Together - Clean - Healthy
Compost Latrines and Hygiene Training for Rural Households
With the pilot project "Together - Clean - Healthy", ÖJAB is supporting the construction of ten sustainable compost latrines and hand washing facilities as well as hygiene and health training for families with many children and families affected by poverty in Samba, a community in Burkina Faso. In addition, local craftsmen are being trained to build additional latrines. The project is being carried out with the kind support of the Province of Lower Austria.
BACKGROUND AND NEEDS
Sanitation facilities are scarce in the rural community of Samba, making it common practice for many families to defecate in the open. According to reports, 92 out of 100 households in Samba practice "open defecation", which causes considerable hygienic and health problems, such as the contamination of soil, groundwater and the associated spread of water-borne diseases (including diarrhoea and deficiency diseases). Improving the hygiene situation through awareness raising and the provision of sustainable compost latrines and safe hand washing facilities is therefore of particular importance.
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
In order to bring about these improvements, ÖJAB is supporting the construction of 10 sustainable compost latrines and the installation of 10 hand washing facilities for large families and families affected by poverty in Samba as a pilot project. In addition, trainings are offered to local craftsmen in the construction of further compost latrines in a sustainable way. The beneficiary families will receive hygiene and health training on how to properly wash their hands, use their latrines and clean them independently.
Impact
The project is expected to improve the health situation by improving water and sanitation and raising awareness of hygiene in Samba. A particular added value of the project is the local construction of the compost latrines throughout. All materials such as concrete slabs for latrines, bricks, iron, sheet metal, metal doors, individual components of the hand washing facilities are procured from local small enterprises in Samba. This ensures a high level of identification with the project from different sections of the population in Samba.
The project is carried out with the kind support of the province of Lower Austria.
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