Distinguished Guests & Visitors

SULABH MOVEMENT RESTORING HUMAN RIGHTS

Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, explaining Sulabh Technology to Dr. Wally N'Dow, Secretary General, Habitat II and other delegates

A large number of distinguished persons, including political leaders, social reformers, academics, experts, diplomats, journalists (TV and print media), opinion makers and social activists have been vising Sulabh social service centres. These visitors are largely from the following 55 countries of the world - The USA, Nepal, Switzerland, Indonesia, Britain, Argentina, Sweden, Japan, Vietnam, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, Myanmar, Thailand, Canada, Jamaica, Mongolia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Belize, Romania, Tanzania, Egypt, Iraq, Russia, Guyana, Philippines, Malaysia, Kenya, South Korea, Germany, France, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Lithuania, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Mauritius, South Africa, Norway, Australia, Swaziland, Panama, Zambia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Cuba, Botswana, Uzbekistan, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Italy.

Dr. Pathak has received a number of Awards. Important among them are :

• Padma Bhushan in recognition of his social services and humanism on March 23, 1991.
• K.P. Goenka Memorial Award in 1984

The International Saint Francis Prize for the Environment,
CANTICLE OF ALL CREATURES. :Dr. Pathak was awarded the most prestigious St. Francis Prize in 1992 at Assisi in Italy for his contributions at the highest international level to the improvement, protection and conservation of the harmonious relations to human beings within their environment.

Efforts made by Sulabh International for improving the environment and community health through low cost sanitation have been appreciated by Govt. of India, state governments, eminent persons of the world, WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank, UNCHS, HABITAT and various other national, international and bilateral agencies. The national and international media like Press, B.B.C., Doordarshan (Indian T.V.), Zee T.V. All India Radio have widely acknowledged the achievements of Sulabh. Newspapers, magazines and journals like the New York Times, The Washington Post, Nation (Bangkok), The Times of India, The Hindustan times, The Statesman, Indian Express, India Today, Dinman, Water World, The Telegraph, Source (UNDP monthly magazine) etc. have published articles lauding the achievements of Sulabh in the fields of low cost sanitation, liberation of scavengers, harnessing of energy from human excreta, environment improvement etc.

• "The Sulabh Movement is indeed a reminder and jolt to conscience. It is performing the double task of socially rehabilitating the suffering segment of our society and providing healthy and clean municipal life. It deserves all support".
  - Mr. I.K. Gujral, Prime Minister of India.

• "The most successful of the voluntary scavenger emancipation enterprises has been the Sulabh Shauchalaya Sansthan which has started something of a mini-revolution in Indian sanitation planning by using entrepreneurial business practices, modern technology and aggressive marketing methods."
  - The Washington Post.

• "I can well believe that your work has been an inspiration to people in many parts of the country - quite impressed with your integrated approach toward urban redevelopment, public sanitation, and power generation. I wish you continued success with your numerous public projects and look forward to greeting you next time".
  - Mr. Harry G. Barnes, Jr. former US Ambassador in New Delhi.

• "I will like to congratulate Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak who fully deserve this coveted recognition".
  - His Holiness Pope John Paul-II when he gave audience to Dr. Pathak at the Vatican in 1992 after the Sulabh Founder was honoured with St. Francis Prize for the Environment.

• "I read with great sympathy your account of the situation of the scavenger community and I congratulate you on the work which you are doing on its behalf. I am sure your International Saint Francis Prize for the Environment was richly deserved."
  - Mr. Boutros Boutros - Ghali, Former Secretary - General of the United Nations.

• "Sulabh work is very seminal. It is humane and educative."
  - Dr. Wally N'Dow, Secretary-General, Habitat.

• "My heart is full and overflowing. This fully reflects my sentiment about Sulabh work which we will try to replicate in our country."
  - His Excellency Mr. Bernard Soyasa, Sri Lankan Minister for Science and Technology.

• "Sulabh is a great reform movement of our times".
  - Dr. Karan Singh, scholar and diplomat.

• "The nation should be grateful to Dr. Pathak."
  - Mr. Khushwant Singh,columnist & writer.

• "Dr. Pathak has done to scavengers what Lincoln had done to blacks in America."
  - Dr. Mulk Raj Anand, novelist & writer of "Untouchable".

Sulabh International Delegation to China

The Peoples Republic of China, with a population of nearly one billion has many problems similar to those of our country. Over crowding leading to poor environmental sanitation is one of the crucial problems facing both the countries today. With the objective of learning and observing how such a situation is controlled so effictively in a vast country like China, a seven member delegation of Sulabh International visited the Peoples Republic of China for a fortnight on an invitation from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Construction and Environmental Protection of that country. The team was headed by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, Founder & Chief Patron, Sulabh International, as leader of the team. The other members in the group were : Prof. K.J. Nath, Head of Department of Environmental Sanitation and Sanitary Engineering, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Calcutta, Prof. Indira Chakravarty, Head of Department of Bio Chemistry and Nutrition, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Calcutta, Mr. A.K. Roy, Mr. P.K. Chatterjee, Mr. S.T. Khare, Mr. S.N. Jha, Advisers, Sulabh International.

The team visited four major cities in the Peoples Republic of China viz. BEIJING, SHANGHAI, WUHAN AND GUANZHOU (CANTON).

The major objective of this visit was to have a first hand idea of the present situation of environmental sanitation, particularly human excreta disposal and biogas production in China. for this purpose the team visited various government departments and institutes in the Peoples Republic of China, involved in excreta disposal, biogas production, solid waste management, street cleansing and many related activities. The team visited a number of villages in the countryside to learn about the rural sanitation facilities; use of night soil as agricultural manure and biogas generation. In the urban areas, management of community toilet blocks, collection and transportation of night soil was studied in depth.

the visiting team was highly impressed with the efficient management of collection, transportation and disposal human excreta. Urban solid waste management and street cleansing services were also of a very high order. The team also learned a great deal from the Chinese practice of using night-soil based manure and soil conditioners for agriculture and production of biogas from night-soil as well as animal and agricultural wastes.