Gaytri Devi is a 60 year-old woman who understands the significance of having access to clean drinking water. In her village Manjari Kalan in Rajasthan, fetching water is a woman's responsibility. She recalls that ever since she was young, her community's greatest wish has been to have access to clean drinking water.
Empowering Communities
Clean water is the backbone of healthy communities and as part of our community initiatives, Nestlé India has undertaken programmes to provide access to clean drinking water. Having clean water means being able to avoid exposure to water-borne diseases and reduce the burden of ill health on families. The benefits of having a source of clean water in a community are even much wider. When women and girls no longer have to walk miles to fetch water each day, they have more time to learn. Literacy rates rise.
It was a very difficult situation for Gaytri Devi earlier as she had to walk a great distance to collect drinking water for her family. She along with her fellow village women used to make multiple trips back and forth to fetch drinking water. The quality of the water was not good. After the drinking water facility was set up in the PHC, it has become very convenient for all the villagers to have access to clean drinking water. Many patients visit the PHC in Manjari Kalan from far off villages as well and it is convenient for them as they no longer have to carry drinking water. People working at the PHC and people living in the surrounding area also use the water from the tank.
Nestlé India started the construction of clean drinking water facilities in schools around its factories in 1999. The community outreach is implemented directly and through our NGO partner Enable Health Society. Till year 2017, Nestlé India constructed over 257 water tanks across 7 states benefitting more than 140,000 students. In Rajasthan, we have partnered with the Department of Medicine and Health to offer access to clean drinking water at 12 Public Health Centres as part of the Adarsh Public Health Centre Yojna established by the Government.
