Health & Environment

Health, Lifestyle, and Environment strongly affect each other. Lack of awareness, behavioral aspects, and poor amenities are the key reasons for bad health and polluted environment.

Timely awareness, preventive measures, and behavior shifts can bring positive changes to improve health and the environment.

We are dealing with key issues related to Menstrual Health, disposal of waste, Lifestyle among truck drivers, and clean drinking water and sanitation for communities.

Health and Environment
Menstrual Health

Menstrual Health

Period Poverty is very common in rural areas where menstruating women lack access to menstrual products, sanitation facilities, face discrimination, and are not educated and trained to manage their menstrual health.

  • 60-70% of menstruating schoolgirls remain absent or drop out permanently due to lack of access to sanitation facilities and other challenges.
  • Out of 355 million menstruating women, just 35-36% use sanitary napkins.
  • 70% of girls have no knowledge about menstruation before menarche.
  • Women in rural areas still use unhygienic means during menstruation and get infections.

Intervention

We aim to reduce the extent of absenteeism and dropouts in schools, bust myths around periods, educate women for better menstrual health management, and facilitate access to quality and cost-effective menstrual products. Below are key interventions:

  • Awareness sessions on menstrual health, promotion of sanitary pads/cloths, and safe disposal of sanitary products in schools and communities.
  • Azadi Sanitary Napkin Bank (ASNB), a credit and debit system of sanitary pads, installed in selected schools, managed by elder girls to provide access to cost-effective and quality pads in schools. In the first cycle, PRAYAS provides the sanitary pads to the bank, and later it is managed by the girls.
  • A cadre of Women Sanitary Preneurs (WSP) is formed to promote and sell sanitary pads in nearby villages and ASNB. WSP is a group enterprise to sell sanitary pads and earn a profit margin. Initially, we provide financial and manufacturer networking support to WSP, and later they buy and sell the sanitary pads.
  • Health camps are organized to provide referral services, consultation on health issues, and awareness on anemia.
Impact Image
Coverage & Impact
  • 100,000+ women and school-girls benefited.
  • 150 public schools and hostels covered.
  • 20,000+ women and girls started using sanitary pads/reusable cloths.
Location Icon 200+ Villages in Gujarat, MP & Assam

Water & Sanitation

Problem

In spite of Swachh Bharat Mission and Jal Jeevan Mission, clean drinking water and sanitation are still serious problems, especially in rural and tribal areas.

50% of females walk 30-35 minutes every day to fetch water, more than 35 million people don’t have access to clean water; approximately 20% of households in India don’t have toilets. In various areas of Tea Gardens in Assam and Harda, Timarni, and Alirajpur districts, water contains impurities and high TDS, and people still go for open defecation.

Water & Sanitation

Interventions

  • Awareness of rural and urban communities on safe drinking water and sanitation.
  • Mobilization of people to maintain community toilets and water sources with collaboration.
  • Installation of community toilets, piped drinking water, and RO plants in selected areas of Assam.

Waste Management

In India, 62 million tonnes of waste is generated annually, and only 70% is collected, with 12 million tonnes treated. Unfortunately, 31 million tonnes still end up in landfills or heaps of waste. 43 million tonnes of waste comes from municipal corporations (household, hospitals, restaurants, markets, etc.). Key reasons include lack of awareness and ignorant behavior of people, poor recycling, segregation, storage, and disposal infrastructure, and inefficiency of ULBs (Urban Local Bodies).

Intervention

  • Create awareness and methods of waste segregation at households, societies, and restaurants.
  • Conduct behavioral change activities in schools and urban areas to promote safe disposal of used sanitary pads.
  • Mobilize people to use separate dustbins for dry and wet waste.
  • Design and conduct studies on waste management in urban areas for corrective measures.
Impact Image
Coverage & Impact
(WASH & Waste Management)
  • Studies on Plastic Waste Management and Waste Characterization conducted in 17 districts of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
  • 25000+ community members trained on WASH & Waste Management.
  • 15000 + community members have access to clean drinking water & sanitation facilities.
Location Icon 100 + Villages in Gujarat, MP, Assam & Rajasthan

Lifestyle & Health

Indian truck drivers drive for an average of 12-13 hours daily. 80% of drivers and cleaners are at greater risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD) and cardiovascular diseases due to incorrect diet, sedentary, and unhealthy lifestyle.

Backaches, neck & shoulder pain, hypertension, anxiety, insomnia, and weak eyesight are common problems among them.

Many of them are not aware of healthy practices due to poor education, and because of the mobile nature of their job and poor income, they hardly consult doctors.

Lifestyle & Health

What we do

We aim to reduce the extent of preventable health issues among truck drivers, make them aware of healthy food habits and lifestyle and bring change in their behavior towards personal medical and life insurance through below interventions,

  • Training and awareness on healthy food habits, regular body checkup and better lifestyle.
  • Onsite demonstrate of daily fitness exercises, training on correct body posture during driving and loading or unloading of cargo.
  • Health camps for truck drivers, Cleaners and mechanics for Checkup, referral and consultation services.
  • Awareness and support for medical and Life insurance through CSC, Panchayat and Fleet Owners.
Impact Image
Coverage & Impact
  • 15000+ Truckers (drivers, cleaners and mechanics) and family members benefitted through health camps.
  • 10000+ Truckers benefitted through better understanding of health issues and its prevention.
  • 5000+ truck drivers, cleaners and mechanics adopted the yoga and fitness exercises as part of their daily routine.
Location Icon 100 + Villages in Gujarat, MP

Success Stories

Sapna
“Now I can talk openly about my periods and use sanitary pad during menstruation ....”
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Gopaldas
“Gopaldas Because of driving truck for long hours, I had persistent body pain and had no idea what to do...”
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Joya
“My community was lacking clean drinking water and young girls like me had to go to forest for defecation...”
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