Dakop is an upazila of Khulna District in Bangladesh. Like other rural areas of this district, about 70-75% percent (approx.) people are living below the poverty line. Most of the people at Dacope engage in agriculture, day labor, honey collection from Sundarban and fishing.

Dacope has 25,377 households and a total area of 991.58 km². With an area of 99158 km2. According to the Consensus Dacope has a population of 143,131. Like other rural areas of this district about 70-75% percent (approx.) people are living below poverty line. Most of the people at Dacope engage in agriculture, day labor, honey collection from sundarban and fishing.

According to the Census 2011, total child population in the upazila (only 4 union) from 0 to 19 years are 48783 which is 44.21% of total population (Age 0-4 is 11190, 5-9 is 14462, 10-14 is 14225 and 15-19 is 8906.)

In Dakop, Community data shows that total 9161 households do not have access to safe water out of 29480 households. In Dakop, tube-wells don’t work because of salinity in the shallow and deep aquifer levels. About 70 percent of people in the region depend on pond water for drinking and domestic uses. The pond water available in the region is not very healthy. Therefore, individuals in these areas often suffer from waterborne diseases. According to a 2012 study by the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), 61 percent of the coastal region’s population face serious health issues. Without enough fresh water, women and young girls are amongst the worst sufferers.

In Dacope, tube-wells don’t work because of salinity in the shallow and deep aquifer levels. The embankments are eroded and groundwater sources are flooded; therefore, about 70 percent of people in the region depend on pond water for drinking and domestic uses. As a result, the residents have to wake up before dawn every day and walk to water plants about several kilometers away to collect fresh drinking water for the entire family. Sometimes, it becomes midday or even later before residents can return home with water. Also, they might have to stand behind a long queue before getting the chance to collect water.

The objective of this project is to provide drinking water and sanitation systems for the students of Kamini Basia High School and Suterkhali High School in Dakop Upazilla of Khulna, Bangladesh. These schools were selected based on the availability of drinking water, availability of power, distance, the condition of available water, Ease of transport and the number of students and staffs in the school.

In Kamini Basia High School, firstly, a thorough load calculation will be done by the PSLF team to estimate the energy consumption by the school and the proposed water purification system. Then a panel of solar experts will design a solar PV system suitable to meet the energy requirements. The energy left after meeting the energy requirements of the school will be used to improve the livelihood of the neighborhood area. The surplus energy can be used to run a battery charging station for rickshaws.

In Suterkhali High School, only a Reverse Osmosis Water Purification System will be installed without any solar system. The water purification system will be connected to the grid. A highly expert member of PSLF team will do the load calculation and ensure that the available source is able to bear the electrical load of the water purification system. The rest of the marketing strategy and business plan will remain the same as that of Kamini Basia High School.

The PSLF staff is hard at work to initialize the project.