Latrines, saving time and increasing productivity in Galile
A game plan to end open defacation
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A latrine is not a priced item people would want to show off easily, but people in the community of Galile are eager to show off their latrines. A few years ago, though, there were no latrines in the community not even a shared one. Both old and young therefore resorted to open defecation and it cost them their time, health and money. Alongside the economic costs is the reality for girls and women, for whom the lack of a private and safe toilet is a matter of both dignity and safety.
Halima Cheikh a female member of the community said:
‘The availability of latrines in the community, saved a lot of time and safety for, us women we had to travel long distances to relieve themselves when nature calls. The access to safe drinking water is also a bonus for us since we can take a fresh bath in privacy and without having to walk several kilometers in search of water’
A big part of the problem is that 2.5 billion people globally don’t have access to a toilet, so they defecate in the open, which leads to food and water contamination. In Djibouti water supply is available in 78 per cent in national level but only 58 percent of rural population have access to improved drinking water, and 20 percent of rural dwellers have toilets. Limited knowledge, cultural barriers and a nomadic lifestyle are bottlenecks to improved hygiene practices, leading to open defecation rates of 76 per cent in rural areas. It might not be a pleasant topic, but it’s an issue that can’t be ignored when so many lives are being lost. And women and children are affected most.
For women, who have to walk into secluded areas to relieve themselves, often under the cover of darkness, danger can lurk in the form of snakes or hyenas, as well as predatory men. The solution for UNICEF in collaboration with Sasol was to build rudimentary latrines and with the support from the thematic funds, UNICEF runs a community-led WASH project which explains the link between open defecation and disease- causing germs, and encouraging families to build their own latrines.
As we continue touring Galile, Halima takes us to the community garden and water reservoir which supplies the community with safe and reliable water all day . For the known reasons Halima cannot hide her enthusiasm and joy at the opportunity of showing us around, the garden is green with grass for the goats and maize cobs that are almost ripe for consumption. The irrigation scheme is very vibrant as it runs eight hours a day and the solar field is functional all day.
The families are now able to save money which was meant for buying bottled watered for other errands or households needs. For Halima the availability of water means that her school going children can now afford to go to school using the public transport since the nearest school is in Ali Sabieh town.
During the tour Kamil Abdallah who is the Community head joins us expressing his optimism for the future that the basic latrines they currently have will be changed for more sustainable ones.
“We will build better ones in the future,” he states emphatically.
He also shared the benefits of having household toilets in the community
“Since we have had these latrines, the diarrhea and other sicknesses including the mosquitoes breeding in the dugouts have reduced.”
Kamil Abdallah was confident that he and his community were using various ways to sustain the gains they have made; educating people about sanitation and a set of guidelines governing how to maintain and manage the available water resources.