With only 62.33% literacy among rural women and only 23% working women, influencing decisions is challenging for women in Birbhum. Casteism is high, and evident during our interventions where we provided water facilities in Birbhum. Anandanagar, Bagdipara, Korapara are some areas having a practice of social outcasts, people denied of accessing water facilities, being socially and economically poor. With inadequate water facilities coupled with wells and pumps drying up in summer, life is challenging. 

Household chores are stereotyped as women’s work, fetching of water is categorized as women’s duty, even if it is from distant sources, even if at least three or four times a day. For years and for decades, women have been fetching water without getting scope to voice their challenges and hardship. 83 water points in Birbhum, have simultaneously provided women to represent in water user committees, and influence decision making. 

Siuli Soren, a tribal girl, in her twenties, is the first student from Bhababand community to get admitted in college, approached the local government for another water point, as there was only one functional hand pump serving 258 people. She was guided to approach Water For People, as we have been intervening by providing water facilities.Intervention in a tribal community is challenging, first being the language barrier, second, being poverty, third is to mobilize them to form a group to look after the asset, manage books of accounts and maintain liaison with local government. Imbibing a new idea that water is not a natural and free resource is to be paid for is challenging, with instances where intervention plans were abandoned as locales were not open to this idea of co-financing and paid service. We were skeptical, and we needed local representation.

Siuli, led from the front and facilitated the whole process, forming a Bhagabandpur Jol Byboharkari Samiti (water user committee), garnering local support to raise local contribution, finalizing the site where the System would be installed, and pipes would be laid. She represented the community and opened a bank account in the name of the WUC in Paschim Banga Gramin Bank, with Gangarani Bauri and Hapanbhai Marandi being signatories.