United Way Mumbai, with support from Agilent Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. collaborated with Need Base India to construct and maintain the sanitation facilities in a government school cum residential facility in Panathur, Marathalli (Karnataka). Currently, this facility caters to 180 children from low income families, single parent households and other marginalised communities and this number is likely to rise to 250 children in the coming academic year. The absence of basic sanitation facilities led to many of the children defecating in the open and deterred the girls from attending school. Despite the presence of residential facilities, there were very few bathrooms and no clean drinking water. The result was absenteeism, coupled with frequent illness among the children, which meant that their education was affected.