Chrissy

Chidothi
June 2020

Chrissy Chidothiis
Chrissy Chidothiis outside her newly constructed
pit latrine
Mberenga1 village is located in Senior Chief
Kapichi under GHV Kaipsa, about 19km away
from Thyolo district headquarters. 175
households with 951 people (550 men and 401
women) live in the village. Almost 67% of the
people in the village had no pit latrines and as a
result, they were defecating in the open. Open
defecation contaminated the water sources in
the village and led to the spread of diseases,
such as diarrhoea and cholera.
Chrissy Chidothiis a 72-year-old woman with ten
(10) children and seventeen (17) grand children
who lives in Mberenga1 village. After her
husband died in 2004, she became the bread
winner of the family. Chrissy and her children
had never used a latrine in their life. They would
use fields, bushes, forests and ditches for
defecation. Open defecation became a
commonplace due to a lack of toilets, hand
washing facilities and sanitation knowledge.
They were used to defecating in the open,
especially in the bushes. Building of a latrine was
never on Chrissy’s list of priorities as she could
not afford to buy construction materials to build
a latrine. As a result Chrissy and her family often
had diarrhoea requiring regular visits to the
health centre and having to deal with the
associated medical fees. Chrissy did not realize
that open defecation and poor hygiene and
sanitation were the cause of diarrhoea diseases
in her family.
“My family and I, lived like animals, we would
use fields, bushes, forests and ditches as toilets.
It really took away my self-esteem, but there was
nothing I could do. I could never afford to build a
latrine. However, I just found comfort in knowing
that most people in….village defecate in the
open, like me”, said Chrissy.
In March 2020, United Purpose (UP) with
funding from The One Foundation through
Kapichi Integrated WASH for Thuchira Tea
Association (TTA) project and in collaboration
with the Thyolo District Council triggered
Mberenga1 village through Community-Led
Total Sanitation (CLTS) and started raising
awareness among the village members about
the negative impact of open defecation and
poor sanitation practices.
“I had no idea we had been eating each other’s
excreta until I saw a fried fish on the floor next to
pile of human faeces with flies swarming around family since I got my new latrine,” says
it during the triggering session. When UP arrived Chrissy.
in my village, it was shame to observe that 71
Currently, all 175 households in Mberenga
households have no latrines. I remember the first
1 village have their own pit latrine, and the
time when the team from District Health Office
Open Defecation Free (ODF) status for the
and UP officials came to our village. They
village is at 98%, soon it will be declared
brought us together and asked us where we
Open Defecation Free.
were going to the toilet. It was shameful to
respond that 71 households in my village For a community to attain Open Defecation
defecate in the open,” recalls Chief Headman Free status, community members are
Mberenga1. triggered in CLTS to in order to stop them
from Open Defecation (OD). Soon after
Through Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS)
triggering, the community is followed up to
activities, UP team encouraged community
check whether the community members
members to start building pit latrines and clean
have constructed latrines and stop Open
the village. “Without exception, women,
Defecation (OD). Later after follow ups, an
children, and even the elderly, took each a spade
inspection exercise are carried out to assess
and dig holes to dispose of the waste which
whether a community is ODF by District
polluted our small village,” says Chief Headman
Coordinating Team. If there is a total
Mberenga1.
elimination of open defecation and 100%
Chrissywas the first person in the village to coverage latrine use in the community, the
build a pit latrine and handwashing stations community is declared ODF.
known as a “tippy tap”.
“I am just so grateful for what United
“I did not believe that one day I would use a Purpose has done for my village, people in
latrine, but because of the support from UP, my village are now safe and healthy, we
I was the first person to construct and use a have not experienced any diarrhoea cases
latrine in our village. The project taught us since my village triggered on CLTS,” says
how to build a latrine and I managed to Chief Headman Mberenga1.
construct one myself. I did not pay money to Informed consent was obtained from the project
have a pit latrine built. Instead, one of my participant for the publication of this image in
sons who look after me helped me. Before I accordance with UP’s safeguarding policy.
built my latrine, it was normal for any of my
household members to have a stomach
ache, I recall in 2015 my 9-year-old
grandson died of diarrhoea. In most cases,
after defecating in the open, I would not
wash hands. I also used to wash my dishes
on the ground where my chickens and goats
would defecate. As of now, we have not
experienced any diarrhoea case in our