Addressing hygiene

The Tambayan Center turns over to the officers of the community organization the new sanitation facilities (Photo by Jennie Arado and Tambayan Center for Children’s Rights, Inc.)
The Tambayan Center turns over to the officers of the community organization the new sanitation facilities (Photo by Jennie Arado and Tambayan Center for Children’s Rights, Inc.)

ASIDE from food and shelter, another basic necessity of a human being is a decent sanitation facility. However, this basic need is not always present and accessible to everyone especially those living in urban poor communities.

It was a windy afternoon and after 15 minutes of looking for the exact event venue in Barangay 23-C, a local resident pointed us to an alley where the Tambayan Center will be turning over three sanitation facilities to the barangay residents. While walking on the wooden bridge between stilted houses built on top of the seawater, one would notice the garbage floating about. There were used plastic bags, rotten pieces of wood, and rubber slippers among others.

“Lisud gyud kaayong among sitwasyon tungod kay walay CR. Mao to gimeeting mi kung unsay mga problema diri sa among komunidad, gisulti namu sa ilaha tanan sama sa mga basura. Unya dili man pud tanang nagpuyo diri naay mga CR. (We have a really difficult situation here because not everyone has a CR. That was why we sat down for a meeting [with Tambayan] and we were asked for our concerns as a community. We said everything such as our concerns on garbage. And also, not everyone who lives here has comfort room of their own),” said Lantaw People’s Organization secretary Alona Jugalbot.

Lantaw People’s Organization is one of the community-based organizations in the barangay focusing on the welfare and the concerns of the residents.

Jugalbot estimated that only 30 to 40 percent of the houses in their community have a built comfort room. In their barangay, this has been made into a business. People with comfort rooms in their houses let their neighbors use the comfort room for P5.

As this slum community in Barangay 23-C is considered an urban poor community, residents have limited access to livelihood which would provide them with good salaries, which would eventually allow them for decent sanitation facilities in their houses.

After a series of research and survey on locals of the beneficiary communities, the Tambayan Center for Children’s Rights, Inc. came up with the conclusion that coastal slum communities in Davao City particularly that of Barangay 21, 22, and 23-C are in need of community sanitation facilities most of all.

Tambayan Center Monitoring Evaluation and Communications Officer Neem Cahoy said they have partnered with Johanniter International Assistance as a funding agency with the funding also coming from the German Federal Office.

With three community sanitation facilities turned over to the residents last November 19, 2018, 306 households will have better sanitation.

Dr. Ludy Sosiping, the City Health Office representative assigned in the area, hopes that with these new facilities, there will be lesser number of children and adults getting sick because of poorly-managed wastes.

“Makabalo na sila proper handwashing because that’s a universal precaution. Kay kung dili, magpataka lang sila gunit bisan unsa tapos diretso magkaon. Mao ning ugat sa mga sakit diri kung di gyud kabalo maggamit sa mga toilet. Hinaot na ampingan pud nila ilang mga toilets. (They already know how to do proper handwashing because that’s a universal precaution. Because if not, they will just eat immediately without washing their hands first. That’s the primary reason for sickness here when they do not know how to properly use the toilet. We also hope they would take care of these facilities),” said Sosiping.

Earlier that day, an awareness seminar was given to the residents on how to properly use and clean up their new sanitation facilities.

Cahoy also said aside from health and environmental repercussions that the lack of sanitation facilities has, this has somehow also contributed to the gender-based violence happening in these communities. This would involve threat in the privacy, not only of the women but also of the children.

With the final turning over of these sanitation facilities, Tambayan Center hopes that these gender-based violence will be avoided and lessened, if not fully eradicated.

“Dako gyud ikatabang maam kay dili man gud tanan silingan magpa CR gud. Nagapili sila og pa CR-ron. Maong dako gyud akong pagpasalamat sa Tambayan Center and the Johanniter tungod kay sa ila tungod maka CR mi. (This is really a big help for us because not all neighbors who have comfort room will let us use their toilet. Some choose the neighbors they will allow use. That’s why we are really grateful to Tambayan center and the Johaniteer because of their help in providing us a comfort room),” said Jugalbot.

Aside from Barangay 23-C, Barangays 21 and 22 will also be provided with community sanitation facilities benefiting a total of 300 household in these two additional barangays.

In a more focused perspective, it may be seen that the sanitation facilities will be helpful to the call of nature needs of the residents however looking on a larger scope of things, it will be beneficial to the general progress of the community including the decrease of crimes committed and diseases recorded.

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