Summit for Dignity
Submitted by Agrawal Associates on November 9th, 2016
Nov. 15, 2016
In February 2016, Girish successfully climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania. As part of this initiative, he set out to raise $250,000 for The Aga Khan Development Network, a non-profit international agency that supports social development programs in Asia and Africa. The AKDN has initiated a $35 million dollar program, in partnership with the Government of India, to support the construction of over 100,000 household toilets, 528 school toilet blocks and 26 community toilet complexes. In total, this initiative will bring proper sanitation to 700,000 people.
More than 595 million people in India, including millions of children, do not have access to proper toilets. This is one of the greatest threats to the health of children and results in the highest number of diarrhea-related deaths in the world. It is the single reason why many young females will not attend school. There is no dignity.
Poor sanitization is spread across many states in India, including Maharashtra, the birthplace of Girish Agrawal. Girish grew up in poverty. He knows how bad the situation is for millions of children attending school in India.
Imagine going to school and having to find a place outside, in the street, to go to the bathroom. Imagine being an adolescent girl in that situation. There is no privacy and no dignity. And it's enough to stop many girls from attending school.
This February, Girish climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, Africa. He did this climb as a personal challenge. More importantly, he did this climb to raise money and awareness for sanitation in Indian schools. They are big goals, but Girish thinks they can both be done.
It costs just $50 to provide a sanitized life to one human being. $3,000 provides sanitation for an entire school.
For this cause, Girish has partnered with Aga Khan Development Network, a globally renowned charity. Over the past 30 years, the Aga Khan Development Network has worked to build sanitation facilities and promote awareness and behavior change to help eliminate open defecation.
They are currently implementing a program to ensure 100% sanitation in all households and schools in several parts of India including Maharashtra, Girish's birthplace.
The $35 million dollar initiative, in partnership with the Government of India, will support the construction of over 100,000 household toilets, 528 school toilet blocks and 26 community toilet complexes. In total, this initiative will bring proper sanitation to 700,000 people.
To date, Girish has raised over $150,000 towards his goals.
