Kasius, Village Head who cares about sanitation

When Kasius was elected as Suka Bangun village head in 2012, he received a mandate from community people to help develop the village. After that, Wahana Visi Indonesia's Singkawang Operational Office began to work with Kasius.

Wahana Visi invited Kasius to discuss Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in Suka Bangun Village.

Kasius worked with other CLTS teams from other villages in Sungai Betung Sub District in West Kalimantan. Kasius lead the campaign how to live a clean and healthy lifestyle, especially encouraging people not to defecate openly.

Kasius declared a neighborhood in Suka Bangun Village as an Open Defecation Free (ODF) in 2013. Because of Kasius's encouragement, people in RT 01 neighborhood in Suka Bangun Village learned about ODF villages. This success motivated Kasius to become more persistent in motivating community people in Suka Bangun Village to live clean and healthy.

According to Kasius, the sanitation problem does not depend on people's finances but depends on people's willingness to choose a clean and healthy life style.

*Written by Robertus Jamal, Development Facilitator, Wahana Visi Indonesia at Singkawang operational office