NGO promotes healthy sanitationv

PROMOTING healthy sanitation and hygiene practices at the village level will eventually have a positive impact in the community.And that is what Appropriate Technology projects (ATprojects), a non-governmental organisation in Eastern Highlands province, is doing.
This week, they visited communities around the fringes of Goroka town to promote their AT ‘Round Loo’ cement slabs designed for pit toilets.
They visited residents in North, West and East Goroka respectively, Kama, Bihute, Lopi and Paragon as well as sites outside Goroka’s central business division, to raise awareness on improving sanitation practices.
ATprojects project officer Silas Simba explained that good toilets were the first steps towards promoting healthy living in such communities.As part of their Wash programme, ATprojects have also been constructing toilet facilities in rural schools.
Simba said they aimed to construct at least six toilets and install two water tanks  in rural schools throughout the province annually.
“So far, we have constructed more than 300 toilet facilities.”
“On the road, we do awareness on sanitation and hygiene, and at the same time, we promote and sell our loo slabs. “We sell them for K30 and we also demonstrate how to construct a proper pit toilet and to correctly install the slabs,” Simba said.
The fact that the slabs were being bought indicated that people were changing and improving their lifestyles.