Dr. Khera Village Uttar Pradesh, suffers from issues due to slow development and rapid urbanization. It’s become notorious as an ‘Urban Slum’.
AMMACHI Labs sprung into action with a social & economic empowerment mission yet faced a lot of hurdles due to lack of infrastructure. The village is plagued by issues such no safe drinking water, poor drainage, substandard sanitation hygiene conditions, poor street lighting, and lack of proper roads, to name a few.
In order to make a change, AMMACHI Labs taught villagers how to identify vulnerabilities and strategize on solutions. At a community town hall, risks and vulnerabilities identified by the villagers themselves, were presented in an visually engaging way to local and state policy makers. This information was supported with three different applications from villagers which demanded quick action on water supply, lighting in village, drainage/sewer system and more. After the meeting, local municipal and key political leaders used their influence to speed things up.
The result: the village received three new water hand pumps in two weeks. Moreover, within minutes of submitting application, the city’s mayor sent a team to survey the village lighting which was in dire condition. He soon ordered new lamps and implemented 25 new street lights in two days and repaired the broken ones.
The improvements through AMMACHI Labs’ interventions were dramatic. Women and children will no longer need to worry about safety issues due to dark streets. Safe water has also become accessible due to these efforts. All in all, the whole community has benefited by a few key connections and the will to make a change. #womenempowerment #GlobalDev #empowering #community #vulnerabilitymapping