Access to clean water, safe toilets, and basic hygiene is not a privilege — it is a right. Yet for millions of children and families across India, this right remains out of reach. At Sahyog, we work as an NGO for sanitation, water, and hygiene (WASH), driving on-ground change through school sanitation infrastructure, safe drinking water access, and behavior change communication (BCC) programs that empower communities to build healthier futures.
Here’s a look at how our WASH initiatives that are transforming lives, one toilet, one RO unit, and one awareness session at a time.
One Mission: Rebuilding Dignity in Government Schools
Poor sanitation infrastructure in schools is one of the biggest, and most overlooked, barriers to education — especially for adolescent girls, who often drop out or stay home due to the lack of clean, private, and safe toilets. Recognizing this gap, Sahyog has renovated approximately 6,500 government school toilets, giving thousands of students access to dignified, hygienic sanitation facilities every single day. It’s this kind of on-the-ground, infrastructure-first approach that defines what it means to be an NGO for sanitation, not just in name, but in daily impact.
From Bricks to Behavior: The Ripple Effect of a Clean Toilet
The change didn’t stop at construction. Once the doors of these renovated toilets opened, so did the doors to the classroom — school attendance rose noticeably, especially among adolescent girls, many of whom had previously stayed home rather than face the day without access to a clean, private, and safe toilet.
A working toilet was the first step toward healthier communities. Since then, more than 3,25,000 students and hundreds of community members have learned the importance of hygiene through regular awareness sessions. With simple messages reinforced in schools and communities, these efforts have inspired lasting habits that improve health and well-being every day.
The results show up in daily life, not just in reports: schools and homes alike are seeing fewer sanitation-related illnesses, proof that clean infrastructure, paired with consistent engagement, genuinely translates into healthier environments. And because no system sustains itself, Sahyog has trained close to 200 school staff and community caretakers in maintenance and cleanliness practices — turning them into custodians of this change, so that what we’ve built keeps serving generations of students long after our teams have moved on.
Making Safe Drinking Water a Daily Reality
Access to clean drinking water is essential for good health, better learning, and stronger communities. Through its Community Water RO Facilities, Sahyog is ensuring that children, families, and underserved communities have access to safe, affordable drinking water every day.
Installed 31 Water RO facilities in schools and community spaces, with 18 installations completed in a single year through collaborative partnerships.
These facilities provide safe drinking water to over 2,53,000 beneficiaries every day, including thousands of school children.
Improves student health, reduces the risk of water-borne diseases, and creates a healthier learning environment by ensuring access to clean drinking water throughout the school day.
Reduces the burden on families and communities by making purified drinking water affordable and easily accessible close to home.
Creates livelihood opportunities for local community members, particularly women, through the operation, maintenance, and management of RO facilities.
By combining sustainable infrastructure with community ownership, Sahyog’s Water RO initiative is improving public health, supporting children’s education, and making safe drinking water a daily reality for the communities that need it most.
Beyond Infrastructure: Rewiring Habits for a Healthier Tomorrow
Infrastructure alone cannot solve India’s sanitation and hygiene challenges — lasting change requires a shift in mindset. This is where Sahyog’s Behavior Change Communication (BCC) programs come in.
Our BCC initiatives focus on:
- Promoting healthy behaviors through targeted awareness campaigns.
- Encouraging better hygiene, nutrition, and preventive healthcare practices.
- Conducting community awareness and behavior change sessions.
- Empowering communities to adopt healthier, more sustainable lifestyles.
On-Ground Highlights:
- In 2017, Sahyog was awarded prestigious “ Limca Book of Records” for organizing the “Clean 4 Good Campaign” in Delhi to build awareness on cleanliness and personal hygiene among underprivileged children. As part of this campaign, 2,105 children aged 6 to 14 were given haircuts, bathing facilities, and handwashing support.
- Our WASH sessions have reached and impacted 37,000 children across Delhi NCR, instilling lifelong habits of cleanliness and hygiene from an early age.
These sessions use simple, relatable messaging and visual communication tools to make hygiene education accessible — even to the youngest learners — helping build habits that outlast any single campaign.
More Than Toilets: Why This Work Can’t Wait
Sanitation is not just about toilets or taps — it’s about dignity, health, education, and opportunity. As an NGO for sanitation working across schools and communities, Sahyog’s WASH model — combining infrastructure, affordable water access, and behavior change communication — proves that real transformation happens when construction, awareness, and empowerment go hand in hand.
From renovated school toilets to affordable Water ROs to citywide hygiene campaigns, every initiative under Sahyog’s WASH umbrella is designed with one goal: a cleaner, healthier, more dignified life for every child and community we serve.
Donate to Sahyog today and help us build more toilets, install more Water RO and reach more communities with the dignity of clean water and sanitation.