As a health volunteer, my job is to inform people how to prevent disease. On very common group of diseases, especially among children, are diarrheal diseases. In America, this isn’t a big problem because of running water, toilets, sinks, refrigerators, and a government that controls food establishments. In Benin, most people don’t have potable water, a proper place to go to the bathroom, or electricity. In villages, people use fields, bushes, and open areas as a bathroom. As you can imagine, this causes a lot of problems as far as the cycle of disease is concerned. Germs are spread by rain water, flies, animals, and people’s shoes. A simple, but sometimes difficult to explain method to break this cycle is with latrines.
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| Making the concrete slab for a simple pit latrine |
Back in October of 2012, I started meeting with the hygiene agent in my commune to get a feel for past and current hygiene projects. He explained some of the NGOs that had built latrines in the area and how the projects were set up. Then we started looking for villages that hadn’t benefitted from these projects that would be good candidates. I visited a handful of villages to gain a better understanding of their situations. I saw villages that had benefited from past projects that didn’t succeed because of a lack of professional guidance or follow through. For example, one village’s latrines collapsed because the holes weren’t reinforced. We had to meet with local leaders, and I talked with a nearby environmental NGO for their help. With the hygiene agent’s help, we chose 3 villages in 2 different arrondissements (the commune has about 5 arrondissements). In two of the villages, a simple pit latrine design was chosen. In the third, a composting latrine build above was chosen because of the soil quality. It's a great design because urine and feces are stored until safe to use as a natural fertilizer. Perfect for a village full of farmers!
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| Finished slab |
The next step was completing the grant application. This took a few weeks because I had to make a budget, gather all of the important information about the villages, and specify the logistics of the project. Also, in Benin, it takes time to print, sign, scan, and email the necessary signature pages. Anything that requires technology in this country is difficult! Every project is required to have at a 25% community contribution. For this project that included sand, water, gravel, digging the hole, and building the cabin. It amounted to about a 40% community contribution. I thought by having the community invest more in the project, they would be more motivated to see it succeed. After the grant was submitted I had to wait for it to be approved and then for the money to be placed in my bank account. Of course, I wasn’t told when the money was put into my account-I finally had to call and ask. Success! The project was approved and the real work began.
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| Simple pit latrine before the hole was dug. |
We held many preliminary meetings in each village to explain the goals of the project with the leaders and villagers. Then with the help of the village leaders, the beneficiary families were chosen. Contracts were signed, latrine placements were chosen, and we gave our first presentation on the importance of using latrines and hand-washing. Afterwards, we bought all of the materials (cement, iron bars, wood, wire netting, nails, etc) in the large town in our area. Then the masons got to work! They started out quickly and the families provided the sand, water, and gravel. Pretty soon the momentum started to slow down. I think both the families and the masons are to blame. The villages with simple pit latrines were a few weeks late, but the latrines above ground finished on time. I think it’s because the families with simple pit latrines were responsible for building the cabin, whereas the ones above ground were built by the masons. For some reason (all cultural) they were in no rush to have them built. It seems so odd from an American mindset, but to them there is always tomorrow.
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| Finished composting latrine and family |
After soliciting help from the local leaders to push the families to finish, the project’s end was in sight! Families built the cabin out of mud bricks, cement bricks, sheet metal, or palm leaves. The project provided sheet metal and wood to build the roof, and the families paid for the doors. Then we held a second presentation on how to use and care for a latrine to make sure it lasts for many years. At the same time, we held a reception to officially close the project and have the families start using the latrines. To help with the sustainability of the project, my work partner and I will go back and visit in one month to check in on the utilization and maintenance of the latrines.
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| Finished pit latrine and family |
Despite all of the headaches and multiple visits to the building sites, the project was a success! It’s difficult to step back and appreciate a project like this one since my time in Benin is winding down. I hope that the beneficiary families will talk with other families about the importance of latrines to motivate them to build them for themselves. Then maybe people will notice a decline in the incidence of diarrhea. Anyways, any little bit helps!
