A promise made seven years ago in a small Indian village is about to be fulfilled.
The Rotary Club of Udaipur Meera (India) and the Rotary Club of Box Hill Central (Australia) have secured a US$88,423 global grant to improve sanitation and educational outcomes across six schools in Piplantri, Rajasthan.
The project will provide toilets and handwash stations, painting, educational/sport resources, furniture and minor repairs for 571 students, supported by Kirannidhi Sanstha, Effenkay Corporation, Operation Toilets Australia Inc. and individual and Rotary donors.
For Box Hill Central Rotary member Mark Balla, known as the Toilet Warrior, this is deeply personal. His journey began when he met Shyam Sunder Paliwal, the village leader who, after losing his daughter Kiran to contaminated water, began planting 111 trees for every girl born in Piplantri. The movement has since transformed the desert landscape into a thriving green oasis, with more than 400,000 trees and 2.5 million aloe vera plants.
Yet in the schools, conditions were far from safe. Toilets were crumbling, classrooms deteriorating. Mark promised Shyam Rotary would help fix it. Delayed by the pandemic but never forgotten, that promise has now become reality.
The “Happy Learning, Happy School” project will launch within months, being now approved by The Rotary Foundation. In March 2026, Mark and other supporters will return to Piplantri to celebrate with the children whose futures will be brighter, safer, and healthier.
This is our clubs eighth global grant in collaboration with Operation Toilets Australia Inc.
Photo Top - The journey begins (2018): L-R: Trace Balla, Shyam Sunder Paliwal, Mark Balla.
Photo Middle - Mark Balla & Shyam Sunder Paliwal with the all ladies Rotary Club of Udaipur Meera (dressed colourfully for Diwali).
Photo Below - One of six participating schools with Rotarians from Udaipur Meera, School officials and quoting contractors (2024)
Box Hill Central Rotary Club: supporting communities near and far.