Helping residents access better sanitation services
Alice Timane
Alice lives with her husband and three children in Maputo, Mozambique, and has been a resident here for nearly 40 years.
She is a domestic help and also sells charcoal to help fund her daughter’s education and take care of the household expenses.
Sanitation is a huge challenge in the Alice’s community. Residents like Alice use shallow unsafe latrines lined with car tyres that frequently collapse and need to be closed and then reopened every two months. During the rainy season, the latrines overflow and contaminate the surrounding areas.
“I was afraid to use this old latrine because it is not safe, especially during the rainy season. It already collapsed several times, luckily no one was using the toilet at that time. But what do we do? My grandchildren always had to be accompanied to the latrine because we did not know what could happen.”
Thanks to the project in her community, Alice was approved to receive a shared toilet that is designed to be used for a group of 15-20 people. She does not have to worry about putting her family’s health at risk. “It is safe now and we do a good cleaning.”
“With the new toilet my despair ended. I do not have words to express my happiness.”