FINISH Society reaches 1 million toilet benchmark Varanasi, March 27: F.I.N.I.S.H. (Financial Inclusion Improves Sanitation & Health) Society reached a rare milestone when it dedicated its 1 millionth individual household (IHH) toilet in Dahiya village of Imayatpur block of Chandauli district this morning. The toilet was declared open by the Nirmala, wife of Shyam Dhar, who managed to construct the washroom with funds from Swachh Bharat Mission and loan from Casshpor Micro Credit limited, which is active in the area. The function was witnessed by Toilet King Harmen Leisnje and Sarbani Bhattacharya, FINISH Society Board member who had flown in from The Netherlands to participate in the ceremony. The village Gram Pradhan was earlier received from his home and garlanded for rendering yeoman service to the 4000 people of his village. He said even as 100 toilets were constructed, they needed another 220 more to reach ODF status. The F.I.N.I.S.H. (Financial Inclusion Improves Sanitation & Health) approach has been remarkably successful to date, benefiting ~4 million people, converting over 25,000 tonnes of human waste into compost, and contributing to Open Defecation Free (ODF) villages across India. This milestone marks a great accomplishment for the FINISH team, but they are not slowing down just yet. Successes in the Indian context have given way for the next phase of FINISH (titled, FINISH Mondial), as the programme achieves scale and synergy in a total of six countries including: Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania. To put it simply: FINISH is going global with India leading the way. While setting new targets for safe sanitation to reach an increasing amount of people and further expanding in India, FINISH Society is focused on the sustainability of the first 1 Million toilets built. This means huge opportunities for innovations and support for businesses engaged in the complete life cycle regarding sanitation—the circular economy of waste—to make sure the first 1 Million beneficiaries are not left behind and the waste product continues to be safely managed.