The Digambarpur region was characterized by severe groundwater depletion. The water level ran low around the year, but the situation worsened exponentially during summer when the handpumps ran dry, leaving the community without safe, clean water. People were forced to use pond water for cleaning and bathing purposes. This posed a health risk for the entire community. In 2015, when Water For People India visited the village and approached me with a proposal for a household piped water supply system, I felt like my wish was granted. The scheme proposed a first-of-its-kind metering system that would charge families for the water they used, necessary for long-term sustainability. In 2018, Digambarpur won the award for Best Gram Panchayat out of the 250,000 GPs in India due to the determination of the people to be a part of something bigger, something extraordinary.
