An effort to promote hygiene through household toilet construction

Sunita, 14, was aware about the need to use toilet to maintain proper hygiene from her school. Before the earthquake, Sunita and her family used their own latrine which they always kept clean to prevent the disease outbreak.

After the earthquake, things took a different turn.

In the Aaampipal Village Development Committee (VDC) of Gorkha, where Sunita lives, many households were forced to defecate in the open, after their houses, including toilets, collapsed. In the aftermath of earthquake, most of the existing household toilets in this locality were damaged. It was no different for Sunita's family who then, had to rely on their neighbor's toilet or the open space.

Asha, Sunita's mother, still remembers those early months of earthquake, where the entire village was affected with foul odor, as a result of open defecation. "My family used to get sick often with diseases such as diarrhoea in those days."

"Aampipal was already declared as the Open Defecation Free (ODF) area by the government before the earthquake. Each household had their own toilet. But after the damage incurred, this VDC was again prone to open defecation", says Amrit Bhujel, the WASH coordinator for World Vision's District Office in Gorkha.

To re-establish the 'ODF' status of this VDC, World Vision supported around 450 households in this area to rebuild toilets and limit the potential infectious disease outbreak. World Vision provided the materials needed for toilet construction in addition to the mason wages of Rs 2000 per household.

Both Sunita and Asha's family have now constructed their own toilets. Sunita says that she feels very happy to have her own toilet again. "I clean our toilet every day. I also wash my hands with soap and water every time I use the toilet", she says. 

By: Ankush Chalise, Emergency Communications Coordinator, World Vision International Nepal