiser - win prizes! Andrew Dobson is braving the British waters in the Scilly Swimming Challenge this autumn to raise money for our projects, and is offering prizes to ...
Sanitation initiative for Indian slums
We have developed a brilliantly simple solution to help mitigate the horrendous problems caused by a lack of sanitation in India's slum areas. Using our unique waste management system, the content ...
Changing lives in a Sierra Leone community
Shenge village is a remote community in Barri Chiefdom, southeastern Sierra Leone, home to approximately 300 people. The village is very remote, two kilometres from the nearest dirt road. Much of ...
Win a case of wine with Dinners for Dignity
Dinners for Dignity is an exciting and easy way for you to make a lasting difference without having to run a marathon or climb a mountain. Simply ...


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Anselm Baird_Smith wrote: > Also, instead of client.getOutputStream, you should rather > use request.getOutputStream, and set your reply status code to > HTTP.DONE (that's a trick to tell the Jigsaw engine that you have > generated the output) > Could you explain a little more about this trick? What exactly does Jigsaw do differently with this than what it would do with client.getOutputStream() and/or using HTTP.OK as the reply status? Thanks in advance. -MarkReceived on Monday, 4 August 1997 12:22:53 GMT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.2.0+W3C-0.50 : Monday, 9 April 2012 12:13:26 GMT

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One of Dyson's newest-generation of dryers allows users to dry their hands without leaving the sink: The Airblade Tap, made out of marine-grade steel, has infrared sensors that first signal the release of water, and then deliver two sheets of puffed air from each blade, drying hands in 14 seconds. Comes in 11.65" for the short version and 12.61" for the tall. A 12.06"-deep wall option is also available. dyson.com
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Close Enough Recipes
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Carbs: 8.2g | Fat: 2.2g | Fiber: 1.4g | Protein: 18.4g | Calories: 136.9
Incredible! 5.0/5
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From FitSugar.com who Adapted the recipe from from Esalen Cookbook. Nothing beats a hot bowl of soup on a cold Winter's day. Add the warming spice mixture of curry to the pot, and your bowl of soup will taste as if it has extra powers to combat the chilly winds. Since Winter squash is one of my must haves for the month, I made a pot of butternut squash soup with curry and coconut milk. The effect is doubly warming but also somewhat sweet. Don't worry, I used light coconut milk that contains 68 percent less fat than regular coconut milk, significantly cutting the calories of this tasty soup. To cut fat further, substitute one can of coconut milk with chicken or vegetable broth, as is done here. Serves 6.
Submitted by NPWEST
Carbs: 29.3g | Fat: 7.7g | Fiber: 8.2g | Protein: 3.7g | Calories: 188.4


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The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nick would soon be there. Embellish this simple Red Plush Stocking with White Cuff with glitter, stickers, foam, and more, or use it as it. Either way, this fun and soft stocking will help turn your home into a winter wonderland. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.
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Raiders beat Cowboys 31-10 in exhibition opener
OAKLAND, Calif. With Terrell Owens far away in Buffalo, Tony Romo happily spread the ball around.
Romo threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to favorite target Jason Witten to cap a brief but successful night before the Oakland Raiders rallied for a 31-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night in the exhibition opener for both teams.
Romo completed his four passes on the night to four receivers before leaving with a 7-3 lead that Dallas' reserves could not hold onto.
"I don't think it means anything," Romo said. "If one guy caught six straight balls and then we scored, that's fine, too. It's just about whatever the defense allows us on that specific play."
Bruce Gradkowski engineered three touchdown drives against mostly backups on Dallas' defense, throwing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tony Stewart in the second quarter. Louis Rankin and Gary Russell added short TD runs in the third quarter, long after Romo's night was done.
Romo played just two drives, going three-and-out on the first after former teammate Greg Ellis batted down his first pass of the game, and throwing the TD to Witten on the second. Romo and the Dallas offense looked sharp on the second drive as he completed all four of his passes and the Cowboys mixed in the run effectively.
Three of the completions came against backup corner Stanford Routt, who replaced All-Pro Nnamdi Asomugha after one drive. Romo avoided pressure in the pocket on the touchdown pass to give Witten time to get open in the end zone against Routt.
There is plenty of intrigue about how the Cowboys offense will look after the departure of Owens, who caught 235 passes in three seasons with Dallas but often complained that he didn't get the ball enough.
Roy Williams, who struggled after coming over from Detroit during last season, will be counted on heavily this season. He caught one pass from Romo for 12 yards. Romo also completed passes to Martellus Bennett and Felix Jones on the drive.
"If we execute like that, any team is going to have trouble," Williams said. "But we're going to have our adversity and have our hard times where we can't get open or the quarterback gets sacked or a bad throw. But tonight it all fell into place."
Sam Hurd, one of the young receivers Dallas is counting on to emerge this season, had five catches for 79 yards from Jon Kitna.
Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell also played two series, driving his team to a field goal on the opening drive as Oakland relied heavily on the pass early. Russell looked poised in the pocket, completing six of nine passes for 50 yards against Dallas' backup cornerbacks and even scrambling for 18 yards on one play.
Russell had a particularly good rapport with second-year receiver Chaz Schilens, who caught four passes from Russell and also drew a 47-yard pass interference penalty that set up Sebastian Janikowski's 23-yard field goal. Schilens finished with five catches for 52 yards.
"I thought he was very aggressive with the ball, made good decisions," coach Tom Cable said. "That's what I'm talking about with him. When he plays the game at a fast enough speed, it allows him to be on time and he showed that tonight."


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We gratefully acknowledge the valuable support of the following businesses and organisations
Our work with young people
Find out more about our Our engagement projects with young people and what HOME means to them.
Be part of HOME
You may not be aware that HOME is a registered charity (registered as Greater Manchester Arts Centre Ltd, no. 514719) which ensures that the organisation is entirely not for profit and has to achieve a minimum of 40% earned or private sector donations in any one year.
In order to complete the fit out of the education centre at HOME to the highest possible standards and to future proof the equipment to ensure many generations are able to benefit from the facilities, we need to raise significant income from the private sector. We have secured excellent early support from the Garfield Weston Foundation but we still need help to complete the work on this vitally important part of HOME.
Once open, HOME will deliver education and engagement projects to an estimated 20,000 people from communities across the North West each year. We will create exciting and unique experiences and opportunities for people of all ages.
There are many opportunities within the new building to acknowledge private support and we are eager to speak to anyone keen to help us.
For an informal chat about how supporting HOME can help you deliver your marketing, hospitality or corporate social responsibility needs, please call Jenni Willows, Head of Development on 0161 200 1532 or submit your query using the form below and we will get back to you.
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US federal investigators have recovered the black box recorders of a commuter plane that crashed in Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people aboard and one person on the ground, the Associated Press news agency has reported.
The recorders were recovered from the smoldering wreckage on Friday and were sent to Washington, the agency said.
The Colgan Air Bombardier Dash Q400 crashed into a residential area en route to a local airport in the city of Buffalo on Friday.
Air traffic control radio messages reportedly indicated that although conditions were hampered by fog and some wind, there were no indications of problems and no "mayday call".
The aircraft is believed to have been approaching Buffalo Niagara International airport amid sleet, snow and fog when it came down on a suburban street at around 10:10pm (0310 GMT).
A county official said "the plane simply dropped off the radar screen".
Alison Des Forges, a prominent writer and human rights expert on Rwanda, was among those killed, David Patterson, the New York governor, said.
Barack Obama, the US president, said he offered his "thoughts and prayers" to those affected by the "terrible tragedy".
Witnesses' horror
Witnesses revealed their horror as the jet descended over the neighbourhood before crashing into a house, killing one of the inhabitants.
"We heard a very low humming sound, like a buzz. It was something I have never heard before. Then there was dead silence," a local resident told Fox News.
"After that dead silence, the whole building shook. At that point, you heard a terrifying boom, like a crash."
"It was terrifying. [And] when you got to the scene, [the fire] was so intense that there was no hope. You knew that there were not going to be any survivors."
It also emerged that one of those killed in the crash, Beverly Eckert, had lost her husband in the September 11 attacks in New York City in 2001.
The crash was the first fatal of a commercial airliner in the United States since August 27, 2006, when 49 people were killed after a Comair jetliner mistakenly took off from a Lexington, Kentucky, runway that was too short
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Photograph courtesy Deon De Villiers
Published April 12, 2012
A leopard can't change its spots, but apparently it can change its color.
African leopards normally have tawny coats with black spots. But a male leopard with a strawberry-colored coat has been spotted in South Africa's Madikwe Game Reserve (map), conservationists announced this week.
Tourists in the reserve had occasionally seen the unusual animal. But it wasn't until recently that photographer and safari guide Deon De Villiers sent a photograph to experts at Panthera, a U.S.-based wild cat-conservation group, to ask them about the leopard's odd coloration.
(See more African leopard pictures in National Geographic magazine.)
Panthera President Luke Hunter suspects the pale leopard has erythrism, a little-understood genetic condition that's thought to cause either an overproduction of red pigments or an underproduction of dark pigments.
"It's really rare—I don't know of another credible example in leopards," said Hunter, whose group collaborates with National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative. (The Society owns National Geographic News.)
Hunter added, "it's surprising that [a photo of the leopard] didn't come out sooner, because he's relatively used to vehicles."
Strawberry Leopard Still Successful
Erythrism is very unusual in carnivores, and the condition appears most often in raccoons, Eurasian badgers, and coyotes, Hunter noted.
"There are some spotted leopard skins and melanistic specimens—black panthers—in museums with red undertones, but fading probably contributes to that," he said.
Melanism is an unusual development of black or nearly black color in an animal's skin, fur, or plumage. (See video: "Mutant All-Black Penguin Found.")
The strawberry leopard seems healthy and likely suffers no ill consequences from his pinkish hue, Hunter said: "He's obviously a successful animal."
For instance, the leopard's coat still offers him some camouflage—leopards rely on their spotted fur to sneak up on prey and ambush them from as close as 13 feet (4 meters) away. (See big-cat pictures.)
More worrisome for the strawberry leopard are the game farms that surround the Madikwe reserve, Hunter said.
If the animal were to leave the reserve, he'd lose the strict protection offered by Madikwe and become fair game for legal trophy hunting, Hunter said.
"It's the fate of a lot of leopards."
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South Lebanon, Ohio
For population 25 years and over in South Lebanon:
For population 15 years and over in South Lebanon village:
259 residents are foreign born (3.6% Europe).
Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with mortgages in 2012: $3,859 (1.4%)
Nearest city with pop. 50,000+: Middletown, OH (12.7 miles , pop. 51,605).
Nearest city with pop. 200,000+: Cincinnati, OH (22.3 miles , pop. 331,285).
Nearest city with pop. 1,000,000+: Chicago, IL (249.5 miles , pop. 2,896,016).
Nearest cities: Kings Mills, OH (1.4 miles ), Maineville, OH (1.9 miles ), Lebanon, OH (2.0 miles ), Morrow, OH (2.2 miles ), Mason, OH (2.3 miles ), Landen, OH (2.4 miles ), Loveland Park, OH (2.4 miles ), Loveland, OH (2.8 miles ).
Single-family new house construction building permits:
Number of permits per 10,000 residents
Average cost (in $1000s)
Latitude: 39.37 N, Longitude: 84.22 W
Area code: 513
This village's Wikipedia profile
South Lebanon, Ohio accommodation, waste management, health care - Economy and Business DataUnemployment in July 2013:
Unemployment by year (%)
Historical population
Historical housing units
Population change in the 1990s: -227 (-8.2%).
Work and jobs in South Lebanon: detailed stats about occupations, industries, unemployment, workers, commute
Average climate in South Lebanon, Ohio
Based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations
Tornado activity:
South Lebanon-area historical tornado activity is above Ohio state average. It is 130% greater than the overall U.S. average.
On 4/3/1974, a category F5 (max. wind speeds 261-318 mph) tornado 20.0 miles away from the South Lebanon village center killed 36 people and injured 1150 people and caused between $50,000,000 and $500,000,000 in damages.
On 4/3/1974, a category F5 tornado 24.5 miles away from the village center killed 3 people and injured 210 people.
Earthquake activity:South Lebanon-area historical earthquake activity is significantly below Ohio state average. It is 94% smaller than the overall U.S. average.
On 7/27/1980 at 18:52:21, a magnitude 5.2 (5.1 MB, 4.7 MS, 5.0 UK, 5.2 UK, Class: Moderate, Intensity: VI - VII) earthquake occurred 82.0 miles away from the city center
On 9/7/1988 at 02:28:09, a magnitude 4.6 (4.5 MB, 4.6 LG, Class: Light, Intensity: IV - V) earthquake occurred 86.8 miles away from South Lebanon center
On 7/12/1986 at 08:19:37, a magnitude 4.5 (4.5 MB) earthquake occurred 81.1 miles away from the city center
On 2/19/1995 at 12:57:06, a magnitude 3.6 (3.6 LG, 3.6 MD, Depth: 6.2 mi, Class: Light, Intensity: II - III) earthquake occurred 43.6 miles away from the city center
On 9/12/2004 at 13:05:19, a magnitude 3.8 (3.5 MB, 3.8 MW, 3.6 LG, Depth: 3.8 mi) earthquake occurred 85.7 miles away from South Lebanon center
On 9/8/1990 at 00:03:57, a magnitude 3.3 (3.3 LG, Depth: 3.1 mi) earthquake occurred 94.3 miles away from the city center
Magnitude types: regional Lg-wave magnitude (LG), body-wave magnitude (MB), duration magnitude (MD), surface-wave magnitude (MS), moment magnitude (MW)
Natural disasters:The number of natural disasters in Warren County (8) is smaller than the US average (12).
Major Disasters (Presidential) Declared: 5
Emergencies Declared: 3
Causes of natural disasters: Floods: 2, Storms: 2, Blizzard: 1, Heavy Rain: 1, Mudslide: 1, Tropical Depression: 1, Wind: 1, Flood: 1, Hurricane: 1, Snow: 1, Snowstorm: 1, Tornado: 1, Winter Storm: 1 (Note: Some incidents may be assigned to more than one category).
Hospitals/medical centers near South Lebanon:
Political contributions by individuals in South Lebanon, OH
Amtrak station near South Lebanon:
Local government website: SOUTHLEBANONOHIO.ORG
Colleges/universities with over 2000 students nearest to South Lebanon:
(lower is better)
Air Quality Index (AQI)
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) [ppb] level in 2010 was 2.36. This is about average. Closest monitor was 14.5 miles away from the city center.
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) [ppb] level in 2010 was 14.4. This is significantly worse than average. Closest monitor was 18.8 miles away from the city center.
Particulate Matter (PM10) [µ/m3] level in 2010 was 19.6. This is about average. Closest monitor was 11.3 miles away from the city center.
Particulate Matter (PM2.5) [µ/m3] level in 2010 was 12.1. This is worse than average. Closest monitor was 4.0 miles away from the city center.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) [ppm] level in 2005 was 0.491. This is about average. Closest monitor was 18.8 miles away from the city center.
Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2012: 13.9%
(14.1% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 12.9% for Black residents, 0.0% for Hispanic or Latino residents, 0.0% for two or more races residents)
Average household size:
Percentage of family households:
Percentage of households with unmarried partners:
Likely homosexual households (counted as self-reported same-sex unmarried-partner households)
Detailed information about poverty and poor residents in South Lebanon, OH14 people in emergency and transitional shelters (with sleeping facilities) for people experiencing homelessness in 2010
2 people in group homes intended for adults in 2010
South Lebanon compared to Ohio state average:
Banks with branches in South Lebanon (2011 data):
Educational Attainment (%) in 2012
School Enrollment by Level of School (%) in 2012
Most commonly used house heating fuel:
Presidential Elections Results
1996 2000 2004 2008 2012
1996 Presidential Elections Results
2000 Presidential Elections Results
2004 Presidential Elections Results
2008 Presidential Elections Results
2012 Presidential Elections Results
Graphs represent county-level data. Detailed 2008 Election Results
Religion statistics for South Lebanon village (based on Warren County data)Percentage of population affiliated with a religious congregations: 33.90%
Breakdown of population affiliated with a religious congregations
Tables represent county-level data.
Food Environment Statistics:
Number of grocery stores: 21
Number of supercenters and club stores: 2
Number of convenience stores (no gas): 17
Number of convenience stores (with gas): 52
Number of full-service restaurants: 111
Adult diabetes rate:
Adult obesity rate:
Low-income preschool obesity rate:
South Lebanon government finances - Expenditure in 2002 (per resident):
South Lebanon government finances - Revenue in 2002 (per resident):
South Lebanon government finances - Debt in 2002 (per resident):
South Lebanon government finances - Cash and Securities in 2002 (per resident):
9.91% of this county's 2006 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2005 ($62,755 average adjusted gross income)
0.04% of residents moved from foreign countries ($174 average AGI)
Top counties from which taxpayers relocated into this county between 2005 and 2006:
8.56% of this county's 2005 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2006 ($55,844 average adjusted gross income)
0.04% of residents moved to foreign countries ($306 average AGI)
Top counties to which taxpayers relocated from this county between 2005 and 2006:
Strongest AM radio stations in South Lebanon:
Strongest FM radio stations in South Lebanon:
TV broadcast stations around South Lebanon:
Fatal road traffic accident statistics for 1975 - 2011 (per 100,000 population)
South Lebanon, Ohio:
South Lebanon fatal accident list:
Oct 3, 2002 03:30 AM, 38, Vehicles: 1, Persons: 1, Fatalities: 1, Drunken drivers: 1
National Bridge Inventory (NBI) Statistics
Number of bridges: 6
Total length: 24 meters (79ft)
Total average daily traffic: 30,733
Total average daily truck traffic: 2,135
Total future (year 2028) average daily traffic: 42,657
FCC Registered Antenna Towers:10 (See the full list of FCC Registered Antenna Towers in South Lebanon)
FCC Registered Private Land Mobile Towers:2
FCC Registered Microwave Towers:1
FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses:11 (See the full list of FCC Registered Amateur Radio Licenses in South Lebanon)
2006 National Fire Incident Reporting System Incidents:
Incident types - South Lebanon
See full 2006 National Fire Incident Reporting System statistics for South Lebanon, OH
Total of 76 patent applications in 2008-2014.
Back to South Lebanon, OH housing info, Warren County, Ohio, OH smaller cities, OH small cities, All Cities.


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By Jan. 1 – two days ago – we already had gained 10 more minutes of daylight than we had from Dec. 8 through 12. That should give us hope.
I don't know about you, but when we reach the latter part of June, I come to the disheartening realization that for the next six months, we'll see diminishing daylight hours.
Only when we reach the end of the year do those hours begin to increase. That usually make me feel a little better, and know I'll be able to notice the additional light by the end of January.
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