Handmade: Artisans work on creating safe latrines for a community in Mozambique
For people forced to flee violence in Mozambique, adequate ablution facilities restore dignity and safe environments
Alcidio Pangaia
Life is almost unbearable for people who have been attacked by insurgents and forced to flee their homes in northern Mozambique. They have lost their homes, their livelihoods and family members. Many of them do not know where their relatives are or whether they are still alive.
Living in unfamiliar terrain in temporary accommodation with shared facilities is a strain and can be undignified. For disabled people, it is even more so.
Vulnerable
ForAfrika and Unicef have been working to alleviate suffering in the villages around Palma and have been training artisans to create and build accessible latrines for children and those with disabilities. Before the project commenced, people were forced to use open areas to relieve themselves. This was not only unhygienic but also made them vulnerable to other physical danger.
Josefina Remijo Chiponda, a 52-year-old woman living with her niece, is very grateful for the new facilities that she shares with only five others. The private, walled latrines have improved her quality of life. Not only has it restored her sense of safety and dignity, but she has noticed a change in others too – there has been a marked reduction in open defecation. Other households in the area have also been encouraged to build their own latrines in a similar way.
The result is a cleaner and safer environment.
“The built latrines will help people to dispose of their waste appropriately,” says Antoninho Maluleque, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene coordinator. “Open defecation pollutes the air, water and can spread diseases.”
“This project has led to behavioural change, and that is very important for everyone,” he concludes.
Alcidio Pangaia is Provicial Programme Manager
