Sophie in India with WaterAid: A day in two parts, part 1

Please excuse the pun but today we've been doing some digging around on how communities realise they need better sanitation and have uncovered some uncomfortable truths. We've also been helping them dig out the last few latrine pits and build up the toilet walls.

We had a fabulous greeting in the village of Amrod today and we learnt about how they had gone from no sanitation to nearly 100% of households having toilets since September last year. They have built 75 latrines and only have a handful to go which should be built this month. The government has not funded this work and so they have paid for it themselves as it had become an important issue to them.

In most of our encounters water has come first and sanitation second but this village has done it the other way around. We were told that the women were experiencing most of the problems as they were embarrassed about having to go to the toilet outside. This is especially a problem for young girls at school when they reach puberty. If there are no facilities for them during their menstrual cycle then they don't go to school, that means they could miss out on 25% of there education !

Then we got to the real reason why they wanted latrines. To make sure you understand the situation, when we talk about 'open defecation' this isn't people just nipping outside by the back door, they are likely to walk some distance away from their homes and the village in order to go to the toilet, maybe well over a kilometer. This leaves the women and girls very vulnerable. The critical point for this village was hearing that a girl from a neighbouring village had been sexually attacked. We quite often use the phrase 'safe water supply' but in this village, although they understand the hygiene benefits, the primary reason for the household latrines is for the personal safety of the women and children.

So what part do WaterAid play in all this? They support local organisations that can educate and support the villages in making plans for themselves. The village always thought they couldn't afford toilets nor had the space but, by working together and setting up local committees, they soon realised what they could do...