Urbanisation and climate change have led to an increase in the need for improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).  While companies across India try to address the critical gaps in WASH through their CSR, RB decided to take a shared value approach and unlock advantages for both business and society. 

The Reckitt Benckiser Story

Children spend a significant portion of their day at school where WASH services (including access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene) can impact student learning, health and dignity particularly for girls. Most water and sanitation related diseases can only be prevented by improving a number of hygiene infrastructure and behaviours.

With a view to harness the potential of India’s next generation to become sanitation change leaders, RB and Samhita designed an intervention which recognizes the role of children as key drivers of change and arms them with the right tools to drive change as well as collaborated with the government to scale the impact.

How did we impact 1 lakh students

Samhita designed a program with a focus on driving behavior change through community ownership and advocacy at the level of government and the school administration, in addition to imparting education on hygiene practices among children. Our approach to multiply the impact was two fold:

This project has adopted the proven route of community engagement to reach thousands of lives. The Behavioural Change Communication (BCC) plan covers not only hand washing but also the importance of personal and environmental hygiene practices. Wall paintings, celebration of important international and national events related to WASH were observed in large scale in the states. In addition, students and teachers engaged several community leaders and school management committees in their locations to spread awareness on best practices in the communities.

Geographies

Impact