Gina conway visits india with aveda and water aid

DAY ONE I notice there is no personal space allowed here. And no queuing policy. Just push in first. Everybody is very sweet in the villages. But maybe it's the same difference between the cities and rural areas in England. I hate honking drivers, yet in India, honking is so frequent that it almost becomes a musical tune. Like the heartbeat of the cities. I arrived to the Water Aid board meeting at the Centre for World Solidarity and got an education on many aspects of the vital work they are doing. How they lobby the government for funds, install water and toilet facilities, and help create sustainable hygiene processes and access to clean healthy water. They are working on the WASH project (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) and how to create cultural shifts in attitudes towards menstrual hygiene management. I learned that 1 out of 3 people in the world do not have access to a toilet and that 60% of the world's open defication exists here in India.   DAY TWO Yummy spicy curries for breakfast! I hope my tummy holds up to all this spicy food. I headed to a rural community today to see what a pre-intervention village is like. We went to a school and met the head of education, community leaders, health workers and local children telling us stories of how they live and what social stigmas there are around going to the toilet outside and how dangerous it is. Women are only allowed to go outside to the toilet in the early morning or after dark to preserve their dignity. This causes many health issues as well as the threat of snakes, scorpions and sexual predators. I spoke to a girl called Rachana who said they are not allowed to leave the house when menstruating and are considered unclean and not allowed to touch anyone during this week, while the females aren't to bathe or go to religious temples. Her hopes are to go to college and become a web developer. She is 15 and beautiful and now of marrying age. The chances that she will to succeed in her dreams diminish as only around 20% of women here get an education past the age of 14. DAY 3

Today we meet many people from a village called Ibrahimpur where Water Aid had helped bring clean water and toilets to every household. The village was chosen as it was one of the most desperate in need. The work took two years to implement and the whole village now is a model for others. All the villagers were so proud to show off their homes and invited us in for a visit. The homes were immaculate. The roads were swept, and one area they used to use for open defication was turned into a lovely lush garden area.

The second village we went is in the middle of making changes with Water Aid funding. A spirited entrepreneur named Radha from Raghurajpur told us how she can now look after her buffalo to earn a living now that she is not having to spend hours a day walking in the dark to find a private place to use the toilet. She is a widow and feels much safer now that she can stay at home and look after her elderly mother. DAY 4 Today, I sat in on a meeting with the People's Organization for Rural Development (PORD) and listened to Ms Malleshwari about her personal journey and how she was made to sleep for 10 days in the cattle shed during her period and not allowed in the home. She explains how, once girls in her community have started menstruating, they were no longer allowed to attend school . She started the NGO PORD. I've made some good friends on this trip. I think you see and share experiences that are so out of this world that you connect to the core. It's made me humble and steadfast that I am not an an island.

DAY 5 I am capable of helping create change for the better. It's nice to see that what you and I give actually does make a huge impact on people. The glaring difference between the pre and post intervention villages is huge. From hunger, illness and shame, to equality, pride and freedom.

Raising money for water, toilets and MHM isn't very sexy I know. It's so much easier to help children or the homeless. But these humble, proud people are desperate, and grateful for your help.  So come Earth Month this year, I'm planning a grand event and hope that I can pull off something worthy of the people I met and continue to help them flourish and thrive.