Dowa Women Construct 1100 Cor-belled Latrines to Sustain ODF Environment

Dowa Women Construct 1100 Cor-belled Latrines to Sustain ODF Environment

Women are mostly victims of poor household sanitation. To reverse the trend, women in Dowa have constructed 1,100 Corbelled latrines locally known as "Mwamuna Apumule" describing them manageable and durable.

The women through their saving groups have constructed the latrines with technical support from World Vision Malawi in Kasangadzi Area Program.

Joice Foster, from Mwimba Village in the Traditional Authority Chakhaza told Zodiak Friday that men in the area have been reluctant to renovate latrines after they had collapsed some years ago.

"Our husbands were reluctant to renovate latrines when they collapse and with the coming in of "Mwamuna Apumule," we believe we will be able to renovate them on our own because these latrines stay longer and easily manageable," Foster said.

Her husband Foster Yosefe acknowledged the blame saying "it’s a lesson learnt."

"We have indeed rested as now our wives on their own have taken this initiative and these Corbelled latrines are really durable and cannot easily collapse," Yosefe Said.

Meanwhile, Dowa District Environmental Health Officer Joseph Luweska noted that the initiative has empowered the women in the district to sustain Open Defecation Free status.

"We are very impressed with what World Vision Malawi in kasangadzi Area Program are doing and the good thing is that these Corbelled latrines can take over 20 years before collapsing thereby sustaining Open Defecation Free status of the district," Luweska said.

World Vision Malawi is encouraging women Saving Groups in Kasangadzi Area Program in Dowa to extend their skills and knowledge to other saving groups to ensure that many households construct and access the Corbelled latrines in order to sustain the Open Free Defecation environment status in the district.

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