This group of Cambridge Global Perspectives IGCSE students at The International School, Bangalore, decided to build toilets for girls at the nearby Spruthi Valley Residential School for their project.
The youngsters – Adit Gupta, Ramaswamy Muthiah, Riya Gupta, Richa Mandanna and Sohan Daivik Reddy - wanted to raise awareness of the importance of sanitation for girls in rural India.
Describing their main objective, the students said: ‘Our main outcome was to build toilets for girls as we believed that the depleted condition of girls’ sanitation is a major concern, and crucial steps need to be taken to avoid diseases caused by poor hygiene practices and a lack of education due to these poor practices.’
They raised money for the toilets through the crowdfunding website milaap.org and raised awareness of the importance of sanitation by writing to the Ministry of Women and Child Development and non-governmental organisation Akshayapatra.
They also distributed posters and, after finding a supplier to provide the toilets, they engaged directly with the children at the residential school, talking to them and stressing the importance of health and hygiene.