They Gave A Shit, Got Awarded
We are on our way to Msulwa Primary school where the celebrations to mark the World Toilet
Day are being held. Once In a while the ever winding roads confuses us, but thanks for our
askance to the strangers we meet on the way and the manila writings stuck on the trees with
ODF messages (Open Defecation Free) once in a while we make it right.
We get lost again and stop to ask an elderly woman who turns out to be heading to Msulwa too.
After giving her a ride, she tells us of how her village is trying to reach the ODF target.
“Twajitahidi sana kujenga vyoo ili tusile mavi tena”. (We are trying hard to build toilets, so as not
to eat faeces again) she says. She continues to talk of how jointed efforts are proving easier in
toilets creation process. The community members decide who to construct toilets for in a certain
week hence making it a community goal of ensuring all in the end have a toilet they can call
their own.
Amidst all these, she points out that few people are in their way of getting certified as an ODF
village.
Twaendelea kula mavi kupitia wachache wenzetu wasotaka kujenga vyoo.( we are still ingesting
our feces through a few people who haven’t built toilets) She continues.
This I learn later was the main reason why the Ministry of Public Health shifted the 2012 theme
from the Global one of “I Give A Shit, do You? “to “ I Care my Toilet, Our Health”. Kwale
being a water scarce locality in the Coastal area, most households access water for drinking
and domestic purposes in dams and boreholes. It goes without saying that only 40% of the
households have toilets and hence a lot of fecal matter disposed in the bushes finds its way in
to the water sources. Therefore the negligence of one person/household becomes a hazard to
all other community members. This results to subsequent deaths from waterborne diseases as
evidenced by the recent death of a woman from cholera in Mkawalumi.
Two years ago, Plan International Kwale in partnership with Ministry of Public Health Kwale set
out to create awareness on the need of communities to build toilets as a way of improving
sanitation and reducing the spread of waterborne diseases. They introduced this initiative using
the Community Total Led Sanitation (CLTS) model where every person in the community
gets involved in the sanitation process starting from the children, the elderly, the government
and the Non-Governmental organizations. Plan international conduct trainings to health workers
on aspects of triggering who later on pass the knowledge to their respective communities
keeping in mind the three key CLTS words, that is, shame, disgust and fear.
Out of the 13 villages triggered, 6 have been declared ODF. These are Kivingoni, Makombe,
Mkandamuzo, Tuu, Vuzo and Mwazimwalume. Prior to this, two villages Mrihi wa Bibi and
Mtavyasami had achieved the ODF status in 2010.
Speaking during the event, the area District health officer brought to light the link between the
country’s Independence goals of eradicating ignorance, poverty and hunger and sanitation.
Teaching people about their own sanitation eradicates ignorance on their part resulting to
decrease in waterborne diseases. He stated. Hence the slogan: Our health our responsibility.
My health, your responsibility. Your health, my responsibility.
In line with marking the WTD celebrations, the government gave an ultimatum of up to June
2013 by which all villages in Kenya should be ODF.
“Build according to your ability” interjected the assistant District Commissioner in his address.
He explained of how the government was intervening through the sanitation process with the
construction of houses by advocating solar panels installations to all constructing new houses.
He deemed it more humane if toilets were constructed first before the houses themselves.
Challenges
Some areas especially Tiwi had loosely held soil and hence couldn’t stand for long without the
structure collapsing which posed a challenge to the communities. They sought help for other
players to intervene with building materials suited for such areas.
He gives a shit, Do You?