Toilets, Sanitation and institutional finance....

Toilets, Sanitation and institutional finance....

Loans and EMIs have become a way of life for the modern urban couple. From homes to two-wheelers and three-wheelers or various businesses they have tailormade options for all. But loans for toilets, bathrooms, sanitation? How many banks or institutions think of this, conceptualise it, make it possible and support it? Financing for Self-help groups is a challenge by itself and under such circumstances financing for water and sanitation, specifically for toilets and bathrooms to SHGs is a bigger challenge.
Water.org has been working for this since 2004 when it first launched the concept of water credit in Tamil Nadu. It also piloted the idea of the revolving water loan. Till date it has facilitated about 1. 7 million loans through banks and other institutions in sixteen states and two union territories. In addition, Water.org had also been facilitating policy changes to promote credit financing for water and sanitation.  It's efforts fructified in 2014 when these loans were included as a product under the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) category for Banks.
Women+Water Alliance  represented by GAP Inc. have partnered with Water.org for this cause.  As an productive alliance of CARE, GAP, USAID, ISC and Water.org have been supporting and funding the program of credit linkage for WASH, water and sanitation with MSRLM UMED.
Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission works for the empowerment of women through self help groups. It has more than 3.5 lakh SHGs over 38 lakh households in its fold. It propagates, Dashasutri, the 10 Cardinal principles of regular meetings, savings, internal lending, repayment of loans, writings books of accounts leading to sustainable livelihoods. Health, sanitation and nutrition is one of the most important sutra among the 10 sutras. MSRLM Umed has also been a part of the Swacch Bharat Mission and supported in the construction of individual as well as community toilets. The SHGs also work for behaviour change and awareness of various aspects of sanitation, clean drinking water and menstrual hygiene.
Households which have been included in socio-economic census were provided financial support of Rs.12000 for construction of toilets by the government. However processing of loans took time also there were several households outside the SECC data which needed financial support. MSRLM tried to support such households from the stimulus funds under Convergence or through its community loans. However that too was not sufficient.
It was therefore important to sensitise banks with this concept.
Water.org and W+W alliance came up with this unique proposal to work in 6 districts, of Yavatmal, Jalna, Solapur, Nandurbar, and Thane of Maharashtra for promotion of wash loans  and on assessing its importance it was taken up immediately by MSRLM. 
WASH credit financing propagates providing loans to SHG members to build toilets and add on a bathroom, get household water connections, water filters, repair and retrofitting of existing toilets.
Till date over 6000 people in the SHGs of MSRLM have been made aware. 137 water loans have been disbursed and 1227 loans for sanitation amounting to Rs. 1.2 crores have been accessed by households as a part of this project.
Despite this  banks have still not absorbed the value associated with giving loans for sanitation and therefore linkages for WASH through banks still remain a challenge.
It is an uphill task but visiting the villages along with a team of officials from the state and district, bankers, Water.org and GAP inc to interact with those who had availed loans and benefited from the scheme was inspiring.
The W+W alliance team interacted with the SHGs and VO at Khubgaon village, in Arvi block of Wardha district. The SHG members of this village were trained for WASH and water credit and many have taken loans for the same.
We met Mrs. Namrata Tirke, who took a loan of Rs.20, 000 to construct a toilet. Ms.Sheela Raut, has gone a step further and took a loan to build a second toilet for her daughter-in-law's comfort. Ms. Sheela Mokalkar could get  a water connection with a loan of Rs.15000. Ms. Ratna Patil.made a bathroom and also got a tap connection. Mrs. Manirama took a loan for a water connection and filter. Several other women have taken loans for the cause. Loans are provided for rainwater harvesting also.
Interactions with members of the Sukhakarta Gram Sangh, Khupgaon was very inspiring as Trishila the Community Training Consultant shared the progress of the SHG and the VO with the team. Ms.Rani, CAM, Vrushali tai, the CRP, Maahure Tai the
CLF Manager all spoke about the benefits of the programme. They emphasised on the improvement in their quality of life and the confidence they gained fur to MSRLM Umed.
Due to the effort of the health, nutrition and sanitation programme of Umed they understood the value of breastfeeding, complementary feeding. balanced diet, iron supplements, nutri garden , cleanliness, use of toilets, washing hands, clean drinking water.
Their Village organisation had
19 SHGs in it, an amount of Rs.3 lakhs as Community Investment Fund and Rs.48000 as balance in their bank account. Their SHGs were having various enterprises for sustainable livelihoods. The team also visited their households to see the toilets which had been constructed.
Ms.Suman Manohar Kuite insisted on visiting her household to see the workshop where her son Praveen is a Moortikaar and makes idols of Gods and Goddesses. They had set up this unit with the support of the bank. Their living room had idols of various shapes and sizes and she enthusiastically shared the talents of her son as an artist. There was a certain aura around the place and as we left her home after absorbing that aura, I silently prayed that more and more bankers become sensitive to the cause of women empowerment and facilitate loan not only for enterprises but also for sanitation and water. The cause for which MSRLM Umed and Water.org were working for would only then witness significant growth.