BRAC Annual Report 2011 41
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
CA S E
S T U DY
Hosne Ara is the member secretary of the village WASH committee in the Shibpur village in Faridpur district. She was elected because of her extensive participation and knowledge on the water and sanitation situation of the village.
HOSNE ARA: From housewife to government
“Participating in WASH opened my eyes to the needs of my village and that there were solutions to preventing illnesses. I received leadership training that helped me advocate for my community and get access to funds from the government. And because of that people respect me now. ”
Hosne Ara’s journey takes her from being a housewife to becoming a member of the local government in the Boalmari subdistrict. She lives in a village called Shibpur, in one of the poorest regions in Bangladesh. Like many rural areas in Bangladesh, households in Shibpur faced poor sanitation, arsenic and saline contaminated water and unsafe hygiene practices. This raised concerns, and in 2007 BRAC’s WASH programme started working there, providing comprehensive WASH services through the village WASH committee. Hosne actively participated with other villagers in the WASH programme from the onset, helping with the social mapping of her village. Hosne was then selected as member secretary of the village WASH committee after her extensive participation and knowledge on the water and sanitation situation of the village. She increasingly became involved in other projects such as mobilising resources
from the local government’s Annual Development Fund allocated for the poor. This required her to liaise with the local government institution, the Union Parishad, and its chairman and members. Initially, they did not allow her to be a part of the project, but after she received training from BRAC, her confidence was evident and she was well accepted by everyone. Now, she can make her arguments and raise her points without anyone questioning her capabilities. Over time, her popularity increased, and in 2011 Hosne Ara was elected as one of the 841 women members to the Union Parishad.