As one treads past the dusty lanes of Dejoo Pathar hamlet, the sight of the lush greenery and the aroma of the freshly plucked tea leaves mingles into an air of ambivalence. A paradise for first-timers, the Dejoo Tea Estate, located in the periphery of Lakhimpur district serves as the bread and the butter for thousands of plantation workers who slog under the scorching sun for a paltry sum of Rs. 150-200 per day. Blessed with a majestic view of the hills of neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, life in Dejoo Pathar and its adjacent village is otherwise tough. Every year the residents have to battle floods during the monsoon season, and the place remains waterlogged for days which serves as a breeding ground for disease vectors. Lack of adequate sanitation facilities and appropriate hygiene behaviour manifolds the vulnerability of the locals.

14-year-old Amol Kujur complains about the foul taste emanating from the community handpump. Recently his sister suffered from several bouts of diarrhea-causing a significant impact on her health. To avoid the repetition of the disease, Amol has expressed his curiosity to know about the causes and the preventive measures of diarrhea and other bacterial infection. He recently attended a WASH training organized in his school by a team of Caritas India volunteers. Locally known as the WASH Biranganas (warriors), the team comprises of 4 to 6 women between the age of 18 to 28 years, who have been mobilized specifically to tackle critical issues in the WASH sector. These women make door to door visits to sensitize their community people on the means to curb water-borne diseases and disseminate the importance of personal hygiene, sanitation, menstrual hygiene and safe storage of drinking water. As of date, a total of 50 Biranganas have been trained on the essentials of hygiene and sanitary practices.

“Public health promotion is an excellent initiative for the protection and prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases within a community. Wash birangana are playing a vital role in information sharing within their community. We wholeheartedly support the initiative undertaken by Caritas India in spreading awareness on the cause of health risks and ways to mitigate them”, remarks Bimol Tanti, headteacher Dejoo Chah Jjanajati high school.

The Caritas India team in Lakhimpur intends to create a pool of 130 WASH Biranganas with an aim to bring about a transformational change in the WASH sector by promoting community awareness and continuous monitoring of the behavior and attitude towards hygiene and sanitation.