Friday, May 7th - A visit to a remote village

Today we met with one of WaterAid's local NGO parterners called Samarthan. This wonderful organization is improving lives in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Samarthan was kind enough to bring us on a tour of the remote village of Didakhedi, which is comprised of Dalit people. The village is made up of 30 families. The Dalits are the lowest caste.


The Didakhedi people are very gracious hosts-as is everyone in India. They sat with us and, through a translator, told us about their village and the impact of Samarthan's help. Samarthan began working with the Didakhedi village last June. Since that time toilets and water taps have been added to each house. The improvements in sanitation has helped alleviate illness. With the new water taps, women are saved from having to walk long distances to water sources and no longer are burdened with carrying heavy loads of water back to their villages. With the time they save they are able to spend more time with their children. These improvements have left the people of Didakhedi feeling empowered and eager to further improve their lives.

Here are some photos of our arrival at Didakhedi. We were offered water and also a delicious concoction that tastes like lemonade. As a gesture of welcoming, a spot was placed on our foreheads. We asked the villagers if westerners had ever visited them before. They told us no. In fact, the elders said that we were the first foreigners they have seen in their entire lives.