Haath Mein Sehat (“Health in Your Hands”)
Water and Sanitation Education
An estimated seven million people currently live in the slums of Mumbai, India. Residents of these underserved communities suffer from a high incidence of enteric dysentery largely due to contaminated drinking water, poor hygiene habits, and a lack of adequate sanitation.
Woman in Panchsheel Nagar collecting water in the morning. Mumbai, India. Photo Credit: Edith HanIn response, a team of UC Berkeley students has been working since the summer of 2004 to improve livelihoods of slum communities in India through promotion of health education programs. The program has now grown into an interdisciplinary, international collaboration between local organizations and institutions in Mumbai and students. The education program is designed to enhance awareness about the causes of illnesses and desire for prevention of disease, thus generating demand for water treatment and improved environmental conditions. The project also includes a monitoring and water quality testing programs to understand the demand for water treatment technologies.
Student Project Director: Emily Kumpel, MS/PhD student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Field Location: India
Partners: Engineers for a Sustainable World (Berkeley Chapter); Behrampada Mahila Mandals; Somaiya Vidyavihar; MMK College; SIES College; SNDT College
