1) The Godam Sahi slum community in Bhubaneswar, India decided to end open defecation and build toilets in every household. Previously, the community lacked toilets and used open fields. 2) Within 5 months of the commitment to end open defecation, every single household built a toilet. The community president was surprised by the speed of this change in behavior. 3) Community members now understand the health consequences of open defecation and are proud to have their own toilets. Women especially feel safer with access to toilets rather than having to use open fields.

1. Community decides to bring sanitation closure to Home
GodamSahi SluminWardno49underBhubaneswarMunicipal Corporationhavemade acommitment
almost as a unique Urban Community. They have determined to abandon ‘open defecation’. Since
the community inhabits in the farm land of Odisha Universityof Agriculture and Technology[OUAT]
in last 20 to 25 years they use the existing open land of OUAT for Open defecation. Community
basically usedtohesitateforconstructingatoiletwiththe fearof eviction.Eventheyhesitatetobuild
a pucca andsemi puccahouse forthem,hence all the house inthe communityare kutcha. InOctober
2017 there was only one toilet in the community and that was belong to the presidentof the slum.
Within5 monthsof time period everysinglehouseholdhasbuiltatoilet.“Thischange of behaviouris
revolutionary,consideringthatuntil recently”- accordingtoMr. BalakrushnaGouda,the presidentof
the community.
Aerial View of Godam Sahi
Changingbehaviourinsteadofbuildingtoilets: InGodamsahi we have workedon“KachhaGharpur
Pukka Ghar “ because in that slum space was a big issues .So we can planned puckka ghar for
multipurposeIssues

2. BCC Activities:

3.  withWater facilityforpropercleaning&Using
 ToiletwithincineratorforMenstrual hygiene management

4. Sanitationbeingthe prime agendaof the governmentandBMC[BhubaneswarMunicipal Corporation]
is already going on a target mode to make slums ODF with the involvement of their Community
Organisers.There wasno involvementfromthe community,noencouragementandno clear picture
of whatto do next.Whatmade abigdifferenceinthisprojectwasthe participationof the community
members indiscussingthe problemand analysingthe solutionsthemselves. “We ourselvessurprised
at the speed of change in the Community” says by Sasmita Gouda, a Swachhagrahi from the
community whichshowsthatattitudesandknowledge are more importantdriversof new behaviour
than cash inducementsandcrude exhortation.
Toilets were not entirely unknown in Godam Sahi before the project intervention but the health
importance of confining ordure had not been previously well-understood. “We did not know the
consequences of defecating outdoors — it was simply our habit,’ said Mrs. Mamata Gouda, a
communityleaderandshe continueswith‘We were noteducatedonthe importance of goodhygiene
but now, we are very excited to have our latrines; Mine is almost completed” as she spent 16,000
rupees to build her first home toilet. Her was among the first 15 families to do so; after this, it was
easierforherto motivate others.
The supportof otherwomenandcommunitymembers wasimportant.Mr. BalakrushnaGoudaatoilet
user before the project intervention believes that having your own facility is far more hygienic than
usingthe fields.‘Opendefecationisinappropriatebecauseyouspreaddiseases.’Suchdiseasesinclude
not onlydiarrhoea,butfevers,respiratoryinfections,andparasiticworms. He was one of the village

5. personalities who went house to house to convince villagers that ‘if we want our slum to be clean,
everybodyshouldparticipateandbuildtheirowntoilet.’
CommunityMonitoringsystem:
Communitythemselvesformedagroupto monitorthe toiletconstructionaswellsasmobilisingthe
members those littlebits laidonconstructingtoilet. Theyhave developed aunique monitoring
systemforthe communitywhere theypreparedacommunitymapin a wall atthe central pointof
the community.
Theyhave markedthe houseswithtoilet,toiletsunderconstructionandhouseswithnotoilet.They
mobilise the memberof the house withnotoiletandproviderequiredsupporttoconstructthe
toilet.
Conclusion:
Defecatinginthe openexposespeopletodisease,andthe costof a toiletislessthanthe costof being
sick.Needlesstosay, people are understandingthe issueandconsequences,comingfronttobuilding
the toilet; women and girls are no longer feeling exposed even they opting for bathing in the toilet
too.The vowstheythat the slumhave takennevertogo inthe fieldsagainseemtobe sincere.