Resillient toilets, healthy lives

Zomba Banda of Fayiti Village in Ntcheu District stopped constructing latrines every year as they collapsed in no time.

“I got tired of doing the same thing every three months,” he says.

However, Banda, 43, was forced to erect a new one in 2019 when his wife and four children were struck by diarrhoea after a year of defaecating in the bush.

Open defaecation increased their risk of deadly waterborne diseases, including cholera.

And his wife, Christina Fayiti, became increasingly worried about the breakdown in sanitation and hygiene, which fuel over half of the diseases that haunt outpatients in the country’s health facilities.

 “The children and I often fall sick at the same time. My husband usually stopped doing business to take care of us,” she says

Banda says the family lacked expertise and materials to erect durable toilets.

“Charcoal production has wiped out indigenous trees once used to erect lasting toilets. With the remaining ones, toilets collapse all year round,” he explains.

To reduce open defaecation, World Vision Malawi trained 15 artisans in construction of resilient latrines in Banda’s village. The Christian organisation promotes water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash) in Kapeni Programme Area to create a safer world for children.

World Vision is popularising resilient toilets christened Mwamuna Apume because they “let men take a break from constructing toilets every year”.

The latrines are built using baked bricks from the bottom to the covering of the pit.

For over two years now, the Bandas have a toilet standing and in use. Adjacent to the modern pit latrine is a foot-operated, tippy-tap hand-washing facility for all.

Banda says the toilet has improved sanitation and hygiene in his home where waterborne diseases were lurking.

“We now enjoy good health, giving me more time to focus on providing the needs of my family. The diseases that frequently haunted us are gone,” he brags.

And Fayiti finds it easy to keep the home clean and support her husband in providing for the family.

Luke Yotamu, one of the trained artisans who built Banda’s toilet, says the new design has reduced open defaecation in the area. Figures show that about 98 in every 100 homesteads in the area no longer relieve themselves in the open.

“More households now have toilets, so there is no reason to defaecate in the open,” he says.

About 15 670 households in Kapeni area have access to modern pit latrines with hand washing facilities and drop-hole covers, reports World Vision.

Group village head Fayiti says the intervention has liberated the rural community to actively participate in public life, including communal development initiatives.

“Now people spend more time on development and economic activities because of improved hygiene keeps them healthy,” he says.

Adiel Joshua, a health surveillance assistant in the area, says resilient latrines have ramped up efforts to curb waterborne diseases.

World Vision Wash development facilitator Gertrude Malefula is excited that the initiative has created a safe environment for all, including children who are disproportionately at risk of sanitation-related diseases.

 “Apart from giving people safe water points, proper waste disposal and good hygiene practices are pivotal to enhance their health,” she says.