For Subira Kilumbi, a 46-year-old resident of Masaki village in the Coast region, everything was good for her and the family until someone needed a toilet.
The family of five including three children and a husband, for years, has been using a toilet which is not following proper hygiene standards. The facility they were using was made by coconut leaves, living gaps for someone to see clearly what is going inside.
Because it was made of unsuitable materials, Subira’s toilet did not have a door, embarrassing anyone who wanted to use it. It was hard to find flowing water there.
Kisarawe district, the locality where Subira’s village is located, is experiencing water and sanitation challenges, putting villagers including Subira’s family at health risks.
Such an environment brought so many health challenges and embarrassment to the family whenever they received visitors, she said.
Despite having goats and chicken as a source of food and income, Subira’s family was not able to access the improved toilet because of lack of funds. For them, a modern toilet was a luxury.
Subira is among Tanzanians who were facing health challenges because of using un-improved toilets.
Tanzania Household Budget Survey 2017/18 showed that more than half of households in Tanzania Mainland use un-improved sanitation facilities (58.1%) followed by households using basic sanitation facilities (24.0%), limited sanitation (10.9%) and those using open defecation at 5.8%.
Only six households in every 100 in Tanzania Mainland had no toilets in 2017/18, down from 12 households recorded in 2011/12.
A life changing opportunity
Subira said during one of the marketing and training sessions given by CARITAS officers, she was able to learn about the opportunities to get a small loan to build a new toilet with modern toilet alternatives known as SATO pans.
The toilet loan facility comes with a clean and economical water dispenser for washing hands.
“I got a loan of TZS 25,000/= to address the sanitation and hygiene challenges facing my family,” she said, adding that through the loan she was able to acquire a SATO pan toilet; do the installation and also install a tippy tap for washing hands.
“With my livestock business, I was able to repay the amount of TZS 9,200/= per month for a period of three months,” she said while smiling.
Since installing the SATO pan toilet, she said her family enjoys a good and clean washroom.
Subira is grateful to CARITAS for the toilet installation loan because now the family members are happy and comfortable with less diseases.
She is among the 7,000 individuals who have accessed such a kind of loan facility that supports improvement of water and sanitation in households funded by CARITAS Dar es Salaam.