Tapiwa Gomo in Choma, Zambia
It was not until their local school was closed down because of a lack of toilets that the people of Macha community, 70km west of Choma district in Zambia’s Southern Province, realized the need to have toilets and sources of clean water.
Cases of malaria and diarrhoea were very common in Macha owing to a serious lack of access to clean water and sanitation. Most of the schools did not have proper toilets and sources of clean water resulted in the authorities closing down Macha central school for several weeks until toilet were put in place.
“Many people here value their children’s education, and when the school was closed we were so worried. We wondered how they could close a school just because of lack of clean water and toilets at the school,” explains Geoffrey Munsanje, one of the people who volunteered to help the Red Cross to build toilets at the school.
“Of course, diarrhoeal diseases and malaria were very common among the communities, especially among children. But we did not think it was due to lack of these facilities,” he added.
The closure of the school came at a time when the Zambia Red Cross Society, with support from the International Federation, was launching a water and sanitation programme whose aim was to rehabilitate all water points and drill new ones where needed, and generally improve hygiene behaviour.
The need for these basic services was enormous: “We used the bush for toilet and got our water from rivers, reservoirs and open wells. Many people bathed only once or twice a week to save the little water they had,” Munsanje recounts.
He however added that the situation was worse during the rainy season when all the human waste was swept into the rivers from which they fetched water. Munsanje now owns a hygienic latrine as part of the Zambia Red Cross assistance.
Many people keep domestic animals such as pigs, which posed a serious health threat as they roam around the village feeding on human waste and contaminating household utensils. Most of these were left lying on the ground as many families did not have dish racks.
“The entire family used to wash hands in the same dish. Traditionally, when we are having meals, the senior men in the family wash their hands first, then the women and finally children,” says Mr. Lupata, Macha senior headman. When the dish reaches the last child, the water would be much dirtier than the unwashed hands. In the end, many children would eat without washing their hands.
The lack of clean water in the village also impacted on the children’s education as some families lived far away from the rivers from which they got water. Their children would either miss school to help their parents fetch water or their time at school was reduced. Others would walk 10 to 15 km to a river to get water for domestic use. In that case, bathing was not a priority.
Another villager, Emma Muchimba, is overjoyed at the changes the Red Cross project has brought about in her family: “The river is far from here and I could only fetch water for my husband to bath. We used less than 20 litres of water a day that time, which was not enough for domestic use. A borehole is now just about 200 meters away and they can now use as much as they want.”
The dirty water which they recycled through segmentation is now being used to water their gardens, something they never used to do before.
“Our children are now going to school in clean uniforms,” boasts Emma, adding that she has been trained by Red Cross to maintain and fix minor borehole problems.
It was not an easy task to convince the people of Macha that they needed to have a refuse pit, a dish rack and to clean their hands before meals and after using the toilet.
“Initially, people did not understand what we wanted to achieve through this project,” explained Ishmael Ngiombe, a Zambia Red Cross volunteer. “Sometimes we went door-to-door to educate them about good health.”
It was after this massive education programme that the community began to appreciate the project. Gertrude Chanda, another Red Cross volunteer, says the role played by local leaders in changing people’s attitudes towards the programme was very important.
“We are happy that the headmen were very cooperative as they mobilised the communities for us. The first trained group volunteered to teach others on good hygiene which was very important as it helped to spread the message faster.” Getrude also added that the communities now feel empowered to take part in the whole process.
She admitted that the situation in Choma was very bad, but now the communities appreciate what has been done so far. Many people have volunteered to assist in the project, whilst others have acquired skills to maintain the boreholes. Pressure is now on the Red Cross society to supply more sanitary platforms to make people’s traditional latrines hygienic.
“It feels great to be able to make a difference in other people’s lives through volunteering,” says Getrude.
However, the situation is different in neighbouring Mapanza. Although the community has received health education, the rehabilitation of water points and construction of toilets is yet to start. They still rely on a nearby dam for household water – the same source of water for their domestic animals.
The demand for improved water and sanitation facilities is very high, as they have already been taught good hygiene.
“How can we practice good hygiene without clean water and toilets?” asked one woman. Toilet pits have been dug, whilst bricks have been moulded awaiting the delivery of the sanitary platforms so they can build their latrines. The community is keen to play their part in improving their own lives.
"We hope to extend the project to Mapanza next year, as soon as we get more funds," said William Corkill, the Federation's water and sanitation delegate for Southern Africa. "We are very grateful to the British and Swedish Red Cross Societies for assisting with over 300,000 Swiss francs towards the project. From what we hear from the communities, it was a great success."
The intervention followed a baseline survey carried out in Macha early this year which indicated that more than 72 per cent of the population was using the bush for toilet, 82 per cent did not have refuse pits and more than 60 per cent were using water from the river. With people unable to practice good hygiene, rates of oral faecal diseases were high.
“This intervention has really helped the people of Macha in a much broader way,” explains Joyce Miyoba, the Zambia Red Cross hygiene specialist. “Records were showing that cases of diarrhoea and malaria were very high here, but now we have seen a great change in both attitude and practice.
“People really understood what it means to practice good hygiene. We are only hoping that we will be able to have a few more water points and finalize the toilets before we move to Mapansa where the situation is much more critical.”