The IIHS-TNUSSP team spent three days in Yercaud hill station from 15-17 May 2024, as part of a team learning session. The days were filled with insightful discussions, team bonding experiences, and team-building exercises.

The team gathered from Chennai, Trichy and other locations on the 15th morning, reaching Salem (the foothill city of Yercaud). After lunch at the 19th-century club and driving through 22 hairpin bends, the team reached its destination; after taking in the views, everyone settled into the conference hall for the first session on ‘Context Setting, and Idea Generation and Mapping’. After a quick presentation on the session’s objectives, the team was divided into four groups to discuss thematic areas of sanitation, water, sanitation workers, and solid waste management. Presentations and group discussions followed this to derive more ideas, solutions and next steps in each area.

On day two, detailed sessions on the status and way forward on ‘Fecal Sludge Management (FSM) Outputs’ and ‘Scaling Inclusion’ were discussed. These sessions delved deep into TNUSSP’s activities in the recent past and the steps needed to sustain the programme’s initiatives. The outcomes discussed provided more clarity and encouraged cross-learning and collaboration among all team members.

The team bonded further on day three over fun team-building activities and collaborative games. The bonding exercises, an afternoon trip to a coffee estate, and the team-learning sessions made the three-day event both eventful and insightful.