When nature calls, we need a toilet. However, in Kenya, there are 5 million people, 10 per cent of the population who do not have access to one. There are significant disparities in the availability and access to proper sanitation with 15 per cent of people in the rural areas defecating in the open. This has been the motivation for VIVA AFRICA to run a toilet revolution end open defecation campaign.
“Today we are not only celebrating the launch of eight toilet blocks but also but also motivating and showing residents that what they are doing good is good so that we can reduce diarrhea, cholera and other diseases caused by poor sanitation”
Dennis Orengo
On Second April we pitched tent in Homa Bay County Luanda Kotieno beach and Mfangano Island launching new toilet facilities and renovating depilated abandoned ones. Eight months ago, as we docked on the shores of Yokia beach in Mfangano Island we are greeted by a fusty stench of decay but not this time as we embarked on launching new toilet facilities. Speaking during the celebration to declare Yokia beach Open Defecation Free (ODF) zone, VIVA AFRICA Founder Dennis Orengo said that the organization has also embarked on improving the conditions of mudded toilets, where residents are trained to use home-made bricks to construct modern toilets.
Through awareness creation and trainings, he said they are changing people’s negative beliefs that discourage use of toilets. We must work on average four times faster to ensure everyone has a safe toilet by 2030.
Viva Africa is currently setting up a new toilet block in Kibra Nairobi and Ndigwa Primary School to be launched soon. Toilets play an essential role in both the health of people and the environment. Proper waste disposal and management equates to cleaner waterways, lower likelihood of lethal diseases and parasites, improved gender equality and education by allowing girls to stay in school during menstruation, and benefits to the economy by creating jobs and increasing productivity. Billions of people worldwide do not have access to toilet facilities and therefore risk their health and safety. This is the problem VIVA Africa aims to solve through the Toilet Revolution, End Open Defecation Campaign.
