This is a great example of how women’s empowerment can lead to positive and transformative change in a community. The residents of the chanderpuri slum community were facing a lot of challenges due to sewage manhole overflowing and the dirty water reaching the small shanties of the slum dwellers. The slum residents were finding it difficult to walk or stay in the shanties as the surroundings and their shanties were filled with dirty water leaking from the manhole. With the collective efforts and support by the Asha team, Asha’s Mahila Mandal members wrote an application and visited the officials of Delhi Municipal Cooperation and Ward Councillors to get the sewage manhole cleaned up and repaired. After three to four days of continuous efforts, the authorities cleaned the manhole, stopping the water leakage. As they knew the government’s intervention would take time, the Mahila Mandal group collected their personal money and repaired the upper part of the manhole. To find a permanent solution, they have submitted the petitions to the authorities, and Mahila Mandal ladies are doing repeated follow-up visits. The persistent efforts and patient follow-up have resulted in a positive outcome, and the authorities have assured them that the permanent sewage system will be constructed very soon.
We are proud of the determination and courage these women have displayed.
