By Kiyemba Nathan | Field Officer
A big number of people especially those that live in villages don’t have access to improved pit latrines and this is associated with a number of negative effects. The pits dug for disposing of human wastes have risk factors around them. First of all, it is unhealthy for the young and old . It is also risky squatting on such a hole because a person might fall into the pit. Furthermore, the self-esteem of the affected family gets lowered as their members are seen as people who are poor and cannot own a latrine of their own.
At Another Hope Children’s Ministries (AHCM), we saw that there was need to add the latrine construction into the Water Life Project so that we can improve the lives of children in families without improved pit latrines.
We have so far constructed five family latrines in different areas and this has encouraged these families; we see an improvement in the hygiene of these families and their self-esteem. Also some of the risks mentioned above have been reduced.
It is always disheartening finding a family with a structure that has already collapsed using it where they dispose of human wastes. Photo B is a pit latrine that Farm Assistants have been using.
The above latrine is not only unsafe for the family but also unhealthy. The people passing by who do not know that such a place exists, may fall into it and it might lead to loss of lives. Such families do not want such a place but are caught in their circumstances which are unpleasant Such people cannot get themselves out of these circumstances unless helped.
A story by one of the Beneficiries
“ All the time I have been here with my colleagues I never dreamt that such a day might come when we have a better latrine. It is true there are not many people on this side, and they cannot see me squat on such a hole, but still I felt bad about it. The tree logs are all shaky and I am always scared to fall into the pit. We currently have the best latrine in the whole of Namuzikiza village. I am so thankful to the sponsors and AHCM for having constructed us this latrine for us’’
In conclusion, your support has seen many children’s lives improved. It is not only the children who have benefited from it, but also mature people who in the end do away with problems that come with poor sanitation. A big thank you to everyone who sponsors our activities.
With a loving heart
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