This is why I hate travelling by train early morning.

Travel by a train in India early morning and it becomes impossible to look outside the window. For instead of enjoying the beauty of a rising sun or admiring the hues of trees and fields, one gets to witness our fellow citizens adding fresh ingredients to national manure. India still has 597 million people defecating in the open. It is not a funny sight but one which make our heads hang in shame. More than 60 years of Independence and still our India is not literate and capable enough to provide our women, children and people right and dignity to proper hygiene and Sanitation.

credit: healthydunia.com

Literate? Yes, because the problem is not solely about awareness and poverty. But something else too.

We do have lack of sanitation facilities and the lack of hygiene amenities are the reason for feeble health, a rise in ailments like cholera, diarrhea as well as incidents of rape cases. Lack of setup is a big hindrance but another lesser known yet prevalent factor is - Indian households are not willing to have the lavatory at their homes thinking it will impure their houses where they place the idols of their deity as well. They believe defecating in open far off field keep their home and surrounding area clean. Some households that do have the sanitation facility have members who still prefer going outside. So apart from providing the infrastructure, a shift from superstitious and ignorant thinking is required.

Illiteracy, population and poverty form a vicious circle and can be eradicated with initiatives like - 'A toilet for Babli' by Domex. I even appreciate the recent campaign ads by Vidya Balan stressing the importance of having Toilet. This level of participation, celebrities are expected to showcase instead of just posing with a broom for shutterbugs. I hope these messages reach everyone who is unaware of the harms of defecating outside.

The Domex Toilet Academy

Domex, HUL’s flagship sanitation brand, currently runs the Domex Toilet Academy (DTA) programme. Domex Toilet Academy was launched on 19th November 2013. It aims to become a sustainable and long-term solution to provide sanitation that benefits the local community and helps stimulate the local economy. The Toilet Academy makes toilets accessible and affordable, while promoting the benefits of clean toilets & good hygiene. Their effort has resulted in bringing the change in the villages of Maharashtra and Orissa and it aims to build 24000 toilets by 2015 in rural areas faced with the problem of open defecation.

You can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on www.domex.in and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.

Hats off to Domex for a meaningful and much needed campaign!

This post is written as part of the Domex #ToiletForBabli campaign in association with indiblogger Happy Hours.