Water for People India (WFPI) has been working on promotion of WASH under a unique programme called ‘Everyone Forever’ in two Blocks of South 24 Parganas namely Pathar Pratima and Sagar (except Ghoramara GP) and Sheohar District in Bihar in partnership with a few local organizations. They are in the process of developing appropriate strategy on how to support the said two Committees and to build their capacities so that they can play their roles properly in delivering WASH related services to everyone on a sustainable basis. ‘Charity Water’ joined hands with Water For People India (WFPI) for specific interventions in WASH sector since 2010. WFPI focused on creation of sustainable facilities with equity and establishment of support mechanisms in the context of WASH in Pathar Pratima and Sagar Blocks of South 24 Parganas and Sheohar District in Bihar. WFPI started working in Pathar Pratima and Sagar Blocks of West Bengal in 2006 and has initiated its work in Sheohar District in Bihar in 2012 with the support of ‘Charity Water’ USA. This achievement is a testament to the concerted efforts specially in those geographically vulnerable areas where challenges are many but with the support of the local NGO partners, over half of a million people gain access to improved drinking water sources since 2006 and till today. This is especially a significant news for everyone, who are the most affected by poor water supplies and lack of sanitation facilities.

The interventions of the Charity Water through WFPI was likely to result in improvement in access to WASH infrastructures and related practices at the HH level, WASH practices in schools, various aspects of functioning of the water points including the quality of water and on the community engagement in improving various aspects of WASH including management of the water point within the project area. However, more than 1 million people still have not been reached, the majority of them in poor, isolated and otherwise marginalised communities. Other challenges remain: water quality remains a problem, many of the improved water sources are too far from people’s homes and certain percentage of people are still practicing open defecation, which is directly or indirectly minimizing the health benefits.

A detail study was to be conducted for evaluating the post implementation monitoring status on water and sanitation sectors at households, community, schools and water points (including water quality checking) in Pathar Pratima and Sagar Blocks of South 24 Parganas in West Bengal and Sheohar District in Bihar. A baseline survey was also conducted in areas of Sheohar District which are outside the current interventions of the WFPI for exploring new interventions. The study was assigned to SIGMA Foundation, New Town Kolkata. The study had to be completed before 31st May as per work agreement but due to the Panchayat election in West Bengal the whole survey programme got delayed and SIGMA Foundation received a special work order from WFPI to complete the field work before 30th of June and submit the first draft to WFPI & Charity Water USA before 31st July, 2018.

The survey was to be done through questionnaire-based collection of data. For that purpose, four different sets of questionnaires were developed by Charity Water USA to cover the four major thematic areas namely, Household, School, Water Point and Community. The survey was done using Android run application for easier data management, where WFPI’s service delivery is an important component of overall efforts to improve access to drinking water and sanitation facilities round the year. The analysis was used to know the status related to various aspects of the study and the quantitative results were validated with the qualitative data obtained through in-depth interviews and field observations for getting better insight of the ground reality.

The involvements of WFPI with SIGMA Foundation are strategically increasing gears its evidence- based and field-based assessment, capacity building and service delivery towards addressing inequities in water and sanitation sectors to maximise benefits for the community people.