By Job Mainye, Knowledge Management and Learning Coordinator, CARE Kenya
Why Toilets? Sanitation is important. Clean and safe toilets have a positive effect on all of us. Good sanitation prevents children from illnesses like diarrheal diseases, keeps girls in school and reduces health care costs. Meet Faith and her son to learn more.
It is early morning when we meet Fathi, a 30 year old mother of a boy, in Dagahaley, one of five compounds in Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp with over 275,000 inhabitants. Fathi’s face is filled with excitement, her hands are ready to move. Today is the day. The day to get back dignity.
Fatih is a self-made woman; building latrines on her own.
She crossed the border from Somalia into Kenya due to conflict and drought. For many years she has been living with her 11-year-old son Yasin in a self-constructed hut, using an unprotected latrine.
“Our pit latrine filled up about a month ago. I tried to cover it with sticks, unused blankets and cloths, but cockroaches were running all over the place. We had no privacy. Strong winds always blew the housing materials away.”
A few weeks ago, Fatih found out that CARE and the European Union Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) provide materials and training for building new latrines to over 940 families in Dagahaley and Ifo I. She signed-up instantly and was lucky to be one of the selected women-headed households.
It is not an easy task to handle heavy materials like wooden pales and iron sheeting, but Fatih is a strong woman. And she receives support from her son, refugee artisans trained to do slab moulding by CARE and ECHO and donkeys who transport materials like iron sheets, nails and cement to her place.
We accompany Fatih to collect the materials from the distribution point back to her house. She is well organized, she knows what to do. It doesn’t take more than a few hours to install the new latrine and Fatih is organizing the materials, she is sawing the wood into pieces and with support from CARE artisans installing the latrine next to her house.
When Fatih puts the final nail into the iron sheeting. It is the moment of truth. Will the iron sheeting hold up against wind? She makes the test with rocking the sheets from left to right. “It is strong enough,” Fatih cheers. “I am happy. I and my family will visit the latrine first thing in the morning. From now on our days will start in dignity.”
But would Fatih and other community members have access to clean and safe toilets, if it weren’t for refugee artisans, CARE and ECHO? Probably not and it is important to keep in mind that it is not only about building new latrines; it is also about taking care of the ones that have already been built. Currently, refugee workers are rehabilitating more than 500 latrines in Dadaab. And that is exactly what we need funding for: training community members to keep up with facilities, providing access to safe and clean sanitation for families and educating people about the importance of hygiene and safe sanitation facilities.
Click here to donate now and provide clean and safe water and sanitation for families in the world’s largest refugee camp.