TRIGGERING COMMUNITIES TO IMPROVE THEIR SANITATION

KALI-Kasese in partnership with SNV and Kasese District Local Government is implementing a Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All (SS4HA) project phase III in Bwera Sub County in Kasese District. Through this partnership, KALI has been working with the existing Local Government structures to plan and implement interventions towards sustainable sanitation and hygiene promotion in the above district. This was done for the local authorities to fully own the project through facilitation of learning platforms and deliberate on modalities of fostering ODF attendance, sustenance, scaling up and mainstreaming Sanitation & Hygiene in their sub county activities. 

Village	Total no of Household	No. of HH without latrines
Kakone I	107	18
Kikolegi	100	16
Kalehe	74	10
Kasanga	114	22
Kyogha Central I	96	14
Kanyasabu	81	12
Nyamughona II	99	17
Rwenguba	119	16

                 Table showing villages that are being triggered in Bwera subcounty

In Bwera Sub County 8 villages were to be triggered because of the high numbers of latrine defaulters in those villages and so far 6 villages have already been triggered. The major aim of the triggering session is to activate the need or the demand for sanitation by the people or the communities' themselves for better sanitation and hygiene practices. Triggering session involves the participation of the members of the community in learning the dangers of eating raw feaces like Typhoid, cholera and other hygiene related diseases, members of the community drawing their village map and plotting possible open defecation sites, taking a transact walk through the village and then attend the food and water experiment. 

 

Members drawing the village map of  Kalehe village

During the food and water experiment, members of the villages are shown how contaminated water with feaces may look clean unless the water is contaminated in their presence. The same applies to food.

From such demonstrations, the members of the village get to know how they have been eating feaces from whoever practices open defecation and then the village decide on the action points that the natural leaders and KALI have to follow it up. 

Members of Kalehe Village feeling disgusted after Kule Obed put a stick with feaces in water and demanded one of them to drink the water. This is a Behavior Communication Change strategy

The main target is to make sure people understand how the have been eating feaces which are mainly the cause of their illness where they spend a lot of money on treatment. So to prevent these unnecessary expenditures, the community gear their efforts towards latrine construction and thus attaining Open Defecation Free village status.

KALI will ensure that the villages that are declared ODF are linked to the parish and sub county structures, where the later will continue to monitor and oversee sustenance of ODF and improved hygiene and sanitation behavioral practices in the respective villages.

Prepared by 

Gilbert Masereka

Program Officer - WASH